Hearth is the first game in my 10 Games in 10 Weeks challenge that I made for myself. It wasn’t part of any game jam or any class project, I just wanted a space to breathe. Sometimes I feel confined in New York City even though I generally love it. Buildings tower over me with no sort of nature in sight. Hearth became that space I could return to nature and just talk with my little sentient forest friend. The narrative of this game aimed to ask questions. How do you feel? What are you dealing with right now? I wanted the player to feel like those feelings are validated because often our emotional reactions are unreasonable. I wanted to aim at telling the player that those reactions are important no matter what because despite how hard we try, we can’t help how we feel. However, regulation of those emotions is important to maintaining a sense of good and morality. The Hearth is within all of us. It’s a place we go to express ourselves to someone who may not understand but acknowledges us. The fox is our self-awareness of our emotional state and a reminder to keep those emotions in check, in a space where it’s safe to release them. As my first attempt at a narrative game, I am happy with the outcome though I wish I had more time for the player to express themselves.