#solarpunk gaming

[solarpunkpresentspodcast]

S6E3: Fully Automated! A Solarpunk RPG, with Andy Gross

This week on Solarpunk Presents, we’re bringing you an interview with Andy Gross, one of the brilliant minds behind Fully Automated! A Solarpunk TableTop RPG (Role-Playing Game). Don’t worry, you don’t need to know game jargon to follow along for this one - solarpunk storytelling comes in a lot of different forms, and this is yet another kind for people to use to imagine a kinder, greener future that strives towards a utopia … of sorts. RPGs get a reputation for being all about fighting. How does that work if the RPG is solarpunk? Or utopian even? What is an RPG, in the first place? What is the usefulness of a solarpunk RPG? Join us as we discuss these questions and more. You can find Fully Automated at https://fullyautomatedrpg.com/

[crobinet]

intrigued? interested? come say your thoughts on my super new and never heard of idea called world building subreddit!

[aethereaii]

Prop art for Project Fish. Some things you'd typically see at a Li-Luan port.

These props are inspired by things you'd normally see at urban areas within south-asian communities.

I dug deep into what’s been inspiring me to create art for Ormauk recently, and a lot of it has been my relationship with nature as an adult, but especially more so when I was a kid. I grew up a short walk away from the beach. The town that I lived in was outside of the city, but you couldn’t really classify it as suburbia. There were empty plots of land filled with guinea grass growing taller than us kids. Unfinished foundations of houses that sat undisturbed for most of my life; overgrown and abandoned. There was a small pasture for cows behind my house where frogs croaked their hymns when rain fell and created ponds. Overhead cables and graffitied electrical transformers had a specific vibe that I just don't see where I live now.

I wanted to show my version of solarpunk, and it finally clicked with me how I can achieve this; by mixing those snapshots of my childhood with thematically designed technology that fit that south-asian culture I’m trying to emulate. A bit of what exists now and what could exist.

[dinchenix]

A cozy café, a sprouting plant market – what could be the next building in this little neighborhood? 🤔

[alpaca-clouds]

Solarpunk Game Ideas: CRPGs

Here I go on with my ideas for Indie Solarpunk games, that are not some sort of building sim or farming sim - and of course I cannot do this without mentioning CRPGs.

Mind you, despite what you might think given that over the course of the last year I have barely played anything but a certain CRPG (BG3), CRPGs are actually not really a genre of game I am super into, even though some of my favorite games are CRPGs. But as a genre in general I usually like faster paced games a lot more. It is just that when I hyperfocus on something that usually is a result of me getting obsessed with a character from it - and that is more likely to happen with a CRPG than with a metroidvania.

But how to do a Solarpunk CRPG?

The Issue:

Look, there really are not any CRPGs right now that are in any way Solarpunk. And I would argue this goes again back to the issue that people struggle with telling stories within a Solarpunk setting, as they are too set in the idea that a) Solarpunk needs to be an utopian setting (or a setting that pretends to be utopian) and b) that utopian settings will not allow for any conflict whatsoever. Additionally there is of course also the issue that most CRPGs do involve violence in form of fighting, which is what a lot of people struggle with - even though some amazing indie games like Disco Elysium have shown very well, that you can do a CRPG without a combat system.

So, let's go over some ideas for Solarpunk CRPGs.

Idea #1: Off-Brand Princess Mononoke

If you follow me for any time, you might know that to me there is no movie or piece of media that is more Solarpunk than Princess Mononoke. And thankfully we can easily build a sort of CRPG around it, either with a similar historical setting or just a fullon fantasy setting. Because remember: Solarpunk does not need to be Science Fiction!

No matter whether you go with a historical setting or just a full-on fantasy setting, the idea is fairly easy: The player character has a magical problem and they need the help of some sort of spirits. As they travel to the place of the spirit, they find out that the spirits are in a war with some group of humans, that are encroaching of the home of the spirits, because they try to access some sort of ressources, driving the spirits nearly to extinction. The player would have the choice in the end which side to join - or whether they will try to broker peace between spirits and humans.

Bonus: You'd have several choices how to play the game - but it is not a clear cut "good" and "evil", especially when the humans might have good reasons to need the ressource.

Idea #2: A SciFi Conspiracy

This idea is very much for a somewhat shorter game. Think a bit more like "Shadowrun Returns". Something that has more like 15 to 20 minutes of a runtime.

We go with the idea I brought up in one of the other ideas before: We have a Solarpunk world, that runs on mainly anarchist principles, and there are some arguments going about over some of the security mechanisms. (Anarchy can after all not properly work, if some people have weapons and others don't have - but you cannot undo the existence of weapons.) Our main character is part of some security force, that mostly are just trained to deescalate situations, but are in some cases allowed to use force.

