Grimselhorn - a goats story

Inspiration

Grimselhorn - a goats story began as an exercise in coming up with goat-based puns (as some of the best ideas often are). We drew inspiration from classic survival and resource management games that thrive on strategic scarcity and split-resource tension, and combined it with off the wall characters and humour from kids shows like Adventure Time. Our concept blends the structural upkeep and harsh weather survival of titles like Frostpunk, with survival elements of games like Valheim, all wrapped up in an atmospheric, eerie alpine folklore setting.

What it does

In Grimselhorn, players step into the shoes of the Spirit Warden to manage and protect a haunted alpine pass during winter. The gameplay follows a strict day-and-night survival cycle. By day, players gather materials, repair vital village infrastructure, and craft specific offerings. By night, they track and pacify unpredictable goat apparitions, reading their omens to capture them into a Spectral Barn. Safely guided passes allow Wayfarers to cross by morning, paying Wayfare to fund essential kit upgrades.

How we built it

Grimselhorn was created as a complete pre-production design package, encompassing a comprehensive Game Design Document, Visual Concept Package, Player Journey Map, and MVP Production Plan. We approached this project like a real mobile game pitch, strictly defining the core survival loop before expanding into supporting systems like resource allocation, goat states, and the Warden’s Kit. The resulting documentation maps out the first 15 minutes of gameplay so a small development team could instantly pick it up and execute the vision.

Challenges we ran into

Our biggest challenge lay in balancing the complex, overlapping survival systems within the tight scope of a short, repeatable mobile session. We had to ensure the scarcity mechanic—where resources like wool have multiple competing uses—felt like a meaningful tactical dilemma rather than a frustrating bottleneck. Additionally, designing the night phase required tight integration between reading unpredictable goat omens and executing prompt-based capture rituals before the apparitions panicked and destroyed the route.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are incredibly proud of how seamlessly our eerie alpine folklore aesthetic integrates with the core gameplay mechanics. Instead of relying on traditional combat, we created a unique creature-capture system centered around pacification and ritual. Visually, the contrast between the cozy warmth of glowing village shelters by day and the haunting, stylized silhouettes of the Bleating Dead by night creates a distinct, memorable atmosphere that makes the progression loop immensely satisfying.

What we learned

This project reinforced the immense value of rigid scope control and gradual feature onboarding for mobile design. We learned that a compelling survival game doesn't need dozens of overlapping systems right away; instead, a tightly balanced MVP featuring just two goat states and basic offerings can successfully validate an entire core loop. We also realized how vital clear visual feedback—like strong silhouettes and distinct environmental omens—is for maintaining player clarity on small mobile screens.

What's next for Grimselhorn

The next phase for Grimselhorn is expanding the pre-production design into a fully polished playable prototype, scaling up the MVP features to realize the complete vision of the campaign. Future plans include introducing all six distinct goat states, deeper interactions with the old herd-keeper, and the implementation of rare and special goat variants tied to unique village events. We want to build out additional route sections to manage, integrate a deeper collection of story-driven Bell Clues, and fully implement the high-stakes final chapter, The Last Crossing. Long term, the addition of the unforgiving Winterlock Mode will provide seasoned players with an extended survival challenge. Ultimately, the goal is to make Grimselhorn feel like a living, hauntingly cozy folklore world that players eagerly return to, one winter night at a time.