Home / LightQuest / LightQuest Specification
LightQuest
Adventure Beneath the Surface
LightQuest is a real-world adventure game that transforms the world around players into a persistent battlefield between Light and Shadow. Players explore real-world locations, discover underground access points, battle Shadow figures, complete quests, collect rare items, and work together to restore areas to the Light.
Specification Goals
- Define a modular real-world adventure game
- Connect surface exploration with underground gameplay
- Support cooperative parties of up to six players
- Create persistent Light and Shadow world states
- Provide randomized loot and collectible artifacts
- Establish verifiable digital ownership and provenance
- Prevent duplicated and fraudulent digital assets
- Support secure player-to-player trading
- Enable real-world marketplace transactions
- Support multiple global currencies and exchange rates
- Enable federation between independently operated game servers
- Provide an extensible foundation for community-developed modules
- Maintain player safety during real-world gameplay
Core Modules
World Module
The World Module defines the persistent geographic game world.
Features include:
- Real-world geographic regions
- Surface exploration
- Points of interest
- Discoverable locations
- Regional progression
- Persistent world states
- Dynamic world events
- Shadow-controlled territories
- Light-controlled territories
- Restored territories
- Safe zones
- Location-based encounters
- Regional objectives
- Geographic discovery
Light Module
The Light Module defines the game’s Light system and restoration mechanics.
Features include:
- Light versus Shadow progression
- Regional Light levels
- Player Light progression
- Light restoration
- Light-based abilities
- Light-based equipment
- Light sanctuaries
- Safe areas
- Illumination events
- Restoration objectives
- Group restoration objectives
- World-state effects based on Light levels
Shadow Module
The Shadow Module defines the enemies and forces opposing the players.
Features include:
- Shadow figures
- Shadow classes
- Shadow types
- Shadow abilities
- Shadow strengths and weaknesses
- Shadow behaviors
- Shadow factions
- Shadow territories
- Shadow patrols
- Shadow ambushes
- Shadow invasions
- Elite Shadow encounters
- Boss Shadow encounters
- Regional Shadow bosses
- Rare Shadow variants
- Dynamic Shadow spawning
- Cooperative Shadow encounters
- Difficulty scaling
Descent Module
The Descent Module defines how players access the underground layer of the game world.
Features include:
- Basements
- Tunnels
- Caves
- Approved subterranean passages
- Hidden entrances
- Discovered entrances
- Location verification
- Entry authorization
- Underground region mapping
- Surface-to-underground relationships
- Underground discovery
- Extraction points
- Dungeon access states
Dungeon Module
The Dungeon Module transforms approved underground locations into playable adventure spaces.
Features include:
- Location-linked dungeons
- Procedurally generated dungeons
- Curated dungeons
- Multi-level dungeons
- Variable layouts
- Dungeon difficulty tiers
- Environmental hazards
- Traps
- Locked areas
- Keys and access items
- Secret passages
- Hidden chambers
- Elite rooms
- Boss rooms
- Treasure rooms
- Randomized encounters
- Dungeon events
- Dungeon modifiers
- Group objectives
- Dungeon completion rewards
- Repeatable expeditions
Combat Module
The Combat Module defines player combat against Shadow figures and other hostile encounters.
Features include:
- Real-time combat
- Cooperative combat
- Character abilities
- Weapon-based combat
- Defensive abilities
- Offensive abilities
- Support abilities
- Crowd control
- Status effects
- Resistances
- Weaknesses
- Enemy targeting
- Threat management
- Environmental combat
- Elite encounters
- Boss mechanics
- Group combat events
- Combat progression
Character Module
The Character Module defines player characters and individual progression.
Features include:
- Player characters
- Character levels
- Experience points
- Attributes
- Abilities
- Skill progression
- Equipment slots
- Character customization
- Character builds
- Specializations
- Unlockable abilities
- Achievements
- Regional progression
- Quest progression
- Expedition progression
- Prestige progression
- Endgame progression
Class Module
The Class Module defines playable character classes and specialized roles.
Features include:
- Multiple character classes
- Class-specific abilities
- Class-specific equipment
- Class progression
- Class specializations
- Hybrid builds
- Defensive roles
- Offensive roles
- Support roles
- Exploration abilities
- Light-oriented abilities
- Modular class expansion
- Class balancing
Loot Module
The Loot Module defines randomized item generation and rewards.
