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Important Disclaimer:

The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe), while a fantasy story, is textually and thematically grounded in the historic experiences of the Irish people at the hands of the British empire.

Our game cannot be divorced from this context, nor will it be forgotten.

 

THE YEAR IS 1845

…and you are on your way to Galway. The harvest has been poor; too poor. Your dear father and sweet mother can barely afford to pay that good-for-nothing landlord’s rent, let alone on the yield of half-spoiled produce. You have been entrusted with all that the family has of value: Mamó’s doilies, your Sunday best, old family heirlooms. It pains you to sell them, but you must. You must. There’s no choice in the matter if you’re to survive the winter.

Your journey is, at first, uneventful. The roads are unusually quiet for the season, and it makes for an unnerving ride alone, in the dark. You want to get to the port city fast, but just as it begins to appear on the horizon, your horse grows weary and demands a short rest. Against your better judgment, you dismount and lead the old mare to the riverside for a drink.

Suddenly, there’s a sound in the woods.

You are unarmed, but with much to lose. Cautiously, you grab a wayward branch from the ground and approach the dense thicket, gently prodding at the underbrush. There is nothing there, of course. It is only your imagination; a little bird in the foliage. You turn around again, but find yourself staring.

Someone, a stranger, has just swung into your horse’s saddle.

The hooded thief says nothing and takes off, disappearing into the darkness, but you will not be shaken off so easily. Dipping and swerving through the trees, you pursue the thief with as much fervour as you can muster — after all, though you are tired, lives hang in the balance of your saddlebag.

You lose sight of the thief, but come to a clearing with a lake that bubbles and froths. The water is strange, vibrant red, and on all sides of the lake are jagged, tooth-like stones. It perplexes you, distracts you — draws you in close.

You feel a push from behind and lose your balance, plunging you deep into the water. It is warm, but not hot. You struggle for a moment, but soon find the air again and scramble ashore.

When you look up, you’re not in Ireland anymore.

Now trapped inside the world of Tír na nÓg, home to the descendants of the Old Gods, a legendary people of a thousand names—

Tuatha Dé Danann. Tribe of Danu.

Aes Sídhe. The Fairies.

Na Daoine Maithe. The Good People.

—you soon find yourself in the midst of a centuries old conflict, a battle of blood against blood. Two courts, six lives entangled; can you find your stolen belongings and make your way home again? Or will you be lost inside this strange, war-torn country forever? Makes allies to help you uncover the secrets of this land’s storied past — or perhaps even your own — but act fast. Time is strange here; you never know when it will run out.

 

PLAY OUR DEMO


 

Download Now on Steam & Itch.io

In January 2023, The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe) was successfully funded on Kickstarter. While our full game is in development, interested parties can play our free demo out now on Steam and Itch.io! It consists of 2.5-3 hours of game play, and aims to introduce players to the story and world of Tír na nÓg.

Note: Older variations of visual assets may appear in the demo that are not present in online previews or the full product.

 

MEET THE CAST


 

FAQs

What is The Good People?

The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe) is a lore-rich, choice-driven visual novel inspired by Irish mythology and Celtic folklore. Play as an Irish tenant farmer from the mid-19th century, whose path becomes inexplicably entwined with fairy affairs after getting robbed by the roadside and lured into the mythic and war-torn world of Tír na nÓg: A once unified land, now divided into the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Will you escape with your stolen belongings? Or does fate have something else in mind?

Who can play?

Anyone, of course! The main character’s gender is determined by the player, and the six route characters will consist of two men, two women, and two non-binary folk.

What’s TGP/NDM’s rating?

We haven’t been officially rated by any outside organization, but the full game will be considered “mature” (for adults) due to its themes and subject matter. There is no explicit content.

Where can I learn more about TGP/NDM?

Our Twitter and Tumblr pages! If you want a more in-depth look at our game as it develops, we’d suggest following us on both platforms.

What is TGP/NDM inspired from in Irish myths? How accurate is it?

The Good People takes inspiration from a variety of stories and cycles in Irish mythology, but the mythological cycle / Lebor Gabála Érenn is the primary basis of the setting and story. That said, creative liberties have been taken for the purpose of our game: Not only for the story’s sake, but also frankly out of necessity. Irish myths are extremely varied, often contradictory, and difficult to pin down in terms of “accuracy” due to most of these stories being originally passed down via the oral tradition. As such, the accessible historical records of these tales were often transcribed (and biased) by colonial forces. However, this context has been kept in mind throughout our creation process, so it is our hope that The Good People does the spirit of the myths justice. We would also strongly encourage everyone to look into the mythology for themselves, and consider learning a little Gaelige!

Is this game political?

Everything’s political. ;)

When will it be released?

We publicly launched free, 3-hour demo on Steam and Itch.io. As for the full game, it’s currently in development! We were successfully funded on Kickstarter in January 2023.

Horse time?

Horse time.