The essence of Yew

a Musings from Eternalmoor production

The Looming Theater Exterior

The essence of Yew is a choice-driven story game.

In a realm where lifetimes are opt-in plays, Ju and Inky can taste what it's like to live as anything but Blackbird, the all-knowing keeper of the Theatre and its elusive Backstage.

A bargain is made. He offers his place on one condition: they must pass through one last life as a haunted Tree next to the Lock Keepers Cottage — and bring him its Seed of Truth.

  • Mission — the lock

    Figure out what makes the Key Station’s keys fall for the gates — and get waiting narrowboat guests through.

    Young Kehan arrives at a mysterious abandoned lock that won't open, though every mechanism looks sound. A Key Station stands by the lock, revealing images that shift with the person looking. Expand the reach of your tree to keep him company from your branches, as he works out what makes the lock open.

  • Mission — the Seed

    Figure out how to make your tree birth a Seed of Truth.

    Tethered to a new “costume”: a fallen branch, you take root by the Lock Keepers Cottage. Your choices shape the final form of your Yew-tree, and the mark it leaves on the Lock and its residents — as well as its willingness to deliver a Seed of Truth.

  • What you tend (or overlook) can ricochet

    The Lock Keep asks much of whoever tends it and whoever seeks passage, and plays both for fools when they fall short. Mind every counsel you offer Kehan and guests looking for guidance.

    Your haunting dictates whether the Lock Keep spirals into a cosy whimsical haven — or an eerie graveyard of narrowboats that never made it through.

Eternalmoor - Aril speaks to you through the screen
Two wills, one journey

Balance conversations and emotional pulls between Ju and Inky — shaped by branching dialogues, choices, and quests.

An Echo — a memory made visible

Memories that weigh on you

Echoes are memories with weight — some lift you, some pull you down — and they change how the world sounds and feels to move through.

Four forces behind every choice

Story beats orbit four primary emotional drivers: a positive drive vs. a corresponding fear.

  • Hope That things can be okay vs fear of being stuck in an unpleasant status quo.
  • Curiosity Drive to know and experience the unknown vs fear of harm, disappointment, or leaving the comfort zone.
  • Creativity Drive to express and realize the self vs fear of failure, misinterpretation, or not meeting standards.
  • Love Drive for meaningful bonds vs fear of loss, rejection, or harming others.

Quests grow from small tasks to moments that leave a mark. Win or stumble, the Weave of Echoes remembers.

A driver — the forces that move the story
Ju, apprentice of the Moor

The restless seeker

Driven by a deep longing to finally peek into the Backstage machinery of existence — and possibly even transcend into a Blackbird herself — Ju is determined to face whatever trials Blackbird demands of her.

Help her nudge Inky's feelings to succeed in different quests that may — or may not — bring her closer to reaching her goals.

Inky, spirit of the inkwell heart

The chaotic detour

Driven by a desire to taste the fullness of existence, Inky is the chaotic spirit carrying Ju's inkwell heart.

Guide Inky’s mood: innocent, cheeky, or biting — and watch the lock ricochet differently.

Blackbird, keeper of the Theatre Backstage

The ever-amused keeper

All-knowing and ever-amused keeper of the Theatre's Backstage, Blackbird welcomes Ju into his realms — but only if she is willing to be cast as a Tree of Life and Death and brings back a Seed of Truth from it, one that reveals the essence of /Ju:/.

Kehan, nine years old

By the canal

Kehan meets the world with practical hands and a stubborn appetite for life. When a thirsty branch roots beside an abandoned lock, he does what needs doing.

Made in Blender

Craft with intent

A small-team, quality-first production — Unity for play and pacing, Blender for world-building, and systems built for dialogue, exploration, and emotional mechanics rather than combat loops. Chapter 1 is in active development; the goal is a cohesive, authored experience.

Original voice, original score

Every note is written and produced for Eternalmoor, with live musicians where the arrangement asks for it. Audio is part of the storytelling, not wallpaper.

The Imagineers

Sol Vikström

Creative lead · storyteller · dev

Design, writing, and direction — the world, the tone, and the stubborn belief that a game can make room for reflection.

Stefan Hallgren

Co-producer · financing · sound

Represents Eternalmoor to financiers and helps secure backing for the production — with a contributing hand in sound design and mix.

Iris

Helpful cat

Morale, keyboard supervision, and the occasional decisive stare when a feature needs more love.