The Story
In the future, Earth has been relegated to an overpopulated and corrupt refinery in an otherwise barren region of space by the galactic community. Primarily facilitating the transition of imported Tetrazite, an exotic deep space metal, into Zenon (ZNN) — the interstellar standard. A currency used by every civilization in the known universe.
Weak governments and social upheaval has ushered in an age of dystopianism. A world in which monopolistic corporations make the rules. Having normalized space travel with advancements in genetic engineering and propulsion, humanity set out to champion the frontier in hopes of discovering a new purpose.
The Game
Apsis Online is a minimalist multi-user roguelike (MUR) based on the First Paradise project. The game is still early in development but is presented as a series of both multiplayer and single-player “sequences” set in a dark science-fiction universe.
You are a voyager. A human, mentally and physically augmented for a new life in deep space. Your mission is to carve out a place for humanity among the stars. A largely hostile environment. Build outposts with resources found at the farthest reaches of the frontier itself. Survive, create new economies from scratch, earn money and recruit others to join you.
Platform & Aesthetics
Borrowing its likeness from the classic depiction of a player-character dating back to the original Rogue. [at]Space is a game engine and social network. Built for speed and security by geeks for geeks who have a love for the command-line. Rendered in a sharp colorful ASCII style for the purist in all of us. Join the conversation!
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Worldbuilding & Economics
What is a good multiplayer game without a solid foundation in the form of game lore and player-driven stories? Apsis Online is built as a roguelike with procedurally generated events, planets and even perma-death. But don’t worry! Your wealth will always be saved to your account not the character.
Inspired by the likes of Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead and Dwarf Fortress but carrying with it the literary spirit of multi-user dungeons like Gemstone IV. For years the underlying goal has been to consistently flesh out the game’s backstory through a combination of contributing to a growing wiki and even writing short stories.
For a while there were micro-fiction contests submitted by users before the platform for hosting these shut down (RIP Desura!). It was at this point that @Space was conceived. The hope is to continue expanding on the idea of both user and A.I-generated stories in order to build a more immersive experience (despite the graphics!).
The inclusion of the experimental cryptocurrency (Zenon: ZNN) also makes for an interesting dynamic. This being the latest and most upcoming addition (V5) to the project. Players will be able to earn the platform-issued Tetra (T). By game canon, created as the result of refining the rare space metal Tetrazite alongside lesser Earth materials creating an alloy and sub-currency used primarily by humans.
Tetras will be pegged tokens, with a 1000:1 tie to the USD. This means that reserves will be kept as players will be able to swap their earned Tetras for Zenon at a fixed exchange rate. Players will also be able to purchase Tetra for Zenon using an in-game marketplace.
This is not a new idea and was in fact inspired by many existing mmorpgs (like Entropia Universe or Second Life) with very dynamic economics that the players themselves can ultimately benefit from outside the confines of the game world itself. Apsis Online is just doing it with crypto!
Read on for more details!
Links & Resources
