Tamarisk

In this base-building narrative, play as a spirit who caretakes and guards an abandoned house while designing, upgrading, and dealing with potential new occupants and neighbors.

A caretaker spirit, Tamarisk, is intrinsically connected to the land of an estate that has fallen into ruin; but by breathing new life into the home, Tamarisk will stop it from being demolished, attract new occupants, and have renewed purpose.

"Tamarisk" was created and designed for the purpose of developing skills related to game writing and design.

For the game's content, I wrote both cinematic and gameplay scripts, an outline, bark spreadsheets, character bios, world design documents, a document on audio direction, and an interactive setting document. (All these can be viewed at the bottom of the page.)

The inspiration for "Tamarisk" primarily came from mythology around the world of various types of house keeper spirits; especially those found in Japan.

I have always felt a certain kind of sentimental wonder around ancient or abandoned buildings, and so; with Tamarisk, I wanted to capture that feeling with the game's design, aesthetics, and writing. Furthermore, I wanted to combine that feeling with the satisfying visual and mechanical effects of renovating a house for the player.

In "Tamarisk" the player controls a spirit who shares the same name as the estate that it is repairing. I decided to have this detail as I think naming the location in which the player is repairing allows them to create a stronger sense of identify as well as combing the tradition of naming homes.

Screenshot of "Tamarisk" barks

Screenshot of gameplay script

One of the most defining traits of Tamarisk's story is their relationship to Glemens as foils of one another.

Glemens is a wily, impulsive teenager with a naïve view of life while Tamarisk is an immortal, no-nonsense spirit who has grown jaded and resentful of life and especially of humans.

I wrote the relationship between the two characters so that by the end of the game's narrative, the character's personalities inform and teach the other to allow both of them to grow. Tamarisk's faith in humanity is restored and they learn to loosen up while Glemens finds purpose and drive.

The dialogue between the two characters is often fast paced and quippy with good amounts of humor.

The game's main themes are immortality, apathy to empathy, and a love of places.

Most of these themes are explored in the relationship between Tamarisk and Glemens, but the theme of a love of places is primarily developed in gameplay. More specifically, the gameplay allows the player to be a caretaker for the estate by cleaning, renovating, and decorating their space. Along the way, the player will be able to learn about the estate's long history from interactions between Tamarisk and Glemens (who is new to the estate).