Open-source multiplayer world engine

Worlds withmemory.

Design the map. Give every character a mind. Build the rules. Then step inside the same persistent world as your players.

View source on GitHub

arkyv.org is the project site and does not provide world hosting. Run the engine with your own SpacetimeDB instance to build and play.

Realtime

Every player

No-code

World design

Self-hosted

Your universe

arkyv://emberfall/whisperfen 4 online
Pixel-art birch forest beneath an aurora inside an Arkyv world

The Whisperfen

Reed Road

Black reeds repeat tomorrow’s last words while a bell tolls somewhere beneath the marsh.

go easttalk nettlelook
World consoleSYNCHRONIZED

> talk nettle

Grandmother Nettle · NPC

“The bell beneath the marsh has grown a throat. Silence it, child.”

> inventory

Ward Lantern · Ghost Salt · Raw Moonfish

type a command...
Visual world builderAI NPCsRealtime multiplayerCustom RPG systemsLocal AI readySelf-hosted

01 World building

From blank canvas to living world.

Build the place and the rules in the same studio. Arkyv turns world design into a connected visual system, then makes it playable immediately.

  • Connect regions and rooms with directional exits
  • Place NPCs, encounters, objects, and generated scenes
  • Create stats, gear, consumables, containers, and fuel systems
  • Edit the shared world while the runtime stays authoritative

World editor

Emberfall: The Moon That Sank

Published
4 rooms · 8 exits · 6 actors
Pixel-art drowned moon representing Keeper Orra’s lighthouse vigil

Keeper Orra

Ember lighthouse keeper

Steadfast
How can a moon drown?
It fell trying to pull the whole sea into the sky. Now we keep its machinery asleep.
Authored tree · AI optional

02 Living characters

NPCs that are more than dialogue trees.

Write a personality, place the character in your world, and let every encounter unfold naturally. Recent conversation context keeps the exchange coherent. Hosted or local image generation gives characters and rooms a visual identity.

Natural conversation

Hosted or local models

Generated visuals

Hosted or local diffusion

03 Complete engine

Everything a world needs to keep turning.

Every system belongs to the same runtime, from the first room to a shared persistent campaign.

01

World building

Visual world editor

Shape regions, rooms, directional exits, NPCs, descriptions, elevation, and atmosphere from one connected canvas.

02

Multiplayer

A world that is live

Room chat, regional chat, movement, characters, and world state update for every connected player in real time.

03

Intelligence

AI characters with context

Give NPCs a personality and let players speak with them naturally while recent context keeps each conversation grounded.

04

Game systems

Your rules, not ours

Define hero stats, weapons, armor, slots, consumables, containers, fuel burners, stat effects, and combat behavior.

05

Authority

Server-owned outcomes

Rust reducers validate ownership and resolve combat, inventory, equipment, fuel, and stats on the authoritative backend.

06

Generative media

Scenes with a face

Generate pixel-art rooms, expressive NPC portraits, and readable inventory art through RetroDiffusion or your own local Stable Diffusion server.

07

Identity

A cast of characters

Each saved world can hold multiple player characters, with persistent locations, gear, stats, and histories.

08

Persistence

Saved worlds, no passwords

Local signed identity tokens make creating, switching, and returning to a world quick. No account service is required.

09

Play

A modern command console

Explore, talk, fight, equip gear, manage inventory, and chat through a responsive terminal built for desktop and mobile.

10

Ownership

Open source and self-hosted

Run the complete Next.js, SpacetimeDB, and Rust stack yourself. Extend the engine instead of renting the world.

04 One continuous loop

Author. Synchronize. Play.

The editor and the game are two views of the same world. No exports, rebuilds, or duplicated state between making an adventure and entering it.

01

Author in the studio

Design locations, cast NPCs, place objects, and define the mechanics that make this world unique.

Next.js · React · Visual editor

02

Synchronize the truth

SpacetimeDB replicates live state while Rust reducers validate every mutation and resolve every outcome.

SpacetimeDB · Rust · Realtime

03

Enter from anywhere

Players explore through a responsive terminal with world visuals, audio, chat, inventory, gear, and stats.

Desktop · Mobile · Multiplayer

The lantern is lit

Enter Emberfall—or remake it completely.

Self-host the engine, play the included campaign, reshape its rules, and invite your players.

View source on GitHub