Features include:
- Randomized loot
- Weapons
- Armor
- Accessories
- Artifacts
- Materials
- Consumables
- Crafting resources
- Currency items
- Cosmetic items
- Rare items
- Legendary items
- Unique items
- Randomized attributes
- Item quality
- Item modifiers
- Set equipment
- Unique effects
- Upgradeable equipment
- Salvageable equipment
- Tradeable items
- Non-tradeable items
- Discovery-based loot
Artifact Module
The Artifact Module defines unique and rare collectible assets.
Features include:
- Unique artifacts
- Rare discoveries
- Historically inspired artifacts
- Region-specific artifacts
- Artifact provenance
- Artifact discovery records
- Artifact ownership
- Artifact transfer history
- Artifact rarity
- Artifact abilities
- Artifact collections
- Artifact achievements
- Artifact marketplace listings
- Artifact authenticity verification
- Artifact retirement
Party Module
The Party Module defines cooperative multiplayer.
Features include:
- Parties of up to six players
- Party creation
- Party invitations
- Party leadership
- Party permissions
- Party discovery
- Federated party membership
- Shared encounters
- Shared dungeon expeditions
- Cooperative objectives
- Group bosses
- Group events
- Group rewards
- Loot distribution
- Player-selected loot distribution
- Shared progression
- Player revival
- Party recovery
- Party evacuation
- Party completion records
Quest Module
The Quest Module defines structured objectives and adventures.
Features include:
- Main quests
- Regional quests
- Underground quests
- Discovery quests
- Shadow hunts
- Artifact quests
- Cooperative quests
- Six-player quests
- World quests
- Dynamic quests
- Recurring quests
- Hidden quests
- Exploration quests
- Restoration quests
- Community quests
- Marketplace-related quests
Encounter Module
The Encounter Module defines dynamic activities throughout the game world.
Features include:
- Shadow encounters
- Underground expeditions
- Elite encounters
- Boss encounters
- World bosses
- Shadow invasions
- Artifact discoveries
- Light restoration events
- Community objectives
- Federated events
- Rare encounters
- Dynamic difficulty
- Cooperative objectives
- Encounter rewards
- Encounter provenance
Progression Module
The Progression Module defines advancement across characters, regions, equipment, and achievements.
Features include:
- Experience
- Levels
- Character advancement
- Ability progression
- Equipment progression
- Regional progression
- Light progression
- Quest progression
- Dungeon progression
- Achievement progression
- Artifact collections
- Prestige systems
- Endgame progression
Crafting Module
The Crafting Module defines creation, modification, upgrading, and salvage of eligible assets.
Features include:
- Crafting
- Resource gathering
- Salvaging
- Item upgrading
- Item modification
- Crafting recipes
- Rare materials
- Artifact materials
- Regional materials
- Crafting progression
- Crafting specialization
- Crafting stations
- Crafting discoveries
- Tradeable crafted items
World Event Module
The World Event Module defines large-scale activities affecting players and regions.
Features include:
- Shadow invasions
- Regional invasions
- Underground outbreaks
- World bosses
- Artifact discoveries
- Light restoration events
- Community objectives
- Federated events
- Server-wide events
- Cross-server events
- Limited-time encounters
- Rare world encounters
- Dynamic difficulty
- Global event progression
Real World Module
The Real World Module defines how physical geography is represented within the game while maintaining separation from real-world ownership and physical risks.
Features include:
- Geographic mapping
- Location verification
- Location-based gameplay
- Real-world points of interest
- Regional content
- Geographic discovery
- Location-specific encounters
- Location-based rewards
- Physical access restrictions
- Private property exclusion
- Restricted location exclusion
- Dangerous location exclusion
- Real-world hazard awareness
Federation Module
The Federation Module enables independently operated servers to participate in an interoperable LightQuest network.
Features include:
- Federated game servers
- Independent server operation
- Federated player identities
- Cross-server parties
- Cross-server encounters
- Cross-server expeditions
- Cross-server communication
- Cross-server asset verification
- Cross-server inventory verification
- Cross-server marketplace participation
- Federated world synchronization
- Server trust relationships
- Server authorization
- Federation permissions
- Federation discovery
- Server reputation
- Federated events
- Federated communities
Player Blockchain Identity Module
The Player Blockchain Identity Module provides every player with a persistent blockchain-based identity.
Features include:
- Unique Player Blockchain ID
- Persistent player identity
- Pseudonymous identity
- Federated identity recognition
- Cross-server identity
- Player ownership records
- Complete inventory records
- Asset ownership history
- Discovery history
- Transaction history
- Marketplace history
- Transfer history
- Retirement history
- Security records
- Identity verification
- Ownership verification
- Inventory reconciliation
Blockchain Item Registry Module
The Blockchain Item Registry Module provides every game-generated digital asset with a unique canonical identity.
