signet city brings a fungalpunk RPG rooted in 1980s British history

At a glance:

• Signet City is an upcoming indie RPG where players control a parasite inhabiting human hosts.
• The game draws heavily on 1980s British history, horror manga, and the New Weird literary movement.
• Developed by Gareth Damian Martin, creator of Citizen Sleeper, the title is slated for a 2024 release and can be wish‑listed on Steam.

What is signet city

Signet City is the next project from Gareth Damian Martin, the indie designer behind the critically acclaimed Citizen Sleeper. Described as a "fungalpunk" role‑playing game, it places the player in the role of a parasitic entity that jumps between human hosts to achieve its own secret objectives. The setting is a bleak, brutalist metropolis that feels like a monochrome Gotham on the brink of collapse, echoing the industrial decay of northern England in the late 1970s.

The core gameplay loop revolves around taking control of different hosts, each with their own lives, jobs, and social circles. As the parasite you manage a resource called emotion, which lets you nudge a host’s decisions, unlock hidden actions, or even sabotage rival factions. Narrative moments are presented from two perspectives: second‑person for the parasite’s direct actions and third‑person for the host’s internal thoughts, creating an "overlapping quality" that forces players to constantly negotiate between alien motives and human consequences.

Cultural and historical inspirations

Martin’s British upbringing is the backbone of Signet City’s worldbuilding. The Winter of Discontent (1978‑79)—a period of severe cold, mass strikes, and political upheaval that led to the downfall of Prime Minister James Callaghan—serves as a narrative springboard. The game mirrors that era’s labor struggles and ecological crises, portraying a city where industrial collapse has left a lingering, almost palpable dread.

Beyond politics, the developer cites the work of photographer Tish Murtha, whose 1980s images of Newcastle’s working‑class neighborhoods captured both the devastation of Thatcher‑era policies and the resilience of the people left behind. These visual references inform the game’s gritty aesthetic, grounding the surreal fungal elements in a recognizable social reality.

Visual and literary influences

Signet City’s art direction pulls from a surprisingly eclectic mix. Japanese cult classic Tetsuo: The Iron Man inspired the grotesque fusion of flesh and machinery, while Tsutomu Nihei’s 2005 manga Abara contributed bone‑like, fungal monsters that hover between organic and inorganic. Horror manga, musical theatre set designs for Sting’s The Last Ship, and British social photography all converge in the game’s promotional trailer, which features a building dubbed "The Algae Burners"—a direct lift from Martin’s Inktober sketches.

Literary influences include New Weird authors China Miéville and Jeff VanderMeer, whose works explore worlds that are simultaneously alien and politically charged. Martin aims to make players feel "fundamentally inhuman" as they navigate the parasite’s objectives against the backdrop of a society still haunted by its 1980s past.

Gameplay mechanics and resources

The parasite’s primary currency is emotion, a mechanic that quantifies how much influence the player can exert over a host’s choices. By spending emotion, you can amplify a host’s bravery, suppress fear, or trigger desperate actions that align with the parasite’s hidden agenda. Each host presents a unique set of opportunities and constraints, encouraging strategic hopping and careful resource management.

Narratively, the game alternates between the parasite’s second‑person directives and the host’s third‑person internal monologue. This dual‑view design is intended to create an "overlapping quality" where players must constantly reinterpret events from both an alien and a human standpoint, deepening immersion and moral ambiguity.

Development background

Before entering game development, Martin worked in theater design, creating pre‑visualizations for productions like Sting’s The Last Ship, a musical about the 1980s shipbuilding crisis in Newcastle. Those experiences with large‑scale set pieces and industrial scenery directly informed Signet City’s architectural language. The developer first sketched the alternate‑universe northern city during an Inktober challenge, later expanding those concepts into full‑scale environments.

Signet City is being built with a small indie team, leveraging the lessons learned from Citizen Sleeper’s narrative‑driven design. The title is expected to launch sometime in 2024, with a Steam page already live for wish‑listing. No exact release window has been announced, but Martin promises a "hopeful" debut next year.

Outlook and reception

Early reactions to the trailer highlight the game’s bold blend of political commentary and surreal horror. Critics appreciate the willingness to confront a specific historical moment—something rarely seen in mainstream RPGs—while also praising the innovative parasite mechanic. If the final product delivers on its ambitious vision, Signet City could carve out a niche for politically charged, artistically experimental games within the indie market.

Fans of Citizen Sleeper and those drawn to narrative‑heavy RPGs are encouraged to add Signet City to their Steam wish‑lists now, ensuring they’ll be notified once the exact launch date is confirmed.