Tree of Peace takes place on an island that is home to a goddess and a great tree. One day, the tree suddenly goes extremely dry and the goddess disappears. The Sprites, a group of helper creatures, call upon the player to farm the land, build relationships with other characters and, eventually, revive the tree and bring back the goddess.
All farming chores will be performed with direct controller motions. To till the player's garden's soil, for instance, they will swing the controller like a hoe. To water their plants, players will tilt the controller downwards as they would a bucket. The controller is expected to be used similarly when fishing and taking care of animals.
A few face buttons will be used as well. Left and right on the d-pad will be used for cycling between tools. Pushing down on the d-pad will disable all tools. The A button will be used to perform an action of some form; it has been presumed that this will be a general button for speaking with people or entering buildings.
Tree of Peace will include cows, sheep, goats, chickens, a dog, and a white cat. The Game's Japanese website shows pictures of: cows, horses, sheep, monkeys, bears, chickens, dogs, ostriches, and another animal lacking immediate identification (most likely an ermine), but it is not clear what the roles of some of these animals will be in the game.
You'll also use motion controls for two mini games: fishing and horseback riding. For fishing, you raise the Wiimote up and down to send out your line into the water. After a fish has bitten, you press A to bring it in. During the horseback riding sequences, you shake the nunchuck controller to adjust your speed as you aim to beat others to the goal.
In addition to the mini games, the Wii version of Harvest Moon will feature all the Harvest Moon style gameplay we've come to expect, right down to the ability to raise a family and produce offspring, who will then help out with your farming chores.
