Horizon

Have you ever imagined what a utopian community would look like?

Welcome to Horizon, where you can create your own.

Inspired by map-making games like Avery Alder’s The Quiet Year and Beak, Feather, & Bone by Tyler Crumrine, we are proud to bring you Horizon: A Collaborative Utopia-Building Game.

Horizon is a collaborative world-building game. Starting with an unlabelled map, players are assigned community roles before taking turns claiming and describing locations. Players draw from a standard deck of playing cards to determine the value that will define their structure (community, sustainability, equity, and openness) and then describe its exterior, purpose, and tradeoff (what may be the consequences of creating the structure). As different locations are claimed, a narrative for a society and its inhabitants starts to emerge. The question is: will it truly be a utopia?

Each player selects a Utopian Role, representing a core occupation or essential function within Horizon. 

A variant is that instead of having only one role for the entire game, players can be randomly assigned a new one at the start of each round.

From a bustling seaside harbour city, a fortress settlement atop a cliff, and a secluded island, explore these open-world maps and start building your utopian community. As you explore and build your utopia, you'll encounter other players’ creations- some may align with your utopian vision, while others may not. You will need to find ways to engage with or adapt to others' creations - even when they challenge your ideals.

Maps by Dyson Logos

As your utopian community begins to take shape, it's time to bring your own character to life! Each player now assumes a character in accordance with a Utopian Role. Choose a name, appearance, and age.

 By doing this, you'll fully embody the character that lives within the utopia you’ve collaboratively built. In Horizon, you’re not just creating a utopia but becoming a part of it.

Andre Novoa - > Our game designer, is the creator of an indie RPG label, Games Omnivorous, and has collaborated with several game designers, writers, story-boarders, illustrators, and graphic artists from all over the world. He has authored and edited more than fifteen games, some of which have received international accolades, including three nominations and one gold medal in the 2021 ENNIES Awards.

CETAPS Digital Lab & JRAAS Team

Luciano Moreira, Andre Novoa, Fátima Vieira, Liam Benison, Joana Pinela, Joel Faustino, Lile Kobaliani, Lizi Kolbaia, Raquel Souza, Bruno Cardoso, Felipe Ferreira, Thaís Barbedo Vigas

This game was first imagined by a group of utopians: young researchers working at CETAPS, coordinated by Luciano Moreira. It resulted from many discussions, first within the group and then with Andre Novoa, who was invited to write the game’s narrative and create its final version. 

The idea of creating a game at CETAPS resulted from the conviction that playing a game collectively fosters a sense of community and empathy between the players. This is clear in HORIZON, as players are asked to create a shared narrative resulting from joint efforts, debate, and much negotiation.

Creating Horizon was not easy, especially for a group of people, who, for the most part, have never stepped foot in game development. The creative process that went into building Horizon was more challenging and complex than the game itself. However, we wanted nothing more than to make the most of this project and have fun.

After all, it’s not every day you get to come to work and design a game.

Share with us your favorite stories about your playthroughs of Horizon!

Coming soon.

Authors: Luciano Moreira, Andre Novoa, Fátima Vieira,

Liam Benison, Joana Pinela, Joel Faustino,

Lile Kobaliani, Lizi Kolbaia, Raquel Souza,

Bruno Cardoso, Felipe Ferreira, Thaís Barbedo Vigas

Game Design: Andre Novoa

Editorial Direction: Luciano Moreira

Design & Layout: lina&nando // Art: Bosch & Bruegel

Editing: Liam Benison

Thank you to the following playtesters:

Ana Helena Lobo, André Ferreira, Anna Vlachopoulou,

Bruno Duarte, Donna Nova, Guilherme Gonçalves,

Júlio Cezar Batista, Miguel Elias Leite

Horizon is heavily inspired by The Quiet Year roleplaying game by Avery Alder 

and Beak, Feather & Bone by Tyler Crumrine. 

DOI: 10.21747/978-989-9193-43-7/hor

ISBNe: 978-989-9193-43-7

ISBN: 978-989-9193-44-4

Printed in Portugal by Papelmunde 

Dep. Legal: 541402/24

Financed by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the project UIDP/04097/2020 – CETAPS. https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDP/04097/2020