Game Development: Modern Gothic Storypath System
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@Raistlin As a jaded old crum bum, sincerely wishing y’all the best!
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I finalized our mission statement today. I thought I’d post it here so others can gauge their interest in it.
Dark City emerges from a deep love of Gothic horror and its timeless narratives. The atmospheric dread of Dracula, the philosophical depths of Frankenstein, the visual poetry of Nosferatu, and the tragic humanity of the Wolf Man have all shaped this game’s soul. These classics don’t merely inspire Dark City—they infuse its very essence.
Our vision builds upon the foundation laid by games like World of Darkness and Chronicles of Darkness. As someone who has played Vampire since its 1991 debut, I deeply respect these games’ legacy. However, Dark City charts its own course. While WoD veterans will find familiar shadows to explore, they’ll discover fresh horrors and new possibilities lurking in these streets.
Accessibility stands as a cornerstone of Dark City’s design. Where other games layer complexity upon complexity, we strip away the unnecessary while preserving the essential. A vampire in Dark City is simply that—a creature of the night, free to be shaped by the player’s imagination rather than confined by predetermined clans or covenants. This philosophy extends throughout the game, offering a low barrier to entry while maintaining rich possibilities for character development.
Dark City embraces its mature nature. Created with adult players in mind, it provides a space where complex themes can be explored without compromise. Love, betrayal, violence, desire, friendship, and loss—all find their place in these shadowed streets. This is a game that acknowledges the sophisticated tastes of its audience while establishing clear boundaries through our Rules section.
At its core, Dark City exists to tell stories that haunt the imagination, challenge the heart, and explore the darkness that lies within us all. Whether you’re a veteran of Gothic horror gaming or taking your first steps into the night, Dark City welcomes you to its shadows.
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Posting here helps motivate me so here is the Theme file I just finished for the game.
Welcome to Dark City, where reality wears a cracked mirror’s smile.
Beneath the fluorescent glare of modern life lies another world—one where ancient horrors have adapted rather than faded. Here, Gothic spires pierce the sky between glass-and-steel towers, their shadows stretching like grasping fingers across urban sprawl. The sun seems perpetually filtered through a veil of gray, as if something vast and unseen drinks its light.
This is a world where monsters have learned to wear designer suits and send emails. Vampires don’t merely lurk in abandoned mansions—they sit on corporate boards and swipe through dating apps seeking their next meal. Ancient fae bloodlines thread through family trees like poison ivy, their gifts manifesting in board rooms and back alleys alike. In forgotten university basements, forbidden sciences mesh with eldritch sorceries, bringing forth abominations that defy both natural law and modern medicine.
Hell itself has gone digital. Demons no longer need to break through—they slip through the cracks in our technology, turning social media into soul markets and smartphone screens into portals of temptation. The old rituals haven’t died; they’ve evolved, finding power in the patterns of modern life.
Every city has its dark reflection here—a twilight realm where gargoyles peer down from art deco facades, where elevated Metrorail tracks cast serpentine shadows that writhe with whispered curses, where gentrified neighborhoods hide covens in coffee shops. Missing person posters fade on rain-slicked walls while security cameras capture glimpses of impossible things. Blood bonds are sealed with electronic signatures, and ancient prophecies are encrypted in blockchain.
This is a world where the old darkness has learned new tricks, where gothic horror wears modern clothes but its heart beats with ancient malice. In Dark City, every shadow holds secrets, every connection conceals betrayal, and every truth masks a deeper deception.
Welcome to the modern gothic. Welcome to a world where the monsters have adapted, but never truly changed. Welcome to Dark City—where the darkness has always been waiting, and it knows your phone number.
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@Raistlin i like this, wanna check it out
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@Raistlin Just curious if you’ve actually seen Dark City (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118929/)?
It’s always been in the back of my mind as “would make a cool MUSH.”
On Dragon Wings · https://pern.gaslightswitch.com · pern.gaslightswitch.com port 4201
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@Artemis Glad to hear it! Helps keep me motivated.
@KarmaBum I have! I actually saw it in the theater—LOL. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies. I bet it’d be pretty fun to switch up your character every few months or so. There was a comic-themed game that did something like that a year or two ago. I didn’t play, and I can’t remember the name, but I thought it was interesting. There was also another game—The Network, I think?—that had a similar concept of changing themes each season, if I’m remembering right.
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@KarmaBum said in Game Development: Modern Gothic Storypath System:
@Raistlin Just curious if you’ve actually seen Dark City (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118929/)?
It’s always been in the back of my mind as “would make a cool MUSH.”
Hilariously, for a while now, I’ve had a hairbrained idea of Dark City crossed with City of 1,000 Planets crossed with Everworld but never had the energy to get it done.
Mummy Pun? MUMMY PUN!
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@Jennkryst said in Game Development: Modern Gothic Storypath System:
crossed with Everworld but never had the energy to get it done.
Every so often I have this intense memory of reading Everworld but can’t remember wtf the series is named, so I go on this crazy google hunt trying to remember and finally figure it out. And anyway this is to say please do this? Thanks.
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Progress is moving forward, even if it’s not as fast as I’d like. I’ve got two alpha testers helping me refine character generation and develop the powers and abilities system.
