A forest you can’t fight in: talking to Fernhouse
The two-person studio behind Moss and Lantern on making a game with no combat, and why the seasons take so long.
Moss and Lantern is a sample game for this prototype. This interview shows how interviews look on the site.
Who is Fernhouse?
Two of us, working from a kitchen table most days. One draws, one codes, and we both argue about the music.
Why a game with no fighting?
We kept cutting fights from the design and the game kept getting better. In the end the only enemy left was a bad mood, and you fix that by mending a path or talking to a beetle.
What does a typical session look like?
Ten or fifteen minutes. You check on the forest, help whoever needs it, and leave. The seasons turn slowly, so there is always something a little different when you come back.
What did players change?
Plenty. The map used to hide paths you’d already mended, and players asked us to show them. It turned out people love seeing the forest they fixed.
What’s next?
Winter. It has taken us longer than any other season, because snow changes everything about how a forest sounds.
