From Homesteading in the Canadian Wilderness to Developing an Indie Farming Video Game

It is deeply satisfying to see the results of your summer homesteading efforts in a store filled with homemade jams and a pantry full of canned food. For homesteaders, this is what makes the homesteading lifestyle so empowering.

Homesteading often involves taking things out of your lifestyle as well as adding new ones, so be sure to audit your life regularly.

From Homesteading in the Middle of Nowhere to Creating a Farming Game: My Personal Journey with Cornucopia

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share the story of how my game, Cornucopia, came to be.

It all started when I was a kid and I became obsessed with farming games like Harvest Moon 64 and Harvest Moon: Back to Nature. I spent hours upon hours playing them and learning everything I could about farming. And as I grew older, I became more and more determined to bring that passion to life.

So, I packed up my bags and headed off to the middle of nowhere in Canada to homestead for three long years. It was an incredible (and slightly insane) experience. I raised a jersey cow, bred pigs, hatched chickens, and even had two dogs (including a bulldog that is your dog in the game!!). And yes, before you ask, I was a vegan at the time and refused to eat any of the animals I was raising. It was a strange time in my life, but I was determined to live out my farming dreams to the fullest.

**Rufus my Livestock Guardian Dog (The Farmer Rufus is named after him)**

But let me tell you, living in the middle of nowhere in Canada has its challenges, especially during the winter. It was brutally cold, with temperatures dropping to a bone-chilling -45 degrees. I almost froze to death on more than one occasion, I don’t know how wild animals can survive in such intense cold!

But it wasn’t just the cold that presented challenges on the farm. I also had to deal with the occasional animal predator. For a while, I had a few chickens and ducks that kept disappearing, and I would find blood everywhere on the grass outside. I eventually figured out that it must be a fox or a coyote that was causing the trouble, so I bought a cruelty-free box trap and set it out. And sure enough, I caught the culprit – a sly fox.

I knew I couldn’t just leave the fox to suffer in the trap, so I decided to drive it far away and release it back into the wild.

It was just one of the many unique and interesting experiences I had during my homesteading adventures.

In addition to raising chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, a cow, goats and more, I also had 13 bee colonies on the farm. I spent a lot of time caring for the bees and harvesting their honey, which I sold at the local farmers market. It was a lot of work, but I loved every minute of it.

However, not everyone at the farmers market was a fan of my honey. There was an angry old honey seller who tried to drive me out of business, even though I wasn’t really making a profit. On one occasion he got right in my face and tried to intimidate me, and I think even got his elderly friends too as well. But I stuck to my guns and continued to sell my honey.

It was experiences like these that inspired the creation of Cornucopia. I used my custom game engine to develop early prototypes of the game while I was out on the farm. And as I went about my daily tasks, I met a wide range of quirky and diverse individuals who eventually inspired some of the characters in the game.

But the cast of characters in Cornucopia isn’t limited to just those I met on the farm. I also drew inspiration from family members and people I met throughout my life. So in addition to the quirky farmers and homesteaders, you’ll also find a cast of lovable (and sometimes eccentric) family members and friends.

Now, I bring my passion and expertise to Cornucopia, a game that allows players to experience the joys (and struggles) of farming firsthand. And if you’re a vegan like I was at the time, don’t worry, you won’t have to worry about eating any of your virtual farm animals either.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my journey with Cornucopia. After my experiences I moved to Vancouver, Canada and have been loving the city life. It’s been a wild ride, and I can’t wait to see where the game takes me next.