401.7 Building Parrah: Deepening the World of "Immutable Aeon"

The idea for modality was solidified in CIM407. My goal is clear: I want to bring the joys of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPG) to video gamers, not the other way around. This approach flips the conventional paradigm, where video games often inspire TTRPG adaptations. Instead, I'm focused on translating the rich, immersive, and collaborative experience of TTRPGs into the digital realm, creating a hybrid that captures the best of both worlds.

The Essence of TTRPGs

TTRPGs are all about shared storytelling, collaborative world-building, and deep, character-driven narratives. Players gather around a table (real or virtual), guided by a Game Master (GM) who weaves the story and sets the stage for epic adventures. The beauty of TTRPGs lies in their flexibility and the unique experiences they offer, shaped by the players' decisions and creativity.

My Game's purpose is still to fix the pain points as researched in CIM407, and to follow game design principles of teaching without teaching. Today, players want to pick up a game and play. Currently most TTRPG involves reading a 200 page book to learn the rules and settings before even sitting down at the table for a "session zero" to create a character.

To solve these pain points and capture the TTRPG essence, the game will focus on rich, branching storylines that allow players to make impactful choices, that, behind the scenese, will create and develop their characters, and multiplayer mode for cooperative play, mirroring the collaborative nature of TTRPGs. It will also function as a character companion app when played at the table, eliminating the need for dice and character sheets. It can also link into a Digital table top.

GMs are essential to the TTRPG experience, and "Immutable Aeon" will provide them with tools to craft and guide their stories. This includes campaign-building tools for designing settings, real-time control for adjusting scenarios, and interactive assets like virtual maps, tokens, and dice rollers to enhance storytelling and immersion. These will be released as campaign packs, and include location maps with detailed descriptions, NPC's with character profiles and models, and story line hooks, each revealing a new aspect of the world. These tools will be a future iteration, and only a minor feature in the initial launch.

Developed in Unity, the game will feature both top-down view port, to accomodate co-op play, as well as a first-person/XR view for solo play, catering to both strategic planning and immersive exploration. An innovative character creator will allow players to design the look of their in-game characters and future iterations will allow them to generate STL files for 3D printing, merging the digital and physical worlds. The actions the player takes in the world will shape their character incrementally - this mirrors reality where the more you do something, the better you get at it - rather than a points buy levelling system like DnD has. (Get 300xp, and have a level up, and suddenly, your character knows how to shoot a bow very well)

Beyond the initial setting of Parrah, future expansions include sky cities of the Corpo faction, AI core locations, and other factions like the Reborn and the Awakened, living in unique areas like the Brambles. To support continuous development, a Patreon model could be adopted, with each new iteration or expansion as a subscription goal, ensuring ongoing growth and community involvement.