Dev Log: The Birth of Moonlight Peaks

Dev Log: The Birth of Moonlight Peaks

At Little Chicken we’ve always felt that a life sim would be a good fit for our skills and we have been playing around with creating one for a long time. Finding the right theme that would fit with our mission proved to be quite the challenge.

In our early attempts, we tried a surfing theme, aiming for a laid-back vibe that would complement the relaxing nature of life-sim games. While the art looked nice, our game designer, Jor, didn’t feel that the surfing mechanics were in a good place, leading us to abandon that direction.

One of our first scenes for the Surf Theme. What followed was a wild exploration of various themes; the great outdoors with hiking, venturing into the world of animal photography and even a card game for a short while. But nothing really seemed to capture the feeling we were chasing.

Around that time, Mia, our Art Director, suggested vampires as a theme, and it instantly clicked. The vampire theme, with its rich lore, opened up a world of inspiration for us. It allowed us to fully embrace the supernatural while preserving the cozy charm that's integral to life-simulation games. To ensure we were on the right path, we reached out to the life-sim community with a survey. The enthusiastic responses gave us the confidence that our vampire theme was the way to go.

One of the first concepts for Moonlight Peaks, back then titled “Project Vampire”. We set out to create a demo to show what we had in mind. We expanded the vampire lore with magical and supernatural themes. This allowed us to have more room to do our own take on this theme. It took us several months to really drill down and find our voice for the game.

For us, what truly sets Moonlight Peaks apart is its atmosphere. Early on, we decided on a night rhythm to align with the nocturnal lifestyle of a vampire. This choice, combined with the magical vampire theme, gives Moonlight Peaks a unique ambiance that we feel is very distinct (and very purple 💜).

Our vampire-themed elements allow us to put a fresh spin on the classic life sim tropes. Transforming into a bat, using supernatural powers, and blending magic with farming present endless possibilities for exciting and unexpected experiences.

The valuable feedback from our community has helped us fine-tune these elements. We recently released a demo, focused on the decorating aspects of the game, giving players a taste of what’s to come for the full game. As we continue with the development of Moonlight Peaks, we will seek input from this community.

A screenshot from our Decorating Demo, currently available exclusively on Steam! It’s an exciting journey, and we like to thank everyone in our community for joining us on this journey. We can't wait for you to explore the enchanting world of Moonlight Peaks with us!

The Little Chicken Team