Introducing Vatra

In Romanian, a vatra is the hearth: the fire at the centre of a home, and, by extension, the heart of a village. Vatra is a game about keeping one alive.

What it is

Vatra is a cozy co-op village-defence game set in a small valley in the Romanian mountains. A few friends come home to a village that has been falling apart. By day you gather, build and help the ten villagers who stayed. By night you defend the village fire, the vatra, because it is the one thing keeping the dark out.

A run lasts a few evenings and ends in a final siege. If the vatra goes out, the valley starts over. The village doesn’t forget you entirely, though: the Chronicle keeps what happened, and the villagers half-remember you the next time you walk in.

The vision

The days are long and calm. The nights are short, tense and fair: you should always be able to see what is coming and understand why the fire fell.

The nights are meant to belong to Romanian folklore: strigoi rising from the ground, a vârcolac that eats the lantern light, the iele singing a child out of his bed. We are not there yet. Today’s nights bring raiders and slimes, and the old creatures are the next big piece of work.

The tone is warm with a melancholy edge. The comedy comes from the villagers — Vasile’s pride, Petru’s haggling, the boys’ mischief — and loss is treated gently.

Made for friends, with friends

Vatra is being made for a small group of friends who play together on a set evening, and it is being shaped by playing it with them. Worlds are private and by invitation, and the world waits for you: when nobody is online, nothing moves and no night falls.

Early days

The game is in development and changes every week. There is nothing to download here yet. When there is something worth sharing, it will show up in this devlog first.