The Christmas “vacation” is rarely a period of rest. For many of us in the development and writing space, it is the only time to tackle the mounting pile of deferred tasks—the house repairs that have been ignored for months and the IT projects that require deep-focus hours the standard work week simply doesn’t allow.
This year, my dilemma is one of scale. While the house needs its fixes, my primary focus is the technical and creative backbone of my world-building. My goal for Game in the Brain (GITB) has always been to make Hard Sci-Fi incrementally more accessible, and that starts with consolidating my ecosystem.
1. The Foundation: MediaWiki and Infrastructure
The core of my world-building is the Wiki. It isn’t just a repository; it’s an engine. I’ve been documenting my setup process here:
https://wiki.gi7b.org/index.php/MediaWiki_Setup_Guide_Portainer-Docker-251215-00
My immediate “errands” for the Wiki include:
- Hardening and Security: Ensuring it can withstand threats and is fully replicable.
- Redundancy: Practicing a full restore and setting up a secondary PC backup.
- The Physical Output: Implementing a “Print to Booklet” feature. I want to be able to take the extensive world-building articles and the NEW Mneme CE Wiki of mechanics and hold them in my hands.
- Visuals: Ensuring full support for Diagrams and SVG files.
- Monetization: Connecting my Ko-fi account and populating the content to support further development.
2. Consolidating the Mneme Ecosystem
Game in the Brain is dedicated to creating open-source tools and resources for hard science fiction tabletop RPGs. We offer 3D printable ship models, editable maps, and comprehensive world-building guides—all designed to empower creators and players to explore the complexities of science and the near-future world through immersive gameplay.
I am currently working to bridge the gaps between my various platforms. The goal is a seamless flow between:
- The Blog: https://blog.gi7b.org/ (which will now feature the Wiki as a subpage).
- The World Generator: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/403824/mneme-world-generator
- The Code: Working with Steven Tiu on the PWA: https://github.com/StevenTiu22/mneme-world-generator-pwa
We are giving the Mneme World Generator PWA a “fresh coat of paint.” This includes a UI overhaul for better tablet and phone accessibility, and critical features like exportable/savable/importable timelines.
3. The Science: Ships and Lagrange Points
Hard Sci-Fi is often gated behind complex math. My product line is built on making these concepts incrementally more accessible. This isn’t necessarily a “high demand” mass-market product line, but it is a necessary gamification of science and technology. In an era where we need people to understand complexity and work together for solutions more than ever, these tools serve as a bridge.
The Lagrange Point Calculator:
In the Mneme universe, the largest Lagrange point of a star (the balance between the two largest masses) is the Jump Point. Understanding these points is vital, as they are where Starports and major infrastructure reside. Anything else is too expensive in terms of stationkeeping resources.
The Ship Designer:
I am moving from a working spreadsheet to a formalized designer based on the Delta-V Budget (DVB).
- Historical Accuracy: We start with the Saturn V and 2025-era rockets to ground the math.
- The Future: We then project into the 2100s, 2200s, and 2300s for orbiters, transports, and habitats.
- Classification: We are normalizing the process for different vessel tiers.
- ITS (Intrasystem): High-frequency vessels traveling within a system (e.g., between Jupiter’s moons).
- IES (Intersystem): Capable of travel between major system bodies; these platforms are of a scale that can house the significant “capex” of jump drives and the high-volume fuel requirements for deep-system transit.
- Interstellar: Jump-capable ships that require at least IES capabilities to reach the Jump Points.
The “Launch/Orbiter” process makes these complex calculations accessible through an intuitive UI. It abstracts the heavy lifting while providing a Wiki-linked breakdown of why each step is taken—whether you are using Boosters, Mass Drivers, or Airships—while maintaining the flexibility for players and GMs to tweak variables to suit their specific mission.
4. The Heart: Writing from the Frontlines of Climate Change
While the IT projects are the “how,” the “why” is rooted in reality. As someone living in the developing world, the climate crisis isn’t a theoretical future—it’s a present reality of corporate greed and political corruption.
My writing (covering the years 2050–2100) focuses on the systematic fight against this damage. I spend my time in volunteer groups to ground my work in the actual suffering and resilience of people on the ground. The PCs in my world fight against dystopian overreach and surveillance, but they also fight for a habitable planet.
This vacation isn’t just about fixing the house or coding a Wiki. It’s about building the tools to tell these stories more effectively. Hard Sci-Fi shouldn’t be a barrier to entry; it should be a lens to understand our survival.
Links for following the project:
- Wiki Setup Guide: https://wiki.gi7b.org/index.php/MediaWiki_Setup_Guide_Portainer-Docker-251215-00
- Blog: https://blog.gi7b.org/
- Github: https://github.com/StevenTiu22/mneme-world-generator-pwa
- DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/403824/mneme-world-generator
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