Features include:
- Unique blockchain Item ID
- Item generation records
- Item discovery records
- Item provenance
- Item ownership
- Item attributes
- Item rarity
- Item origin server
- Generation timestamp
- Generation event
- Cryptographic verification
- Transfer history
- Marketplace history
- Retirement state
- Asset authenticity verification
- Cross-server asset validation
Every game-generated item intended for persistent ownership or trading must receive a unique canonical identity. The registry must prevent multiple legitimate active instances from representing the same item.
Duplicate Prevention Module
The Duplicate Prevention Module detects and removes unauthorized duplicate assets.
Features include:
- Global duplicate detection
- Unique Item ID enforcement
- Cryptographic identity validation
- Blockchain identity validation
- Server-origin validation
- Inventory validation
- Ownership validation
- Transaction validation
- Federation reconciliation
- Marketplace validation
- Duplicate instance detection
- Immediate duplicate removal
- Duplicate quarantine
- Invalid asset flagging
- Double-spend prevention
- Replay protection
- Canonical ownership resolution
- Asset state reconciliation
The canonical validation hierarchy should prioritize blockchain identity, authoritative ownership records, valid transaction history, server state, and client state. Client claims alone must never establish asset ownership.
Immutable Asset Ledger Module
The Immutable Asset Ledger Module records the complete lifecycle of persistent digital assets.
Features include:
- Discovery records
- Generation records
- Registration records
- Ownership records
- Transfer records
- Purchase records
- Sale records
- Marketplace records
- Upgrade records
- Modification records
- Retirement records
- Duplicate detection records
- Fraud records
- Dispute records
- Chronological asset history
- Cryptographic verification
- Corrective event records
- Historical provenance
Asset histories must be append-only. Corrections must be represented as new corrective events rather than silent modification or deletion of previous records.
Asset Provenance Module
The Asset Provenance Module defines the complete lifecycle of game-generated assets.
A persistent asset may progress through states including:
- Generated
- Discovered
- Registered
- Assigned
- Owned
- Used
- Upgraded
- Modified
- Listed
- Sold
- Purchased
- Transferred
- Resold
- Frozen
- Disputed
- Retired
Discovery records should establish the relationship between the asset, discovering player, game location, discovery event, encounter, federated server, and applicable party.
Safe Trading Module
The Safe Trading Module protects players during digital asset transactions.
Features include:
- Buyer confirmation
- Seller confirmation
- Asset verification
- Ownership verification
- Payment verification
- Price confirmation
- Currency confirmation
- Asset locking
- Payment locking
- Escrow support
- Atomic settlement where supported
- High-value transaction protection
- Confirmation delays
- Cancellation windows
- Cryptographic receipts
- Replay protection
- Double-spend prevention
- Theft prevention
- Fraud detection
- Suspicious transaction detection
- Asset freezing
- Dispute handling
- Transaction rejection
- Transaction cancellation
- Settlement verification
A standard transaction may progress through:
Draft → Offered → Accepted → Asset Locked → Payment Secured → Buyer Confirmed → Seller Confirmed → Final Validation → Settled → Ledger Recorded
Failure states may include:
- Rejected
- Cancelled
- Disputed
- Frozen
Real World Marketplace Module
The Real World Marketplace Module enables eligible game assets to be sold for real-world money.
Features include:
- Player-owned listings
- Fixed-price sales
- Auctions
- Offers
- Buy orders
- Seller profiles
- Buyer profiles
- Item provenance display
- Authenticity verification
- Ownership verification
- Item history
- Rarity information
- Sale history
- Marketplace search
- Marketplace filters
- Regional marketplaces
- Federated marketplaces
- Cross-server purchases
- Transaction records
- Marketplace reputation
- Fraud detection
- Dispute workflows
The marketplace must distinguish between game-generated assets and real-world monetary value while maintaining verifiable ownership and transaction history.
Global Economy Module
The Global Economy Module provides built-in support for monetary exchange between different currencies.
Features include:
- Multiple currencies
- Global exchange rates
- Currency conversion
- Buyer currency conversion
- Seller currency conversion
- Exchange-rate records
- Exchange-rate timestamps
- Configurable exchange-rate providers
- Reference currencies
- Transaction fees
- Marketplace commissions
- Optional taxes
- Regional transaction rules
- Currency availability rules
- Currency settlement records
- Historical exchange rates
- Exchange-rate verification
- Cross-border transactions
- Federated economic interoperability
Every applicable transaction should preserve the currency used, applicable exchange rate, exchange-rate timestamp, converted reference value, and settlement status.
