my new side project: stridebound
Working on a new mobile RPG where your real-world steps power a fragile fantasy world. It’s called Stride Bound—think Orna with GPT-driven NPCs and dynamic storytelling.
It’s been a couple of months since I tried building a Duolingo clone specifically for learning Nepali. I actually got pretty far with it! Its a vue SPA with a nestjs backend. But I experimented with the newish Page Transition API to animate word tiles flying to the top after being tapped. It felt snappy and modern.
Still, I never ended up writing a blog post about it, and - as I thend to do - I gradually lost interest.
But now, I’ve got a new idea. A brilliant one. And this time, I really want to see it through. As always, I convinced myself that I’m fully planning to finish it. But I think it’s a genuinely good idea. Maybe even marketable.
Unlike many of my previous side projects, this one is not mostly a tech-driven experiment. It’s a mobile game—but an unusual kind of mobile game.
The core idea draws inspiration from Pokémon GO, or more precisely, from Orna, but it blends in deeper RPG mechanics to create a world that actually feels alive and narratively rich. I want to lean into GPT integration as well, for dynamic NPC dialogue and more immersive interactions.
This time, I’m starting with the blog post, to motivate myself more than anything. I’ll try to structure my work into weekly sprints and post updates every Sunday. Maybe every second Sunday, we’ll see how it goes.
The idea has been cooking in my head for a few weeks now, and I think I’ve developed a pretty solid concept for the setting and lore.
Stride
Stride is a parallel world fueled by an invisible energy known as Stride, which flows from our world into theirs every time someone takes a step. Stride is both beautiful and fragile, entirely dependent on human movement in the real world.
Connection to our world
The worlds are connected via the mysterious energy known as Stride. Each step taken on Earth transfers a pulse of Stride energy into this other realm. This energy powers the very ecosystem, technology, and even the magic of the world of Stride. Children, athletes, dancers—all were once the unknowing saviors of this parallel dimension.
As human activity dwindled—due to sedentary lifestyles, automation, and urban confinement—Stride began to weaken. The flow of energy slowed, and with it, the heartbeat of the world.
The crisis
With less movement, Stride entered a state of decay. Glimmering cities dimmed, nature grew still, and technology ground to a halt. But worse, something emerged from the void left behind: a dark, insidious force born from stagnation.
This darkness, (maybe Stillborn but that name is not final) began to spread across Stride like rot. It manifests as corrupted energy and spawns monstrous creatures that thrive in the absence of motion. These beings consume light, freeze time, and spread despair.
Players Role
In "Stride Bound," players take on the role of a Stridewalker. omeone uniquely attuned to both worlds. They possess the ability to channel stored steps and even motivate movement on Earth through gameplay.
The player's mission is to reignite Stride, awaken dormant cities, and push back the darkness. Through battles, puzzles, and exploration, they must uncover the mysteries behind the decline and restore balance before the world is lost to stillness forever.
Whats next?
That’s all from me for now. My plan for the first week is to map out the overall world a bit. Design a few factions, characters, and maybe write a quest or two.
I’m not sure how much this will influence actual game design just yet. Since GPT-driven interactions will be a core feature, I might avoid overly rigid questline planning. Instead, I’ll focus on the setting and let the game dynamically shape the quests. That might be cooler. Or not. Experimentation will tell.
