AI / Human Collaboration

 Our continued focus on emerging AI technology has significantly accelerated the development of Epimetheus this year. There is an enormous amount of demanding, detail-heavy work required to release a pilot game on schedule. By integrating AI into our workflow, we’ve been able to streamline processes that would otherwise consume countless additional hours.

We may not have boarded the Bitcoin train when it left the station — and yes, we can admit that stings a little — but adaptability is a far more valuable long-term skill than timing alone. So consider us enthusiastic passengers on this new frontier known as AI. The tools are powerful, and we intend to use them wisely.

Beyond our collaboration with AI, our contributor Timothy has stepped forward in a major way. He is currently producing cinematic introductions for each of the races of Aborlon — videos that may ultimately become part of the pilot game itself. His deep understanding of modern gaming design, combined with his unmatched familiarity with the world of Epimetheus, is injecting fresh energy into production. Creative alignment like this is rare, and we’re building momentum from it.

China recently released public access to its AI platform, Kimi K. While its art generation wasn’t particularly useful for our needs, it proved surprisingly effective in helping us construct the foundational structure of our pilot game in HTML, CSS, and TypeScript. That said, TypeScript presents a hurdle. As Developer-Producer, my primary technical focus has been HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — not TypeScript. To bridge that gap, we’re transitioning the codebase into JavaScript, leveraging AI once again to assist in the conversion. It’s a practical solution that keeps progress moving forward.

If you want to see the evolution firsthand, explore the Nations and Regions within the World Lair section of the site. Yes, it requires reading — a daring act in the modern era — but the depth is worth it. AI has helped refine and expand a world filled with distinct races, layered conflicts, and natural wonders. It hasn’t replaced creativity; it has amplified it.

We’re grateful to everyone following along as Epimetheus continues to grow — in story, in scope, and in ambition. If you’re interested in contributing or joining the team, reach out at nathan.epimetheus@gmail.com  We welcome thoughtful critique as much as collaboration. Strong foundations are built through both.

Until the next post — God bless.

Updates

Our gaze has settled on pushing forward with learning full-stack web development so as to utilize JavaScript to build the pilot game. In this manner we can keep the development relatively simple while still displaying our unique approaches. While JS is not necessarily the final language that will be used to build the  pilot, it feels like a natural progression to the HTML classes that have been studied thus far.

Input from other, more experienced, programmers will play a big part in the direction of the platform. Keep in mind that this is the first game that the Developer Producer has ever built. A lifetime of experiencing games and a solid familiarity with the Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) fantasy lore may have provided a stable foundation for the world's concept, but it has done very little to aide in development of the game mechanics. Though understanding the basic mechanics of the dice is no small contribution.

With 61% of the Udemy class on HTML and CSS completed, our gaze is excitedly darting to the free lessons on JavaScript through freecodecamp.org. The instructor, Brad Traversy, has provided not only a thorough learning course but has gone above and beyond by introducing us to many of the peripheral approaches to website deployment as well as available resources. Life's constant hurdles continue to complicate our efforts, but many great accomplishments have been forged in the fires of adversity.

Plenty of the fundamental concepts like races, trades, classes, maps and religion have already been fleshed out. So this has been crucial in the expedient completion of our game design documentation. Tackling the skill matrixes has always been a...less than desired task. It is a time consuming, low reward endeavor. but a lack of employment has lent itself well to providing large swaths of otherwise unoccupied chunks of time. On this note the technology matrix for the pilot game has been built.

We cannot say that this matrix is written in stone as the general consensus is that restriction stifles creativity and creativity is the blood that gives life to a game. Nonetheless, we have an applaudable start. The "Husbandry" tree needs to be better incorporated into the overall game. We suspect that as features are developed there will be a greater network of relations between all of the tech trees.

If you are following along we would love to hear what you think about the progress thus far. Every bit of incite and opinion we receive is a benefit to the team. The more input we get the more well-rounded the game will be at the time of launch. So no matter how trivial you might think your input would be, it is considered priceless to us. So drop a comment or email us at nathan.epimetheus@gmail.com

Huh?!? What did ya say!?!

 It is time to start running collaborative polls again!!!

We are going to begin fleshing out each nation in Aborlon, one at a time. You can find brief descriptions of each nation in the "World" lair on our blog. In those descriptions you will find government structures, political figureheads, key military units for that nation, and a short history of that people. Major characters that will be found in game are going to be developed, military armory sets will be crafted, family crests and back-stories will be woven, lore behind relics will be tied into historical racial conflicts.We will build renowned establishments, sing of Heroes long gone and document some of the most influential family legacies in Aborlonian history. 

