Black Mountain

Black Mountain is a turn-based RPG in the tradition of the classic Super Nintendo era games like Final Fantasy 6 or Chrono Trigger. I want to mix the nostalgia I have for the games of that time, without unnecessarily long play times and grind. I also want to focus on a more personal story; no one is a pre-ordained hero tasked with saving the world. The characters are common people who are special because of what they choose to do.

Legends speak of a mythical phoenix, with the power of life and healing, that lives at the peak of Black Mountain. When a magical sickness hits their village, Kiel and Omen, along with Violet, the daughter of travelling merchants, decide to set out to find it.

I’ve been working on the world behind Black Mountain (and other games and stories) for many years now, and while I hope that depth makes the world feel richer, there won’t be “required reading” to enjoy it. I’m intending it as the first of a series of connected stories, but I’ll be doing my best to ensure that you’ll never HAVE to “catch up” on previous entries just to enjoy a game.

At the moment, I am the primary developer for the game, acting as writer, programmer, and artist. I have started to get a little help from some friends, and the plan is to eventually get to a point where I can bring them in to help me put in lots more polish and bring it over the finish line.

There is currently no expected release date for the game. If you’d like to keep up with ongoing development, I post about it occasionally on Mastodon, and most of my devlog posts are about its development. If you’re interested in Black Mountain’s history (and a little bit about those “other games” I mentioned) you can read about it an old devlog post.