“It’s an RPG about running a medieval fantasy Tavern, and It’s going to be a bit like ‘King of Dragon Pass’.”

And the response is one of two things… More often than not, the response is a nonplussed expression, followed by “What? Never heard of that game”. But when I tell someone who knows and loves the references, the response is a much more positive “Omigod! Take my money!”.

The Waycross Inn is going to be (it’s too early to say ‘is’) an RPG / adventure game about running a medieval tavern. If you’ve played any of the ‘Atelier’ series, or the ‘Harvest Moon’ games, imagine those, but with a ‘choose your own adventure’ novel mixed in there as well.

Again… blank expressions.

It’s one of those things you just have to play to get I suppose. And if you think it sounds hard to sell, just imagine what it’s like to be throwing hours and hours of your free time into making it. I have no idea if it’s going to work either.

So, The Waycross Inn is about running a tavern in a politically volatile fantasy world, which is situated at a crossroad between four diverse towns. Your tavern is pretty much the only place where people from these different towns and cultures will meet.

Taverns have typically been places where you might rub shoulders with people you wouldn’t normally associate with, and over a drink, realize you’re not that different and that you all share a basic humanity.

The question the game asks is this; Can one location, in the right place and with the right management, build bridges between cultures and classes enough to prevent a brewing civil war?

But that’s the much bigger picture.

Most of your time will be spent deciding upon the menu, keeping guests happy, brewing your own ales, trading for resources… and tons of other stuff I haven’t even decided upon yet.

I’ve been working on the game for two months now, and I’m aiming for a ‘Computers’ release, I haven’t ruled out mobile either.

If you like the sound of the game, please let me know in the comments below, and if you would like to keep track of development, the best place is probably my Titter Account (@StewHogarth).

Thank’s for reading, see you next time.

Stu xxx

Just a quick note to let you know what we’re up to at Smiling Bag right now.

As some of you may have read on my Smiling Blog, I had a difficult end to 2014. Sadly, as the main contributor at Smiling Bag, if my own life hits issues, then the work stops. So I’ve decided to try and concentrate on smaller projects until everything gets back to some kind of homeostasis, because the large ones keep getting interrupted by things!

The first of these smaller projects is ‘S.I.D the Snake’. When we were younger, myself and my twin brother used to write stories about a hedgehog called Tom and a snake called Sid, so that’s where the ridiculous name comes from. I might try and come up with a game about a hedgehog next. You know, for completion.

Anyway… S.I.D the Snake is the third and final part of Smiling Bag’s ‘One Touch’ trilogy (The first being I am Level, and the second being Ducky Fuzz). They’re games that can be played with a single button / touch, which makes them much more accessible.

It’s sort of like an analogue version of Snake crossed with Asteroids. the snake goes round in a circle, and you tap / hold a button to change the direction of the circle. Collect good stuff, avoid bad stuff. Easy!

I’m managing to get quite a bit done on this at the moment, so the hope is to get it finished by the end of February, and released some time in March on iOS, Android and Web. Fingers crossed.

Until then, look after yourselves.

Stew xxx