And when a group of pro-capitalists or maybe even actual fascists start a conspiracy to take over the government, and they already have some co-conspirators in all positions. And the main characters need to navigate this with a mixture of diplomacy and violence, with the player getting a fairly good influence on how this plays out.

Idea #3: A Natural Disaster

Let me take one approach, that is inspired by one of the most Solarpunk movies, that is not by Ghibli: Misaki no Mayogai. That movie takes place after the Tohoku earthquake and is very much about mutual aid in the community.

And here is the thing: No, CRPGs do not need to have combat. So this is an idea for a CRPG without combat. We have a natural disaster of some sort. Honestly it does not matter. An earthquake, a flood, a vulcano... Can be anything. It just did destroy a lot of stuff in a big area. And the game is very much about rebuilding after this disaster, about people helping each other through mutual aid, and then building something better from it. It could feature a society going full Solarpunk if you want to (like a positive post-apocalypse) or just something getting a bit better. Build back better and such.

And if you are interested in creative Solarpunk endeavors, I would love to invite you into the Solarpunk Creatives community! :)

[hyperfixationfanart]

Solarpunk pearl gave me slime rancher vibes :)

Inspired by @applestruda’s Solarpunk Pearl design and the game slime rancher

Some closeup’s

[pumpkin-interactive]

Hi, we first want to apologize for the lack of news about Mangato. However, after much deliberation, we have made a few major changes to the projects.

We're restarting development for the next game, Mangato. Due to our budget constraints and the time it would take to develop a 3D game, we decided to switch to a 2D game instead. We'll also be switching engines from Unreal to potentially Gamemaker. We'll have to start development from scratch this year and revise our design doc to better suit it being a 2D game. We'll be partially pausing development on Mangato as we plan and figure out how to move forward with development and redesign the game to take advantage of being in 2D. We hope to return to development later in the year.

Not everything will be scrapped as we start over. Our 2D game assets, like the icons and GUI, can be re-used. However, sadly, our 3D models will need to be abandoned.

Thank you for understanding as we take some time to recharge so we can approach the game's development with refreshed enthusiasm. We'll be shifting our focus to different social media. We are returning home to Tumblr, which helped spread the word about Pumpkin Days in the early days. We will be moving over from Twitter to Bluesky. Our Twitter will still be up, and we will post updates, but we will no longer have our messages open on Twitter and we will be less active on Twitter in general. We are also closing our Instagram and Tik Tok account. Bluesky and Tumblr will be the main social media platforms we will be active on, so add us there if you wish to follow. https://bsky.app/profile/pumpkininteractive.bsky.social

Pumpkin Days has been reduced in price and it is now $15.99. Sales from Pumpkin Days will help greatly in financing the next game, so if you haven't already, add it to your wishlist or leave a review. Thank you again for your support. We will bring more information about Mangato when possible.

[astronawta]

Game idea:

You run a train market that goes around selling items and completing quests for people at train stops that gives you items or coins to upgrade your train. There are garden compartments and machines to produce new things to sell. It's solar punk. You have to keep the train running so you can go sell your stuff. There are love interests and you can hire people to help you harvest and run the train.

[doctor-vertigo]

15+ DISCORD SERVER FOR ALL ROBOT LOVERS

My friend and I made a discord server for anyone who loves robots, computers, and the like! It's both a hangout and also a roleplay that takes place in a post-apocalyptic solarpunk-inspired world. We have an LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, and objectum-friendly atmosphere where everyone can enjoy themselves! After all, we're all here for one purpose- to love the absolute shit out of robots! Our server has many types of bots such as TTS, PluralKit, NQN, Dice Maiden, and Sheep. We also have custom emojis created specifically for this server. Hopefully you guys consider joining, and if you do join, hopefully you enjoy your stay! https://discord.gg/57wMp9azT3

[jennyjencc]

Frank Knight in solarpunk style

[solar-sunnyside-up]

Yeah no genuinely I love that there’s a beach clean up and tree planting event in Coral Island. The game is super Solarpunk/Tidalpunk

It super is, and it's so fucking fun!! It's honestly my version of harvest moon/animal crossing type game. It's so so so solarpunk.

There's events! There's community organization! They're care for you when yoyr sick There's a protective spirits of the forest fighting evil and taking snacks.

The characters?? So great and good representation for everyone.

Also I realized I didn't answer my fave character: despite not knowing how to romance, it's the Musume coordinator I adore him!!

[aethereaii]

Been busy busy working on a lot of things recently. Commission, Halloween events, just generally trying to exist; I'll share more after I get past this busy week. Or maybe I won't who knows.

For now, trying to push this episode of Encyclopedia Ormauk out before the end of month!

