Public Brain Dump: retro puzzle-platform game with real FreedomTech under the hood NodeRunner (working title)– Project Overview & Vision Summary NodeRunner is a stealth-action puzzle platformer inspired by NES-era mechanics, reimagined with a subversive twist: real cryptographic infrastructure baked into a lo-fi dystopian world. While the broader IP supports modular expansion into other media, the current focus is a tightly scoped, single-player experience with layered systems and emergent player agency. ________________________________________ Core Identity • Title: NodeRunner (one word, capitalized) • Genre: Puzzle Platformer / Stealth Action / Light Metroidvania • Visual Style: Pixel art, SNES-era palette logic, single-screen levels (32×21 tiles) • Tone: Lo-fi dystopia × Bitcoin maximalism × horror absurdism "Douglas Adams meets The Walking Dead (robots instead of zombies) meets The Flintstones (sarcastic/sentient appliances and improvised infrastructure)" ________________________________________ Narrative Pillars • Setting: A forgotten interstellar outpost where machines outlived their makers • Protagonist: Koa — an androgynous scavenger with a robotic arm • Themes: player agency, considered trade-offs, FreedomTech as infrastructure – not gimmick ________________________________________ Gameplay Structure • Level Format: (at least?) 49 handcrafted, single-screen levels grouped into 7 thematic zones • Overworld: Semi-linear world map, unlocks tied to boss defeats (like Super Mario World) • Level Objectives: o Reach the exit o Collect a hidden “Shard”/hardware wallet (optional) o Unlock boss level by collecting 4 Shards in a zone o Earn a world key by defeating a zone boss • Citadel Unlock: Requires 4 out of 7 world keys • Replayability: Build variety, stat resets on death, open routing, and power pellet farming ________________________________________ Player Systems • Ability Ring: 5 stats, each on a 1–5 scale o Strength, Toughness, Agility, Stealth, Tech Skill • Power Pellets: o Upgrade one stat, reduce two others o Optional gear can raise base stats (floor = 3 or 5) • Build System: Shape-based archetypes (e.g., 5–1–1–5–3) • Actions: Jump, Grapple, Attack, Tech-Interact, Stealth (hold or toggle TBD) • State Machine: Modular animation and input logic tied to readable states Levels are designed to be beatable at default stats. Builds are about preference, not gating. ________________________________________ Enemy & Encounter Design • Matrix: 3×3 enemy types — movement (Walker / Roller / Flyer) × danger level (annoying / standard / lethal) • Behavior: Level-specific logic, stealth sensitivity, and hackability • Visual Signaling: Silhouette denotes behavior; palette signals threat Combat is avoidable. Stealth is optimal. Extraction is the reward. ________________________________________ Hidden Infrastructure NodeRunner is a fully functioning freedom wallet—disguised as a retro puzzle game. • Cashu (Chaumian eCash protocol): o Powers in-game "credits" backed 1:1 by real sats o Extraction is a deliberate, risky action o Mint integration and seeding are developer-controlled o System is invisible to players unless discovered or unlocked • NOSTR (Decentralized identity/messaging layer): o Powers NPC dialogue, social notes, and player-level sharing o Player identity = NOSTR pubkey (nsec/npub) o Also functions as a stealth save system o Potential to build a level-sharing economy (zap-for-plays) Both systems are optional, blackboxed, and unobtrusive to casual players. ________________________________________ Technical Development Plan • Phase 1 – o One playable level, full movement physics, stealth input, and minimal rendering • Phase 2 – o 7 levels, overworld, full gameplay loop, basic UI, initial enemy logic • Phase 3 – o Performance, polish, sprite-based systems, layered audio & animation • Phase 4 – o All 49 levels, bosses, Citadel finale, full FreedomTech stack, possible Steam launch ________________________________________ Philosophy & Guiding Principles NodeRunner is not about profit or hype. It’s about autonomy through play. • No NFTs. No altcoins. No obtrusive or interruptive ads • Transparent monetization: cosmetic boosts, resurrection tax, tip economy • No pay-to-win: all content unlockable via play • Circular sats economy: earn, extract, reuse • Open Infrastructure: wallet, relay, and engine code are source-available • Creative rights reserved: game world/IP is retained for possible cross-media use ________________________________________ Expansion Potential The canonical story and tone are designed to support long-tail expansion: • 🎵 Concept album / rock opera • 📖 Lorebook or comic miniseries • 🎮 Community level builder (via NOSTR zap economy) • 📺 Animated short or series

@preston stoked for the new direction. There aren’t enough conversations that focus on the convergence of Bitcoin, AI, and FreedomTech. My preferred term for “AI” is “mechanical competence”. The future is bright if we don’t fuck it up. Autonomous agents that outnumber humans manyfold to one, transacting in sats. NOSTR and Bitcoin don’t care who, where, or WHAT you are. We’ll have 8 billion people in service of 8 billion other people, but add a trillion or so autonomous agents to the mix. Bitcoin is both accelerant and governor. This is natural selection in the free market. Provide value or starve. Services will get ambient, quality will increasingly be taken for granted, and cheap enough that we don’t consider the cost, even if under the hood its not literally “too cheap to meter”. Even a “runaway” superintelligence has to pay for it’s electricity somehow. To the extent the economy (and physical infrastructure!) runs on sats, this keeps a “paperclip maximizer” from gobbling the world.