Dreams of Cybernetic Singularity (in progress)

A Role-Playing and Simulation Sci-fi Game in a haunted retro-future world

The game explores the cybernetic approach to creating an intelligent system that aims for self-regulation and autonomy, naturally venturing into the realm of posthumanism.

Ultimately, however, it emphasizes the limits of human intellectual capacity.

Cognition, while not exclusive to humans, prove incredibly challenging to create artificially—even in the game's fictional world setting.

The player protagonist's quest to create cognition and intelligence challenges the artificial distinction between humans and other entities based on rational thinking abilities.

This game culminates all my learning experiences.

It not only challenges my skills in designing mechanics and interactions but also encapsulates my fascination with cognitive systems, my interest in interdisciplinary theories, and, above all, my passion for telling this story through different modes of INTERACTION.

Project type

Game

Roles

mechanics design, level design, concept artist, UI/UX design, narrative writing, environment design. project manager

… and whatever comes up necessary

Team

Muchen G.

Phoebe W., Software Engineer

ZK, Software Engineer

Timeline

August 2024 - present

This project is in its early stages of conception. No formal deliverables. Everything’s just beginning to take shape.

But if you are interested in reading about my attempts for delivering this story, I'd be honored to share it with you.

Concept Sketches

[lab.magiconch.com][90s-time-machine]-1727738537540.jpg

Game Overview

The player experiences the story of an abject researcher who wants to prove their worth by creating an intelligent system. With their digital assistant, Eidos, the player simulates the experiment process by constructing NETWORKS.

Each level starts with an empty NETWORK, a specific milestone goal toward cognition, and a set of potential COMPONENTS. The player aims to construct a NETWORK that not only performs well in all 3 metrics (Intelligence, Adaptability, Efficiency) but its functionalities also adheres to the goal of the level by choosing the most appropriate COMPONENTS.

Gameplay loops

Key Fun:

Emergent Narrative: As the player chooses their own COMPONENTS, they craft their own sci-fi approach of creating the AI

Deciphering the COMPONENTS: Each COMPONENT’s attribute is HIDDEN, while the aggregate attributes from currently chosen COMPONENTS are shown. Player must form conjecture about the COMPONENT’s stats via its name & description. The player is rewarded for deducing COMPONENTS that complement each other in their purpose and function

Explore the Technical Archive: In this haunted retro-future world, the player can converse with every technological object to gain insights uniquely related to its nature that informs the AI construction mission.

Mechanics Iterations

This page will be updated (still organizing the design documentation)

Check back any time for more!

The project's most challenging aspect is undoubtedly my obsession with designing a very specific gameplay experience that captures a predetermined narrative—a researcher desperately trying every possible method to build artificial intelligence.

Conventional wisdom suggests first brainstorming fun gameplay, then designing a story to enhance it. However, my reverse approach—being deeply attached to a story in my head and trying to design gameplay to make it more visceral through interaction—creates a new design challenge alongside making the mechanics fun.

This approach might hinder creating a fun game. Yet, the core motivation for this passion project is to tell this specific narrative, and I believe a game is the most suitable medium (not comics, a novel, or animation). Since this is my first game—and they say "your first 10 games are always going to be bad"—I'm embracing this great limitation. The game mechanics MUST serve to highlight the researcher's experience in the narrative. I'm stubbornly imposing this constraint on myself to see where it leads me.