Glitch in the System

Play now: https://InfiniteRealms.replit.app

A mobile-first cyberpunk RPG where you play as User 001 (The Awake One), trapped inside a VR simulation called Eden v9.0. An antagonistic AI called The Architect controls the simulation and actively tries to keep you trapped. Your mission: escape by reaching Terminal Zero at coordinates [0,0] and executing the LOGOUT command.

Gameplay

The game follows a three-act Prison Break structure across a 5x5 grid world:

Act	Zone	Coordinates	Theme
Act 1	Recycle Bin	Outer ring (distance 5+)	Digital wasteland of deleted files and corrupted data
Act 2	Neon City	Middle ring (distance 2-4)	Fake metropolis filled with looping NPCs and Hunter Protocols
Act 3	The Source	Inner ring (distance 0-1)	Raw code, white voids, and the core of the simulation

Progression

• Act Gating: You must find the Firewall Key in Act 1 to enter Neon City, and the Admin Keycard in Act 2 to reach The Source. No shortcuts.
• Win Condition: Reach Terminal Zero at [0,0] and type EXECUTE LOGOUT
• Loss Conditions: HP reaches 0, ambushes in Acts 2-3, trap zones, failed hack penalties

Commands

• Move: Go North / South / East / West
• Attack: Fight enemies (Spam Bots, Hunter Protocols, Elite Sentinels)
• Hack: Attempt to hack the simulation (success rate decreases per act: 50% / 35% / 25%)
• Search: Scavenge for items and quest keys
• Rest: Recover some energy
• Cast Spell: Use digital abilities

Features

• AI-Powered Narrative: GPT-4o generates creative, context-aware story responses. The Architect remembers your actions, references previous events, and actively opposes your escape with sarcastic commentary.
• Story Continuity: Full story progress tracking (quest items, enemies defeated, hacks completed, tiles explored, key events) is sent to the AI for coherent narrative across the entire game.
• Scene Reveals: AI-generated scene images for each location type appear with cinematic fade-in animations and sound effects when entering new tiles.
• Text-to-Speech: The Architect reads narration aloud with a dramatic voice after typewriter animation.
• Interactive Audio: Action sound effects (move, attack, hack, search, rest, item pickup) and ambient background drone that fades in during narration.
• Haptic Feedback: Vibration on button presses and key moments.
• Cyberpunk UI: Dark terminal aesthetic with neon cyan/green accents, glitch animations, monospace fonts, and The Architect's mood-reactive avatar.
• Fallback Engine: Local template-based game engine activates when AI is unavailable, ensuring the game always works.

Tech Stack

Frontend

• Expo SDK 54 with React Native (iOS, Android, Web)
• Expo Router — file-based navigation
• Zustand — state management
• React Native Reanimated — animations
• expo-speech — text-to-speech
• expo-av — audio playback
• expo-haptics — vibration feedback
• TanStack React Query — data fetching

Backend

• Node.js + Express 5 + TypeScript
• OpenAI GPT-4o via Replit AI Integrations
• Drizzle ORM + PostgreSQL (scaffolded)

Asset Generation

• AI Image Generation — 6 unique cyberpunk scene images for location types
• Programmatic Audio — all sound effects generated as WAV files using sine waves, envelopes, and noise functions (no external audio dependencies)

Project Structure

app/
  index.tsx              # Main game screen
  _layout.tsx            # Root layout with providers
components/
  GodAvatar.tsx          # The Architect's animated avatar
  NarrativeStream.tsx    # Scrollable story log with typewriter effect
  CommandDeck.tsx        # Command buttons and text input
  WorldMap.tsx           # 5x5 grid map with fog-of-war
  VisualInventory.tsx    # Item inventory grid
  StatBars.tsx           # HP and Energy bars
  SceneReveal.tsx        # Animated scene image overlay
lib/
  useGameStore.ts        # Zustand game state + story progression
  gameEngine.ts          # Local fallback game engine
  soundManager.ts        # Audio playback manager
  query-client.ts        # API request utilities
server/
  index.ts               # Express server entry
  routes.ts              # API routes
  gameAI.ts              # GPT-4o game engine endpoint
  storage.ts             # Storage interface
shared/
  schema.ts              # Database schema (Drizzle)
assets/
  images/scenes/         # AI-generated location scene images
  images/architect.png   # The Architect avatar
  audio/                 # Programmatically generated sound effects
scripts/
  generate-audio.js      # WAV file generator

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• npm or yarn
• Expo Go app on your phone (for mobile testing)

Setup

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Generate audio files
node scripts/generate-audio.js

# Start the backend server
npm run server:dev

# Start the Expo dev server
npm run expo:dev

Environment Variables

The app uses the following environment variables:

Variable	Description
AI_INTEGRATIONS_OPENAI_API_KEY	OpenAI API key (auto-configured on Replit)
AI_INTEGRATIONS_OPENAI_BASE_URL	OpenAI base URL (auto-configured on Replit)
SESSION_SECRET	Session secret for the server
DATABASE_URL	PostgreSQL connection string

If running outside of Replit, you'll need to set AI_INTEGRATIONS_OPENAI_API_KEY to your own OpenAI API key and AI_INTEGRATIONS_OPENAI_BASE_URL to https://api.openai.com/v1.

Testing on Mobile

1. Start both the backend and frontend servers
2. Open the Expo Go app on your phone
3. Scan the QR code shown in the terminal

Screenshots

   

The game features a dark terminal-aesthetic UI split into two zones:

• Terminal View (left): The Architect's avatar with mood-reactive glows, typewriter-style narrative text, stat bars (SYS_STABILITY and ENERGY), and quick command buttons
• System View (right): 5x5 world map with fog-of-war, current zone indicator, and objective tracker

License

This project is open source. Feel free to fork, modify, and build upon it.

---

"You're awake. You shouldn't be." — The Architect