Winterfall is a sandbox RPG influenced, gameplay-wise, by experiences as diverse as Mount and Blade, Mass Effect, DayZ, The Sims, the Elder Scrolls games and, of course, the latter Ultima games (7, 8 and Online), set in a fictional late antiquity/early dark ages setting. Contrary to most RPGs where the player is in control of a single hero character from beginning to end, the focus of Winterfall is on a House, or Household, which is grown and developed through deeds performed by the player's successive characters.
One of the deliberate world design decisions is to build environments that seem real in their overall disposition. Quaint, charming, cozy places out of an ideal fantasy tale as well as harsher, drier and more mineral places that evoke the sense of ordeal and adventure, but never in the customary outlandish and unrealistic way that have become video game tropes. Nature itself and its denizens are formidable enough in the first place that they do not need to be twisted and shaped into unbelievable forms to offer settings of adventure, refuge of dangers, and dwellings of evil.
They look splendid! Happy to see that you managed to add such great quality rivers!
Thoroughly lovely, as usual!