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In Farewell North, players embark on an open-world journey to restore color to the islands of the game, taking on the role of a border collie traveling with its owner. Developed by Kyle Banks and published by Mooneye Studios, the game is scheduled for release on August 16, 2024. In an interview with the studio, the inspirations and expectations surrounding this engaging project were explored.

Regarding the inspiration behind Farewell North, Kyle Banks revealed: “The setting for the game was inspired by my move from Canada to Scotland in late 2019, just in time for the pandemic to put us into lockdown. My wife and I had ambitions to travel and explore our new country, but due to the pandemic, we found ourselves confined to our flat. With all those travel plans put on hold and a lot of newfound free time, Farewell North became an outlet for me to explore the country in another way.” The idea of playing as a dog with a human companion came from the concept of playing a supporting role in another character’s story, with the game's focus on restoring color to the human’s world becoming central to its narrative.

The development process of the game was marked by significant challenges, as Kyle noted: “Farewell North has been in development for four years, initially as a side project alongside my day job as a software engineer, and eventually it became my full-time job. I’ve had the pleasure of working with many incredible collaborators, including my composer John Konsolakis and our main voice actor Johan Ross. Learning about all these disciplines through such talented people has been one of my favorite parts of creating this game.” He also mentioned the emotional challenges: “Making a game is hard, much more so than I imagined. The real challenge is the mental health aspect of development. Spending four years perfecting something can become an emotional struggle.”

With the release date set for August 16, 2024, expectations for Farewell North are high. Kyle commented: “The main goal is really to find our audience of gamers who enjoy narrative-driven, emotional adventure games, and hopefully deliver a game that exceeds their expectations. I believe we’ve crafted a really unique, beautiful experience, but you never know how players will respond until it’s in their hands.” Interaction with the community will continue to be a priority: “I’ve developed this game openly through my YouTube channel, Discord, TikTok, and Twitter, sharing updates and getting feedback, and I don’t expect that to change much after release.”

Regarding additional content after launch, Kyle mentioned: “I do have an idea for what a content update could look like, but we’ll have to see how things go. Honestly, I’ve put everything I have into this game. I followed the mantra of ‘no zero percent days,’ meaning I make some progress on the game every single day. That philosophy works, but it also means I haven’t had a day off in four years, so after release (and a few patches, I’m sure), I definitely need a short break to step away from the computer and figure out what’s next.” He adds that player interest in spending more time with Cailey and Chesley will determine the next steps.