Until Spring

A village depends on you

Inspiration

Until Spring was inspired by the idea that survival is more meaningful when it is about protecting a community rather than simply protecting yourself. Many survival games focus on individual progression, but we wanted to explore the emotional impact of helping others endure hardship together.

The game centers on a small village facing a long, unforgiving winter. Players venture into the Whiteout to gather scarce resources, return home before the cold becomes overwhelming, and decide how to distribute those resources to help the village survive. We were inspired by the tension of survival games, the warmth of cozy community builders, and the emotional storytelling found in games that make players care about the people around them.

What it does

Until Spring is a cozy survival resource-management game designed for mobile.

Players leave the safety of their village to gather Food, Kindling, and Supplies in the Whiteout. As they travel farther from home, their Warmth decreases and the risk of collapse increases. Returning home safely allows players to deposit resources and help village residents survive the winter.

The core gameplay loop is:

Leave Village → Gather Resources → Return Home → Help Villagers → Prepare for Tomorrow

As winter progresses, resources become more difficult to obtain and players must make increasingly meaningful decisions about how to support the village. If villagers are neglected, their homes become dark and empty reminders of the cost of survival.

How we built it

We began by defining the core player experience before designing systems. The first step was creating a Player Journey Map that focused on the player's first fifteen minutes and established the emotional arc of curiosity, responsibility, tension, anxiety, and relief.

From there we identified the minimum viable product needed to prove the core loop:

Resource gathering
Warmth management
Inventory and storage
Village progression
Villager needs
Day-to-day survival

We then created a production plan that prioritized testing the gathering and return-home loop before expanding progression systems and village content. Visual concepts were developed alongside gameplay concepts to ensure the art direction, user interface, and emotional tone all supported the same experience.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was balancing cozy and survival gameplay.

Early concepts either felt too relaxing or too punishing. Through iteration we focused on creating tension without harsh failure states. Instead of relying on combat or permanent setbacks, we explored consequences that reinforce the game's themes, such as losing resources after collapsing or seeing the impact of neglected villagers on the village itself.

Another challenge was maintaining a realistic scope. Many ideas were exciting but would have expanded development beyond what was necessary to validate the core loop. We continually refined the design to focus on the features that directly supported the player experience.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of creating a concept that combines cozy village building with meaningful survival decisions.

We developed a complete player journey, visual identity, production roadmap, and progression structure that all support the same central theme: surviving together.

We are also proud of the emotional focus of the design. The village is not simply a backdrop; it is the reason players venture into the Whiteout. Every resource gathered has a purpose, and every improvement reflects the player's contribution to helping the community endure until Spring.

What we learned

This project reinforced the importance of designing around a clear core loop.

By focusing on what the player repeatedly does and how those actions make them feel, we were able to evaluate ideas more effectively and avoid adding features that did not strengthen the experience.

We also learned how valuable early planning artifacts can be. Creating a journey map, visual concept package, and production plan helped reveal design problems before development began and allowed us to make more informed decisions.

What's next for Until Spring

Future development would expand the village, add additional villager types, deepen progression systems, and introduce new winter challenges that evolve throughout the season.

Additional content could include new resource locations, village upgrades, seasonal events, and more meaningful relationships with villagers.

Our long-term goal is to create a survival experience where players feel genuine responsibility for the community they are helping to protect, making the arrival of Spring feel earned through the choices they made throughout the winter.