Watch list: Shining Rock Softwares Banished

Banished on my mind

In March this year I read a post on Polygon.com about a game that had been in development for what is now two years. 

Banished, a city building strategy game about a group of exiled travellers who are starting over in a new land. The Alpha build that the feature was showing off looked incredible. In the short clip, the developer took us through some of the gameplay elements already in the game. Clip can be viewed here

Features like villagers having children, who then grow up to adults to working age are one of the big things that will hopefully set this game apart. Having to plant trees to renew the forests and season rotations will keep players planning ahead. Not only has it got interesting features and game mechanics, but it looks beautiful. 

The game is single handedly being developed by Luke, who left his job developing graphics engines on consoles to pursue a career as an independent developer. With the exception of the music in the game, Luke has designed and programmed ever inch of Banished, which is yet to have a release date. Just a rough guide of Summer 2013.

Head over to Shining Rock Software for more updates, videos and screenshots for Banished, and look out for the game when it gets released. I think it's going to be good.