Deep Roots

Deep Roots is a farm-life RPG for people who long for a more grounded, systemic, and slightly melancholic spirit from the genre's origins.
Palmlight is a town already in motion. Across six seasons, its weather changes, markets fluctuate, families struggle and recover, businesses come and go, and the choices you make ripple into the community.
What you grow, who you help, and how you choose to make your living all influence what Palmlight becomes.
Get to know its residents, build a life of your own, and grow with the families who call Palmlight home.

SIX LIVING SEASONS
Crops, wildlife and weather respond to six different ecological seasons and their weather patterns.
A TOWN IN MOTION
Families, businesses and opportunities are always doing something. Your actions influence if they come, go or stick around.
BUILD A LIVELIHOOD
Turn farmlands into specialized industries to expand what you can produce.
AN ECONOMY YOU PARTICIPATE IN
Supply, scarcity, your own production, weather, and annual trends influence what is valuable for the season.

Palmlight is a coastal town nestled behind mountains, away from the rest of the country. Early settlers were refugees seeking asylum who stumbled upon its rich fertile land. Far from the war they escaped, the people built up a hidden safe haven that flourished long after the war ended.
While the settlers spent their first year in the mountain basin, they experienced stark contrasts of weather and animal behaviors. Even more ethereal, the crystals up high on the mountains cast morning colors that change with the angle of the sun throughout the year. This morning's spectacle that shifted across six seasonal patterns, resting in the palm of the mountain basin's hand, was then named "Palmlight".
Many generations later, you as a player have been gifted a plot of land in Palmlight thanks to your grandfather... Yes he is still alive! Don't be so pessimistic. He cashed out his local business to retire and bought you and your folks some land. But you'll find that the splendid town is reliant on imported goods to keep up with the tourist demand and it is straining the locals. Will you revitalize the economy and help the town become self-sufficient once more?

Throughout the world, many cultures and continents recognize a myriad of seasons. Most only observe the four seasons as we know them today of course. But have you ever wondered why it is still hot in fall or cold in spring? Those transitions between seasons that never seem to align with your expectations are in fact their own seasons.
Some countries only experience Dry and Wet seasons. Some countries, more than 24 seasons are observed for cultural purposes. However, more and more, cultures begin to forget these across generations.
The Six Seasons are actually real and observed seasons across the globe. These are not game names. Many green thumbs who focus on agriculture benefit when they discover the six seasons. Growing crops is easier to predict and track. Even the behavior of wildlife is more predictable!

The four seasons follow math and the solar system; The six seasons are observed in nature. 
In Deep Roots, the six seasons are broken down even further with sub-seasonal and lunar phases that influence crops, fish, animals, and weather patterns.
Much of the culture of the people in Palmlight also celebrates the changing of the seasons. So much of the six seasons are a part of the culture and life of the people. Tourists often visit Palmlight to observe the famous Six Seasons when they too wish to learn about and experience it.

At the start of a new game, you can design your character to be whoever you wish to be. 
In game, you can change clothes, change your hair. Go to a local shop to buy new clothing!

Every starting home has a different theme. You can change the look and feel as you purchase upgrades from the lumberyard. Some farms can only upgrade once, but larger farms can upgrade the house up to five levels of sizes and features.

When you begin Deep Roots, you will select where in town you wish to live. As you progress through the game, you will be allowed to purchase the other plots of land to help specialize and grow multiple industries.

As you progress through the stories of families, leveling up and discovering new ways to unlock features in the game, You can dedicate farmland to specific specialties for bonuses and access to warehouse construction.
Warehouses can take everyday commodities or produce and turn them into even more valuable goods! Stone into concrete or chalk. Fruits and Berries into Wine or Spirits. Grains into flour and animal feed. Wool into clothing. You will need the help of other villagers to maintain the warehouse.

Meet and get to know some of the residents even deeper through events, gifts, and individual stories to learn about who they are as people. You will have to win over the hearts of their families too. But once a happy family is bound together, family can also help on your farm.
Emotions matter greatly. Don't take your relationships for granted. Break hearts and you might never see them again. And who knows, perhaps complicated but mutual connections may lead to unique love triangles.

The villagers of Palmlight are hanging on. The once bustling town is now reduced to those still holding onto hope. Get to know the villagers and their individual stories to help them bring back the town to its familiar splendor.

Palmlight is full of vibrant people with deep stories to tell. As a player, you will help families through hard times and challenging situations. Help families and unlock facets of the game like new industries, more tools and access to new areas.
Not every playthrough has all of the same families at the beginning. You will have to help the town out to encourage more families to move into town. Bringing new romantic partners and new businesses along with them.

Palmlight is a popular tourist spot that brings people from all over who come to see the morning lights. A strip mall section of town from the train station down to the beach has been named "The Path" where tourists congregate for shopping, food and wine. The only remaining lucrative businesses are found on this strip as tourists never seem to venture much further away from it.

Get familiar with the Civics Center to pay attention to the funds in Palmlight. You get special access thanks to your grandfather to see how Palmlight is faring.
Every year, new market data will come out to set the economy for the year on what produce and goods might be more lucrative, what goods are in surplus or scarcity directly impart thanks to the crops you choose to grow.
The data will give you a hint about what to plan long term for the year when it comes to weather and industries to pursue. Every year is different and influenced by your actions.

Palmlight, being on the coast, experiences some fairly dynamic weather. Every season comes with its own set of weather patterns, and year by year, those patterns can shift a bit. But anticipate the weather to shift midday on occasion; Especially in more turbulent seasons.
Your local meteorologists are here to help! With new technologies, the weather report is quite reliable and you can check the weather for the upcoming week on your phone!

Palmlight is a culture of variance and vibrancy. Much like the colors cast across the mornings, so too are the residents just as colorful. Every season is host to multiple events and the year cycles on different cadenced themes. A common motif are the Days of Turning, Nights of Rise, and Hours of Vigil from the original settler's poems. Every final day of a season rotates to honor these.
"On days of Turning, the world loosens its grip.
On nights of Rise, the sky remembers every song.
On hours of Vigil, no burden is carried alone."
Additionally, Palmlight celebrates its own set of holidays and fairs:
Heartswake - A romantic holiday to exchange gifts
Livestock Show - Animal minigames and even a social dance with the animals
Green Revel - Tavern Holiday, a tourist favorite.
Bloomtide Fair - The largest event of the year. Flowers, Dancing, Picnics, Honey tastings, petting zoo, games.
Suncrest Carnival - Bonfires, Masks, Circuses, games
Fishing Derby - various games to win for the largest, rarest and bountiful fishing sessions
Founders Parade - Shops running discounts, everyone out with street displays, lots of food.
Market of Many Roads - Several stands for all kinds of rare finds, seeds, animals, and recipes from a travelling global market.
Guild Expo - Artisanal event for hobbyists and specialized industries.
Amber Barrel Festival - Tavern Holiday in the second half of the year, various games
Night of Returning Faces - Celebration of lost loved ones with a bit of tongue-in-cheek costume humor to scare away spirits with scary costumes.
Grand Makers Jubilee - Rare crafted goods, overall farm scoring, competitions, champion livestock, bugs collected, pets, etc.
Longest Night Vigil - Night time event with fire dancing, storytelling, and food.

and dozens more!

The forest holds many mysteries throughout Palmlight. The original settlers claimed that there were folk who lived in the forest and originally taught the settlers how to cultivate and safely cook many native species of plants. 
Today, only a handful of residents hold these stories to be true while most write it off just some fun fables. But you as a player will quickly run across a spirited individual who keeps watch in the forest. Seek them out to share crops and goods. They'll share knowledge and stories of the forest with you as well.