Tracing Citizen Sleeper’s circuitous vector from tabletop to hit video game

Dice swim in Citizen Sleeper’s bloodstream. The hit sci-fi video game developed by Jump Over the Age’s Gareth Damian Martin was an immediate hit when it released in 2022, not only for its emotionally gripping narrative about androids and bodies, but for the dice placement mechanic at its heart. Followup Citizen Sleeper: Starward Vector releases today and excels at everything the original already pulled off: an expansive story buttressed by more thoughtful tabletop logic.

In both games players control a Sleeper, a replicated human consciousness housed in a corporate-owned frame, and use randomly rolled d6 dice to complete activities. These dice, modulated by five core skills, increase your odds at success from a straight coin flip to guaranteed victory. As Rascal’s interview with Martin explores, luck and fate are interwoven into Citizen Sleeper’s possibility space in much the same fashion as any tabletop RPG worth its salt.

That’s partially due to Martin’s own proclivities. The London-based designer has a fascinating introduction to tabletop games, and their Citizen Sleeper games are, among many other things, experiments in applying the various analog mechanics to video game structures. Most evident are the dice, stress, and clocks from Blades in the Dark, but actual play philosophy also plays a significant hand in shaping the questions Martin has asked will crafting their newest video game. Plus, they’re already thinking about bringing Citizen Sleeper all the way back to the table in the future.

The first installment of this two-part interview has been edited slightly for clarity.