a Musings from Eternalmoor production
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 exist as a haunted Tree of Life and Death — and bring him its Seed of Truth.
Mission:
Guide Kehan through the daily work of the lock: open for boats, salvage what falls, maintain the gates through the seasons, and tend crushed fingers and tired bodies that keep the canal moving.
Each narrowboat guest carries a Looking Jar on the bow — and cannot pass until it mirrors what they truly seek. Guide them to bare their inner compass and realign the decoration of their jars so the sluice will open. Mind your advice: what you tend (or overlook) can ricochet — along this canal, every assumption has a habit of landing beautifully wrong.
Balance conversations and emotional pulls between Ju and Inky — shaped by branching dialogues, choices, and quests.
Echoes are memories with weight — some lift you, some pull you down — and they change how the world sounds and feels to move through.
Story beats orbit four primary emotional drivers: a positive drive vs. a corresponding fear.
Quests grow from small tasks to moments that leave a mark. Win or stumble, the Weave of Echoes remembers.
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.
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.
Kehan, Nevlari's young apprentice, meets the world with practical hands and a stubborn appetite for life. When storm and loss arrive on the barge, he does what needs doing — learning the traits of the lock.
Nevlari tends the sluice where barges rise and fall. Old enough to read weather as well as people, he sets his table to meet every guest's needs while collecting the dues for passage — keeping the balance between being of service and fulfilling his duty as lock-keeper.
He keeps small notes about who the guests are. Come midwinter's night, he announces the next guardian of the Lock Keep — weighing what Kehan and the keep have learned, Looking Jars and all.
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:/.
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.
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.
Sol Vikström
Creative lead · storyteller · devDesign, writing, and direction — the world, the tone, and the stubborn belief that a game can make room for reflection.
Stefan Hallgren
Co-producer · financing · soundRepresents Eternalmoor to financiers and helps secure backing for the production — with a contributing hand in sound design and mix.
Iris
Helpful catMorale, keyboard supervision, and the occasional decisive stare when a feature needs more love.