Project Introduction

Imagine you're a 12 year old, suddenly in charge of the guard shed at the castle gate, where you decide if elves, goblins and 100+ other characters should be admitted.

At its core, Lil’ Guardsman is a narrative game and our mission was to tell a great story with it. The prevailing wisdom is that comedy in games is a challenge because comedy is timing, and in interactive media the player can dictate or manipulate that timing. We faced this challenge by treating the game’s scripts like a television comedy writing room. Our focus as a group was to centre the way a player interacts with the core game loop from day one to guarantee that the humour shone through.

A core tenet of Lil' Guardsman's design is to make failing fun, and to integrate ‘bad’ choices into the humour and tone of the game. Lil’ Guardsman encourages exploration and experimentation, with game over and rewind mechanics integrated into the narrative making ‘failing fun’.

The game is played across 12 levels, with approximately 65 turns (aka guard-shed interrogations). With up to 60 unique paths to pursue in some turns, there’s lots to see. Our game is satisfying to the player who wants to breeze through the story, but it also contains surprising depth for the player who wants to explore, experiment and test its limits.

About Developer

Hilltop Studios was founded by two best friends in Toronto, Canada. Several games later, we are an international team of experienced devs, artists, and creatives. We make great games that blend exceptional storytelling with great mechanics.

Hilltop is currently in pre-production on its next game and is always excited to connect with publishers and investors. Reach out to [email protected] and [email protected] to say hi!