I wanted to share the setting file I just completed. I chose Miami as our location - I love the contrast between its sunny, vibrant atmosphere and the dark, Gothic elements we’re weaving in. Plus, having watched Dexter, I already knew the city had potential for the kind of atmosphere I’m going for.
Miami in Shadow
Here, the Magic City takes on a darker kind of sorcery. Neon still bleeds across Ocean Drive, but it illuminates gargoyles perched on Art Deco facades, their wings spread against the subtropical night. Palm trees cast serpentine shadows across streets where colonial-era carriages share lanes with gleaming sports cars, and nineteenth-century Gothic spires rise between modern condominiums like dark teeth against the perpetually storm-threatened sky.
This Miami writhes with impossible architecture. A Romanian castle, transported stone by ancient stone, looms over Brickell’s financial district. Venetian-style canals cut through Coral Gables, their waters black as ink under moonlight, while Little Havana’s streets host processions that blend Santeria with rituals far older and darker. In Coconut Grove, Spanish moss drapes from banyan trees like funeral shrouds, concealing paths to places that shouldn’t exist.
The heat remains oppressive, but now it carries the weight of ancient curses. Hurricanes approach the coast like conscious entities, their eyes holding actual malevolence. The Everglades encroach upon the city’s edges with increasing hunger, its waters concealing more than just alligators. On South Beach, beautiful predators stalk through endless nights of pleasure and horror, while in Wynwood, street art writhes with hidden meanings and graffiti spells.
This Miami’s Cuban coffee is served in cups lined with prophetic grounds, and the cafecito windows sometimes open into other realms. Santeros work true magic in back rooms, while demons negotiate souls in Brickell’s glass towers. Luxury boats in the marina belong to creatures that haven’t been human for centuries, and the cruise ships departing from Government Cut sometimes return with none of their passengers—or worse, with all of them changed.
In this Miami, every neighborhood tells a different horror story. Vizcaya isn’t just a museum but a living monument to dark bargains, its gardens maze-like and hungry after sunset. The Metrorail rattles through the darkness like a ghost train, stopping at stations that appear on no official map. Little Haiti thrums with power that makes colonial vampires tremble, while Overtown’s historical wounds birth new monsters from old injustices.
This is Miami seen through an obsidian mirror—where the subtropical heat bakes ancient cobblestones, where Gothic spires pierce a sky heavy with Caribbean storms, and where the city’s famous diversity encompasses creatures from every dark corner of folklore and nightmare. Welcome to Miami, where the darkness dances salsa and the monsters wear guayaberas, where every sunset might be your last, and every Cuban sandwich might be sealed with a blood oath.
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@Raistlin said in Game Development: Modern Gothic Storypath System:
It’s one of my all-time favorite movies.
Same. I’ve just never been able to figure out how to make the plot something you can touch; it’s a fun concept to fool around with, but people would eventually have to “awaken” and then the setting quickly unravels (see the metaplot thread).
Anyway! Supernatural horror is my jam, so I’m looking forward to seeing your game in production.
Good luck!
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A first draft of a “path” for the game. One of the beta testers wanted to play a golem-type creature. Here is The Reanimated.
The Reanimated are beings caught between life and death, powered by a mysterious vitality that defies natural law. Some are patchwork creatures sewn together from various corpses, others are single bodies reanimated through electricity and forbidden magic, and a few are artificial forms given a semblance of life through occult science. Unlike other supernatural beings who maintain some connection to their original nature, the Reanimated are fundamentally artificial.
Their unnatural existence requires constant maintenance and their vitality must be regularly recharged through exposure to electrical or occult power sources. While this grants them remarkable resilience and strength, it also makes them dependent on those with the knowledge to maintain their unique physiology. Animals instinctively fear them, and even humans feel subtly unsettled in their presence, leading many Reanimated to seek out others of their kind or form close bonds with the few who accept them.
Skills
Medicine, Science, Survival
Base Attributes
3 Mental, 6 Physical, 5 Social
Special
Reanimated beings gain Vitality Points equal to Stamina + 2. Vitality Points are spent to:
- Power supernatural abilities
- Repair damage (1 point per Injury Level)
- Maintain consciousness when grievously wounded
Vitality Points replenish when the character rests near a source of electrical/occult power.
Supernatural Benefits
- Natural armor (2 levels)
- Cannot die from normal wounds (must be completely destroyed)
- Immune to disease, poison, and aging
- May spend 1 Vitality Point to gain 1 Durability Advantage for one turn
Supernatural Weaknesses
Patchwork Construction
- Takes double damage from electricity and fire
- Must make a Stamina roll (difficulty 2) when attempting fine motor tasks or gain Confused status effect
- Must have regular “maintenance” performed by someone with Medicine or Science skill or begin to deteriorate
Occult Dependencies
- Must recharge Vitality Points through electrical/occult sources
- Cannot heal naturally - requires “repairs” using Medicine or Science
- Each day spent without maintenance increases difficulty of all Physical actions by 1
Unnatural Presence
- Animals instinctively fear/hate the character
- Must make Resolve roll (difficulty 2) when dealing with terrified reactions or gain Crestfallen status
- Social rolls against strangers have +1 difficulty unless deliberately attempting to intimidate
This Path emphasizes physical power and resilience while including drawbacks that reflect both the character’s artificial nature and need for maintenance. The Vitality Point system represents their need to regularly “recharge” and maintain their unnatural existence.
