Nix, the Last Songborn

"Long ago, the Bells sang.

Their echoes filled Great Chapels and towering Cathedrals, all in honor of the One Who Hears Everything. 
The One who listened, but never spoke.
But as prayers and voices rose, They could no longer hear Their own thoughts.
And so, at last, They uttered a single word—one heard by all.

Silence.

First, the Bells fell. Then the songs. Then the world itself. Muffled.
Now, only whispers remain."
And in the hush, your journey begins.

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About the Game

A 2D hand-drawn platforming adventure game, where you are Nix; a small wandering mouse, that will explore a vast fading kingdom, Whisperlight, and bring back the music and light in it. Along the way, you'll meet other travelers on their own journey, plant some trees to restore the barren land, and learn how to travel the world and how to become a Songborn.

More info to come.

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About the Build

This game is still in an early prototype phase, and many elements — from art to interactions — are placeholders or incomplete. It’s not a full experience yet: there’s no main story, no challenges or puzzles, and only three small interconnected areas to explore.

That said, this build is meant to offer a glimpse of the atmosphere, tone, and feel I'm aiming for. It’s also a testbed for many core systems that will support the game as it grows.

However, several features are already included:

• Full Day/Night cycle in game, with changing lights intensity, scene coloration, sounds, and events throughout the day.
• Smooth player movement; including jump, double jump, dash, crouch, pogo stick, wall slide, wall jump.
• Layered Background with perspective. Dynamic vegetation with wind and player interaction.
• Equippable holdable objects following every frame of animation; Can switch between a rechargeable lantern and the wandering bell. More objects and power up in the future.
• Menu and UI systems, including a Main Menu, persistent Settings, Pause Menu, and a dynamic HUD with multi-state Health Containers.
• Sound Manager and Audio Crossfade reacting to the time of day; Localized zone that modify the music and ambient sounds.
• Save system with option to continue a previous game and deleting save files.
  • Save a game by sitting at a campfire.
• Scene-to-scene persistence, allowing creature states, player position, and world conditions to carry over between areas.
• The first NPC and dialogue system, with branching conversations, memory-tracked lines, and proximity-based barks. Dialog can resume after interruption and reacts to world conditions like time of day.
• Global Memory and Event Systems that track facts (like “Player visited the bridge” or “Time is Night”) and allow objects and systems to react to events (like proximity, interaction, or dialogue state).
• The first interactive creature, the Mossback Beetle, with animated legs, IK movement, and a custom behavior system that lets it graze, roam, and sleep based on time and environment.
  • A new CreatureBrain system powering behaviors like grazing and finding shelter, with persistent state and flexible future expansions.
  • Smart persistence and loading setups, letting creatures resume their behavior when the player returns to a scene, or even progress independently if time has passed.

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About the Project

This project was initially born in 2020. Starting as a proof of concept of a game mechanic based on a bell serving as a melee weapon, a ranged weapon and a means of movement.

I started the development with the intention of doing it in pixel art, since at the time I didn't had the confidence to draw so many frames by hand.

I loved the fluidity of the bell, being able to throw it, juggle, recall to yourself and pogo stick on it, while being free to move with the character.

Unfortunately life caught up with me and the project fell through.

5 years later, dusting off my old projects, I took this one out, and without realizing it I was already drawing Nix and new characters from the world.

After 1 month of work,  I fell in love with the world of Whisperlight, and would love to bring it to life. I won't be able to continue working on the project full time since I sometimes have to eat during the year, but development continues little by little.

More information will be posted in DevLogs eventually.

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Credits

• Background Music: Alison Turk 
• Animation System: Aarthificial (https://github.com/aarthificial/reanimation)
• Foundation for Player Controller: DawnosaurDev (https://github.com/DawnosaurDev/platformer-movement/tree/main)

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More Media

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Install Instructions

• Download the compressed folder on your computer
• Unzip the folder
• Launch "Nix, The Last Songborn.exe"

How To Play

Supported input methods: Keyboard & Mouse, Gamepad, PS3 Controller, PS4 Controller, Xbox Controller

• Move around
  • Keyboard: WASD
  • Controller: Left Joystick
• Jump
  • Keyboard: Space
  • Controller: South button (PS = X, Xbox = A)
• Dash
  • Keyboard: Shift
  • Controller: R2
• Attack
  • Keyboard: Mouse Left Click
  • Controller: West button (PS = □, Xbox = X)
• Select Item
  • Keyboard: Tab
  • Controller: L1
• Throw/Recall Bell
  • Keyboard: Mouse Right Click
  • Controller: L2
• Interact/Talk
  • Keyboard: W, F
  • Controller: East button (PS = ○, Xbox = B), Left Joystick UP
• Pause
  • Keyboard: Escape
  • Controller: Start/Option