World-Building TTRPG Style with Citizen Sleeper’s Refuge Update

Hello again, I’m Gareth Damian Martin, the (mostly) solo developer behind the indie Game Pass hit Citizen Sleeper. In July, I spoke on Xbox Wire about this topic. Flux, our first episodic update for the game, and I’m back today for RefugeThis is the second episode of our free three-part series on DLC.

Refuge Picks up from where Flux left off, deep within a refugee crisis that threatens the space station Erlin’s Eye. This update begins with a shocker. A sudden event changes the balance on the Eye. Players and their allies are forced to consider the future of the station.

While Flux The race against time was filled with high-pressure actions and hard decisions. Refuge It is more slow-paced and explorative. It allows you to access the refugee flotilla as well as meet characters from Ember’s moons, a gas giant located in another part of the Helion solar systems. What does this mean? Refuge This is an opportunity to share more information about the larger universe. Citizen SleeperEngage in the classic RPG game of world-building.

Yet, it’s all good. Citizen SleeperBecause I enjoy doing things differently, While I’ve been known to happily spend many hours reading codex lore entries for the likes of Mass Effect and Destiny 2As a programmer, I prefer to allow my characters to drive the worldbuilding. You can read more about In Refuge that means you’ll come to understand the wider context of the Helion system through the refugees you meet and the ships they travel on.

Many aspects are similar to Citizen SleeperThis is inspired from TTRPGs, or tabletop roleplaying games. An excellent Game Master won’t just dump on players a lot of lore in a typical session or campaign. They will use characters and environment descriptions to help the player understand the world.

Refuge is the Helion system being brought to the Eye by me through the voices of three characters: Sol (the reluctant leader), Petr (the steely engineer Petr) and Aki (the mysterious Aki). I really hope you’ll enjoy meeting these three and finding out more about them and the places they came from in this episode. I’ve worked hard to make them compelling windows into their worlds as well as distinct personalities, and as always our artist, Guillaume Singelin, has skillfully sketched them into existence.

But this is just the beginning. Citizen SleeperIt is a set of games in a world I am constantly building. Refuge The next stage in the story is now, but you can still look forward to the end of the series, which will have far-reaching implications for the whole solar system and everyone who lives within it.

What about after? This would just be too obvious. Good GMs know how to keep secrets. But let’s just say that the world of Citizen SleeperIt will grow and change as long as there are characters who can talk about it, new locations to send you, and players like you that want to see it all.

Thank you for listening to the latest episode. [email protected] or the game account @CitizenSleeper know what you think. I’ll see you again for the grand finale in 2023, but until then, good luck in Refuge We thank everyone who supported and played. Citizen SleeperIt’s your year!

Citizen Sleeper

A fellow traveler

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ROLEPLAYING IN THE RUINS OF INTERPLANETARY CAPITALISM

From the developer of In Other Waters, and featuring the stunning character art of Guillaume Singelin, Citizen Sleeper is a narrative RPG set on Erlin’s Eye, a ruined space station that is home to thousands of people trying to survive on the edges of an interstellar capitalist society.

A corporation wants to return you as a sleeper. You’re a digitalized human consciousness trapped in an artificial body. If you are to survive the next cycle, you will have to find friendships and earn your keep among the colorful and unfamiliar inhabitants of Eye.

LIFE IN ERLIN’S EYE
It is a abandoned station located at the edge of an unstable system. Anarchic alliances, broken factions, and the shared desire for freedom from corporate control keep it together.

DON’T HASTE. GET PAID. SURVIVE.
Every cycle, you decide how to spend your time. Find truths, make alliances or escape your hunters. You can survive, and then eventually prosper.

STAND UP TO FRIENDS
Characters from every walk of life can be found at The Eye. Salvagers, engineers, hackers and more – each has a history. Choose who you want to support and work together to shape your life.

ALLOW THEM TO PERFORM SPECIAL WORKS
Hack the station’s cloud to access data, new areas and secrets. This is your chance to make a difference in your life. You are waiting for corporate secrets, AIs that go rogue and treasure troves full of data.

YOU WERE MADE FOR DIE
Essen-Arp sees you as just another asset within their seemingly endless portfolio. You can escape your body’s decaying makers and create your own pathway in an imaginative sci-fi universe.

PLAYED INSPIRED BY THE TABLETOP ROLEPLAYING CASES
Citizen Sleeper makes use of dice, clocks, and drives to provide a player-driven experience where you can choose your own path within a rich, responsive world.

CITIZEN SEEPER EPISODES
The free episodic post-launch content will introduce new characters and places in a broader storyline. True to Citizen Sleeper’s TTRPG roots, these three episodes will offer an expansive campaign module that tells the longest and most complex story to be featured in the game to date.

In the first episode, FLUX, the first ships from a refugee flotilla arrive at Erlin’s Eye in response to pressures in the Helion system. The Eye is now experiencing a bizarre event called REFUGE. The flotilla will allow you to help stabilize the community and to learn more about this threat.

Your Sleeper, FLUX Event, and flotilla will be told in the final episode. It is expected to air early 2023.