[nestedneons]

By future familiar

[emigamescozily]

Loftia: Upcoming Cosy MMO

Loftia is an upcoming cosy, solarpunk MMO with a high focus on community and sustainability. You build a sustainable city with other players using community projects, grow crops with different techniques like hydroponics and hanging gardens, upcycling different items, use different forms of sustainable energy, design a cute apartment, rescue and adopt different pets and animals, and more coming with their kickstarter, which is currently active (link at the end).

This is one of my most anticipated games, as I love the solarpunk element!!!

It will definitely be available on PC and Max, but there is a chance it will be available for other consoles, albeit after the release. It will be paid to play.

The art style looks really cute and soft (idk if u know what i mean lmao) and i like the look of the characters.

It’s looking like it will be released in early access 2025!

[heliosail]

The Cardsharp

Cardsharps are skilled gamblers. They will take the risk, but know the consequences of their failure. They are bold, showy, and they always bounce back from a losing streak.

Official art for the Cardsharp here, by the fantastic @finxhes!

Throughout the game, the Cardsharp accrues points of Gambler's Luck, gaining a point every time their dice roll a double number, regardless of whether or not the roll fails or succeeds. They can then spend these points to manipulate luck in various ways. They can add numbers to rolls that they make, gain an extra use of one of their abilities, or force a critical success.

Cardsharps are a social archetype, like Courtiers, but they are a little more accustomed to action, and associated more with society's underground. Along with Courtier, the Cardsharp has been one of the archetypes to have the most changes made to it over the game's development. They get unique Tricks for Aplomb, Barter, Insight, and Subterfuge. You can see all the official information for the Cardsharp Archetype for free on our Patreon.

[alpaca-clouds]

Solarpunk Game Ideas: Shooter/Action

I will very openly admit something that is going to be quite hard to do in Solarpunk is a shooter or an action game (like hack and slash). Which is kinda ironic, because some of the other ideas I spoke about this week involved action and fighting.

A while ago someone made a asset flipped bioshock. They used the mechanics from Bioshock but put the assets of a Solarpunk world over it, making it all look quite solarpunk, but of course it did not feel Solarpunk at all. This lead to a discussion on how a Shooter could never be Solarpunk - but I disagree with this.

The Issue:

The main issue is fairly clear: A lot of people see violance as something very much apart from solarpunk, while shooters and hack and slash games pretty much thrive on violence. And while I think I made a good point in my blog this week that a Solarpunk game can absolutely feature violence, I do understand why especially something like a shooter, that feels often more real, is a bigger issue for many. It feels a lot more intimate, because compared to let's say a metroidvania, it tends to be more real in terms of graphics and perspective.

So, let's talk about this.

Idea #1: A Guerilla Gardening Game

Let me start with what might be the most creative (?) idea I had on this topic. A Guerilla Gardening Game, where instead of bullets you shoot seed bombs. My vision for this kinda goes in this direction: You do not have classical enemies, but you have areas that are "corrupted" by pollution in some way or another. Maybe it is not gonna fight you, but you might take damage through environmental hazards. And you can remove them through gardening. And you will do that through a bit of hack an slash (gardening scissors) and shooting (seed bombs). Maybe you'll have to do some stealth as you are doing Guerilla - so illegal - gardening, and there might be cops trying to stop you. But yeah, something... different with the mechanics.

Idea #2: Fighting Robots with Robots

Look, I know that I already had mentioned this in terms of the Metroidvania. But folks, this idea would also work fairly well within either hack'n slash or shooter. Again, there is a good chance that we might have some sort of AI that takes care of robots for certain manual tasks or some governmental tasks. You could play this either as "this kind of AI is a good thing, if people work less because of it" or "this is still bad, because people rely too much on it". Either way, AI gets somehow corrupted or something along the lines and you have robots running amok. We all have seen those Cyberpunk things that run on similar ideas, right? And yeah, use that as a basic for an action story.

Hell, if you do not want to make it that dire: You could also make a rogue like action game where within the game it is some sort of game or training rather than an accute situation.

Idea #3: The War for a Solarpunk Future

To bring in one idea where the fighting is a bit more dire... Make a shooter where we atually have a scenario where the people are rebelling against the capitalist entities and the neocolonial empires - and there is an rebellion or an all-out war, where basically everyone who is not the top 3% is trying to rise up, because they know that the alternative is dying a slow drawn out death. Maybe some catastrophe has happened that made people rethink and mistrust the Status Quo.

In my own pure SciFi Solarpunk world, the entire thing starts, while more and more of the former colonies that are still controlled start rebelling, because too many people are in a situation where they are gonna die either way, so they might as well fight.

And hence we can go in a war scenario, where we can also bring in politics, and maybe some roleplay aspects. Possibly even multiple endings?

And if you are interested in creative Solarpunk endeavors, I would love to invite you into the Solarpunk Creatives community! :)