Our aim is to complete a nation in 90 days. That's a lot of work in three short months. But even with that quick turn-around we still have a projected end-date of around spring 2024!!

At the start of each 90 day milestone our Facebook fans will decide which race gets attention next.Not a member of our Facebook group? Well just send us a request with the special code word "MECHANICS" included in your message for instant access! No fees, no taxes and no gimmicks! Guaranteed! Sincerely, Nathan Developer Producer

nathan.epimetheus@gmail.com

Future Goals

Image 1

 Hey there everyone, this is your friendly neighborhood Developer Producer Nathan. I wanted to take some time to update this lair. There have been many fun and exciting updates in this project. The art team has wrapped up icons, delivered wildlife assets, expanded the armory, produced a three-dimensional globe of the "Amazing World of Epimetheus™", laboriously crafted numerous data maps, and even knocked out a Halloween asset for our Facebook page. 

Image 2

  As these assets are crafted the need for consistency grows evermore. To aid our art team's efforts a digital color pallet has been crafted. This allows our artists a quick color reference and keeps our colors uniform. Given the nature of this blog, we are of course providing this pallet to our volunteers as well. In Image 2 you will see a compact version of the pallet. 

There are still dozens of original artwork images that need to be remastered. Artwork is preferred to be saved in .png format. There is also a folder with templates available for your own art contributions! If you are interested in obtaining the full pallet and/or folder of templates please email us.

Unfortunately, we are discontinuing our website. This is based on several factors. It is the right call at this time, but we will revisit this feature when the opportunity arises. We will maintain all of the files for the site and continue pumping assets out. 

Image 3

There was an executive decision made to set our first public game release as a browser game. This will get the audience familiar with our basic game concepts. For example the available races, materials, our lineage-avatar approach, the religion matrix, the various classes, the numerous trades, and how they all work together. However, the browser game will be a turn-based strategy, with comic-strip theatrical storylines. Something funny and yet simple enough to do.

If you have ever played Paper Mario, then you know how we can simplify the entire browser game while weighing in on energetic sound effects, modern slang, slapstick humor, and a wide variety of two-dimensional art assets. This plays in nice with the art direction of a disney-like approach. So long as the Marvel Universe continues to expand there will be a large market of comic fans.

Our first kiosk will be at a Comic-Con. It is the perfect place to gain exposure. Even if it is not received well it will still be out there. So a top-notch kiosk will have to be built, transported, and manned. That goal is 2026 or the nearest Comic-Con thereafter.

We want to hear from you. Can you believe that? No? Well, my shy and humble friend we do. Are you full of optimism about our direction? Or maybe you loathe the very idea of an open sandbox RPG on a grand scale? Whether it be to gripe or swipe, be it vibe-bolstering or vibe-killing, throw it at us. All emails can be sent to nathan.epimetheus@gmail.com

Grand Opening

Introducing The new Mechanics page! As the needs of the blog have grown so too has our approach to getting the necessary content out there for others to see. In an attempt to make elements of this project more manageable we have expanded our blogs scope.

This "Creative Lair" is specifically set-up for aspiring programmers and software engineers. While we are still in the first phase of preproduction a coding language has yet to be determined. Ultimately we are hoping to have a final product written in a language that is not only recognized by quantum computers but exploits the power of quantum computing.

The World of Epimetheus is designed as a fully simulated environment, complete with weather patterns, biomes, wildlife, vegetation and a unique faith system. The strain that this would put on a conventional server would be too much for it to bear efficiently. Mobs will not be sitting idly in their vectors waiting for a player to enter their vector to be activated, they will be functioning, affecting the game environment and even propagating in real time. With millions of mobs and thousands of players all taxing the server at once, quantum computers are the only way to go.

This should excite anyone wanting to get into programming, as quantum computers are an amazing technology that is still under development. So if you want to be on the cutting edge of technology, this is the place to be.

As always please feel free to send us your feedback or share with us any interest you might have in the project. Team Epimetheus is always looking to recruit aspiring: game developers, artists, and programmers. There are even mechanical elements that have no need for artistic or programming skill. You can find a list of contact information on the 'About Us' page and a variety of ways in which YOU can help make this game come alive by going to the 'Contribute' page.