Economy Module
The Economy Module defines the optional in-game economy.
Features include:
- Player trading
- Resource markets
- Crafting economies
- Game currencies
- Player marketplaces
- Regional economies
- Server economies
- Federated economies
- Supply and demand systems
- Resource exchange
- Economic progression
- Configurable economic rules
Community Module
The Community Module provides social structures for players and independently operated communities.
Features include:
- Player communities
- Guilds
- Federated guilds
- Teams
- Social hubs
- Community events
- Group achievements
- Shared objectives
- Player reputation
- Trading communities
- Discovery communities
- Exploration groups
- Community-created events
- Community challenges
Safety Module
The Safety Module establishes requirements for responsible real-world gameplay.
Features include:
- Anti-trespass safeguards
- Private property exclusion
- Restricted-area exclusion
- Dangerous-location exclusion
- Utility infrastructure exclusion
- Transportation infrastructure exclusion
- Emergency access protection
- Location safety validation
- Restricted underground access
- Geofenced exclusion zones
- Safe route requirements
- No forced physical interaction
- No gameplay requirement that encourages unsafe entry
- Emergency shutdown controls
- Server safety policies
- Community safety reporting
Gameplay must never require players to trespass, enter dangerous areas, interfere with infrastructure, or disregard physical safety.
Anti-Cheat Module
The Anti-Cheat Module protects the integrity of the game world and its assets.
Features include:
- Server-authoritative game state
- Client integrity validation
- Item authenticity verification
- Inventory reconciliation
- Movement validation
- Encounter validation
- Transaction validation
- Blockchain verification
- Duplicate detection
- Automated anomaly detection
- Exploit detection
- Replay detection
- Unauthorized item generation detection
- Unauthorized ownership detection
- Suspicious account activity detection
Governance Module
The Governance Module defines administrative and community-level controls.
Features include:
- Server governance
- Federation governance
- Community moderation
- Player reporting
- Asset dispute handling
- Marketplace dispute handling
- Server trust policies
- Federation admission policies
- Rule enforcement
- Transparent transaction rules
- Configurable community policies
- Human review workflows
- Audit records
- Appeal processes
Privacy Module
The Privacy Module separates verifiable game identities and asset records from unnecessary personal information.
Features include:
- Pseudonymous blockchain identities
- Separation of game identity from personal identity
- Minimal public identity information
- Protected personal information
- Protected payment information
- Private account data
- Selective disclosure
- Transaction privacy controls
- Federated identity privacy
- Access-controlled records
- Public asset verification without unnecessary personal disclosure
Audit Module
The Audit Module provides independent verification of game and asset activity.
Features include:
- Asset provenance verification
- Player inventory verification
- Ownership verification
- Transaction verification
- Discovery verification
- Marketplace verification
- Immutable event history
- Duplicate detection history
- Security event history
- Federation event history
- Corrective event records
- Independent verification
- Public verification where appropriate
- Protected verification for private records
Extension Module
The Extension Module provides a standardized mechanism for expanding LightQuest.
Extensions may provide:
- New character classes
- New Shadow types
- New abilities
- New equipment
- New artifacts
- New dungeon types
- New encounter types
- New quests
- New world events
- New economic systems
- New marketplace functionality
- New federation capabilities
- Community extensions
- Server-specific rules
- Federated extensions
Extensions must preserve core identity, provenance, security, safety, and interoperability requirements.
Optional Plugin Modules
Plugin Marketplace Module
Provides a marketplace for discovering, installing, updating, and managing compatible LightQuest plugins.
Plugin Economy Module
Allows approved plugins to introduce specialized economic systems while remaining compatible with the core asset and transaction rules.
Plugin Class Module
Allows additional player classes and class systems to be introduced independently of the core game.
Plugin Shadow Module
Allows additional Shadow factions, enemy types, behaviors, abilities, and encounter systems.
Plugin Dungeon Module
Allows specialized dungeon generation systems, themes, environments, and encounter rules.
Plugin Artifact Module
Allows additional artifact collections, discovery systems, historical themes, and artifact mechanics.
Plugin Quest Module
Allows communities and developers to create additional quests, campaigns, objectives, and adventures.
Plugin World Event Module
Allows servers or federations to introduce specialized world events and large-scale cooperative activities.
Plugin Crafting Module
Allows additional crafting systems, recipes, materials, production mechanics, and specialization systems.
Plugin Marketplace Extension Module
Allows specialized marketplaces, auction systems, trading mechanisms, and discovery markets while preserving Safe Trading requirements.
