Becoming Saint mobile released and further experiments in narrative design

Becoming Saint, our medieval strategy game of faith, sins, penitence & conquest, is now available for tablets and phones, here is a little trailer:

Available on both Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

In Open Lab we are constantly experimenting with ways to integrate narrative and mechanics, in applied games, commercial games, and even in developing specialised tools in game design. Several projects are in the works and will be progressively be released, with demos, playtests and then full releases.

In 2026 we will release Rome City Of Cards, our first historic card game, with a strong narrative component and a non-hero-centred approach to history in games, of course:

“In Rome: City of Cards, you are not a conqueror, nor a general. You are a senator responsible for the invisible machinery that keeps Rome alive: aqueducts, roads, sewers, and public works that sustain millions. Every construction begins not with stone, but with persuasion.

Propose ambitious projects, answer to petitioners (“clients”), and fight political battles through strategic, card-based debates in the Roman Senate. Balance public good with political survival, manage resources and popularity!

Who cleaned the streets? Who regulated taverns and baths? Who ensured grain supply during crisis? History is not made only by emperors. It is made by those who keep the system running.”

We are also creating a new small historical strategy game, still set in 14th century medieval Italy: Revolt Of The Commons, set to be released in late 2027. A short description:

“Spread revolt in medieval Italy’s city-states by winning battles through persuasion, corruption, intimidation, and reform with this turn-based strategy game. Little randomness, no disposable units: every decision matters! Every Pope, Empire or Bank’s town is a power puzzle to be cracked open.”

We have several lessons learned from Becoming Saint that we will use in designing and developing Revolt Of The Commons:

• Have a battle system that is easy to manage and read at every phase and level, turn-based, no real-time

• Towns are structured as puzzles to be solved in a limited number of turn-based “attacks”

• Be more generative w.r.t. the game’s contents

• Do not use hidden randomness in the course of a given game (scenario)

The model and narrative are again quite novel for the genre: the rebels’ movement is the sum of its members; there is no in-game central authority, no disposable units, and the rebel movement has an evolving and explicit delegation-of-power relationship with the player. The concept is coming nice!

Our free tool for narrative design, Homer, has a host of new features, among which are image asset management, more localisation import/export features (including full support for labels with variables), custom properties for actors, export full flows as PDF and JPEGs, more scalability… some news presented here. It is in use in 5 different commercial projects!

As a direct showcase of Homer’s flexibility, we are developing a free, web-based visual novel centered on a Medici villa and its authentic “giardino all’italiana.” The entire game’s content and logic are managed through Homer, allowing for maximum creative flexibility. Will be a free app, available for everyone.

For more applied games, we are contributing to an undisclosed “game for health” with a research centre in Milan, continuing our series of games in this specialised field.

We close by sharing this link where you can play all games (commercial and applied) available from Open Lab.