A downloadable game

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The Signal arrived while our grandparents were young. An invitation to humanity from the stars. Driven by our curiosity and the proof that we were not alone in the universe we constructed the Generation Fleet. Vast vessels to carry humanity into the void and take our place amongst the stars.

But the journey could only ever be for a select few. Tens of thousands from a population of over ten billion. The selection process ripped apart families, forged new bonds and burned relationships. Those that ventured out were lauded as heroes while those that remained returned to their lives as loved ones grew ever more distant.

This is just one story of that journey, of two souls separated by the void of space trying to maintain a semblance of a connection.

Signal to Noise is a bittersweet interstellar epistolary game for 2 players, played out one message at a time over email. It is a Prelude to the Dyson Eclipse, an upcoming series of small games exploring humanities voyage to, and exploration of, mega-structures around a distant star.

One player takes on the role of the Explorer, one of the lucky few chosen to join the generation ship while the other takes on the role of the Earther, forced to stay behind as their companion departs the solar system. Play each round is driven by a series of prompts, a combination of mundane everyday occurrences and life-changing events that develop over time. Sending messages back and forth to one another the players must try to maintain a connection in the face of an ever-increasing time lag and the creeping distortion of the messages as the signal becomes distorted during its transmission over interstellar distances. Eventually, the unfolding events or slow loss of connection will force one to break contact, forever severing the bond between the characters that they have struggled to maintain for so long.

Signal to Noise can be purchased in print  from:

Beyond Cataclysm (UK)

Indie Press Revolution (US)

The LunarShadow Designs Etsy Store (UK)

StatusIn development
CategoryPhysical game
Rating
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
(8 total ratings)
AuthorLunarShadow Designs
GenreRole Playing
Tagsepistolary, letter, Tabletop role-playing game

Purchase

Buy Now$8.00 USD or more

In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $8 USD. You will get access to the following files:

Signal_to_Noise_Interstellar.pdf 9.1 MB
Signal to Noise Expanded 1.1 Text.txt 29 kB
Signal to Noise Expanded.docx 35 kB
Signal to Noise Expanded 1.1 Plain Text.pdf 396 kB

Download demo

Download
Signal_to_Noise_Preview.pdf 2.7 MB

Development log

Comments

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(+1)

I finally had the chance to play this with my dear friend, and it was...heartbreaking, gosh. Thank you so much for this game!


As a quick question though, is the intention for both the Explorer and Earther to play from one deck of cards? That's what we ended up doing, but it was a little unclear.

Thank you for playing it, it sounds like your experience was exactly what the game aims for.

You should each have your own deck of cards to draw and play from. It should mention that during the setup but I'll make a note to check the text and see if I can make it clearer.

(+3)

This introduction reminds me of The voices of a distant star by Shinkai Makoto

an animation about a couple of lovers who travel the distance between the stars, and the time frame for sending and receiving messages gets longer and longer

I'm not familiar with that so thanks for mentioning it, I shall have to look it up and give it a watch.