Plugin Federation Module
Allows additional federation capabilities, community relationships, server discovery systems, and cross-server functionality.
Plugin Governance Module
Allows communities to implement additional governance, moderation, voting, reputation, and administrative systems.
Plugin Analytics Module
Provides optional analysis of gameplay, discoveries, encounters, economies, progression, and world activity while respecting applicable privacy requirements.
Plugin Accessibility Module
Provides optional accessibility features that improve participation for players with different physical, sensory, cognitive, or communication needs.
Plugin Community Content Module
Allows approved communities to create and distribute custom adventures, quests, encounters, events, artifacts, and world content.
Persistent World Requirements
LightQuest should maintain persistent records for:
- Player identities
- Player inventories
- Digital assets
- Asset provenance
- Asset ownership
- Discoveries
- Transactions
- Marketplace activity
- Regional Light states
- Regional Shadow states
- Completed quests
- Achievements
- Artifact discoveries
- Dungeon progression
- Federation relationships
- Security events
- Asset retirement
Interoperability Requirements
Implementations should support:
- Portable player identities
- Portable inventories
- Portable asset histories
- Verifiable ownership
- Federated parties
- Federated encounters
- Federated marketplaces
- Cross-server asset validation
- Cross-server transaction validation
- Interoperable extensions
- Independent server operation
- Community-operated infrastructure
Open Source Design Principles
LightQuest is designed as an open source specification that prioritizes:
- Modularity
- Interoperability
- Federation
- Player ownership
- Asset provenance
- Verifiability
- Security
- Privacy
- Real-world safety
- Community participation
- Independent server operation
- Extensibility
- Vendor neutrality
- Human oversight
- Transparent rules
Long-Term World Persistence
The game should preserve the history of the world and its players over time.
Persistent records may include:
- Player progression
- Player identities
- Item identities
- Asset histories
- Regional states
- Discoveries
- Artifacts
- Marketplace records
- Federation relationships
- Historical world events
- Retired assets
- Achievements
- Player reputation
- Community accomplishments
Endgame
Endgame gameplay may include:
- High-level Shadow territories
- Elite dungeons
- World bosses
- Rare artifacts
- Legendary equipment
- Regional restoration campaigns
- Six-player expeditions
- Federated events
- Competitive discovery
- High-value trading
- Artifact collecting
- Advanced crafting
- Prestige progression
- Rare encounter hunting
- Global events
- Long-term community objectives
Specification Branding License (SBL)
Standard
- Fully AGPL-3.0+ compliant system
- Copyleft enforced for network deployments
- Required attribution:
- Roxanne Ardary
- https://www.roxanneardary.com/
Optional
- Specification Branding License (SBL)
- Attribution-free commercial deployment
- Pricing based on scale, usage, and deployment scope
- https://roxanneardary.com/lightquest/
License & Notice Requirements
LightQuest is released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+).
By contributing to any Open Arsenal project, you agree that your contributions will also be released under this license.
Please note the following:
- All contributions must comply with the AGPL-3.0+ terms.
- Under Section 7 of the license, all redistributions, forks, and derivative works must preserve attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com.
- LightQuest specifications are free to use with attribution. A Specification Branding License can be negotiated upon request.
- The project’s notice.md file tracks attribution requirements and contributor acknowledgments. Any update that adds new contributors or modifies attribution should also update
notice.md. - When submitting a pull request, ensure that any new files maintain the attribution headers where applicable.
- Network-deployed versions of this software must also remain fully AGPL-3.0+ compliant, including exposure of source code modifications when applicable under the license.
For full legal details, please refer to the AGPL-3.0+ license and the project’s notice.md file.
Notice – LightQuest
Attribution Requirement: Under Section 7 of the AGPL 3.0+ license, all redistributions, forks, and derivative works, including network-deployed versions of this project, must provide attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com.
Contributors
This file tracks contributors and their specific contributions to the project.
- Roxanne Ardary, roxanneardary.com – September 5, 2026
Created the repository for LightQuest. Created the real-world adventure game specification featuring surface and underground exploration, Shadow encounters, cooperative gameplay, persistent digital assets, federated worlds, and player-driven trading. - [Add other contributors here] – [Date]
[Describe contribution in one sentence]
License – LightQuest
This repository is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+).
Key Points
- You are free to use, modify, and distribute the code.
- All redistributions, forks, and derivative works or network-deployed versions must also be licensed under AGPL-3.0+ and provide attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com as required under Section 7 of the license.
- The software is provided “as is,” without warranty of any kind.
For the full license text, see GNU AGPL-3.0 License.