Skein Saga was ultimately created as the setting for an online/offline hybrid web-based/paper, die and pencil game. The game is still being developed and integrated into this website, but you will start to see more and more game-related elements popping up here and there. Below are some explanations about what some of the things you may encounter are.
The Skein Saga game will initially be set up as a strategy game, in which you - as the player - register a frontier mining company, buy ships, hire crews and do everything else needed to set up your operation before sending you small flotilla of mining ships to a chosen planet or moon where they will mine rare resources for you. You won't be able to move your ships around in real time (initially, anyway - hopefully that will come in time) but you will be able to issue basic instruction to your crews instead and then rely on their skill and luck that they make it through the dangers they face. As you earn money, you'll be able to invest, repair and enhance your ships, hire better crews and so on until you are able to afford new and better ships.
The first incarnation of the game will take the form of several online calculators and tools that will provide feedback on the actions you (or your crews) take. Much of the game will be played using downloaded PDF manuals, printed out manual forms as well as dice. This may not appeal to those who are not familiar with traditional role-playing games, but for those of us who used to relish the games we played with friends, clustered around makeshift maps hastily drawn on scraps paper while leafing through thick, beautifully illustrated game manuals, seeking out stats or details that would save our characters or rolling our lucky die in our fingers.
The plan is to automate more and more of the game so that you will eventually be able to play exclusively online without need of paper or dice. The calculators and online tools will be integrated so that the entire playing experience is automated and the game universe is able to function independently of the creators according to how players act.
If there is enough interest, I will then be creating dedicated game application that will start to function more as a traditional game interface. And from there, we'll see what transpires.
The aim is to create a game with player involvement and feedback from the first, rudimentary step so that the playing community gets a game they want to play, not one that's imposed on them.
The Skein Saga game will be built on two fundamental principles; a social element and an engagement element.