You are a spacecraft operator

It’s not a big spacecraft. As a matter of fact, it is very cramped. But it’ll do to ferry payloads between space stations, get you out to satellites needing maintenance, or recover space debris for recycling. It’s anything but a boring job, and most people don’t do it for very long. Some quit because the stress becomes too much. Some die alone somewhere out in the vacuum, victims of their own mistakes. Most go bankrupt because they can’t find good enough jobs to offset the docking fees, maintenance costs and horrendous propellant prices. But some manage to achieve their goals, whatever they might be.

A deep, hard science-fiction world

It is Half a century after the Great Lunacy. A Period during which mankind saw frantic expansion into its surrounding space fueled by the narcissism of its wealthiest, followed by the worst economic crash in history.
It left thousands stranded in orbit and on the moon, fighting for their survival. And, surprisingly, winning!

By now, Earth is reconnecting with its lost children, who find their way of life confronted by the overwhelming economic and legal power of the international corporations now holding most global power on earth. It is a time of tension and troubles, but also of great opportunities.

Survive an unforgiving environment

Orbital Margins is a turnbased, heavily menu- and text-driven RPG that blends dice mechanics from pen and paper games with the unforgiving nature of roguelikes, aesthetics inspired by science fiction and NASA concept art from the 40ies through 80ies and hard science-fiction world building. Your enemies aren’t space pirates and evil empires this time around. Instead, you’ll be battling the brutal realities of space and small-business economics combined.

To survive, you will not only need to become proficient at carrying out dangerous EVA work and piloting your spacecraft (no knowledge of orbital mechanics required, though it helps a little). You will also need to build a network of contacts to ensure a steady supply of jobs and make local conditions more favorable; Maintain and upgrade your spacecraft to become more efficient, keep you alive longer, and make you feel less like a sardine in a can; And develop your character to become better at dealing with all the vagaries of space, business, people and bureaucracy.

Experience a world in transition

Orbital Margins doesn’t have a story for you to follow. Not in the conventional sense. What it has is a civilization full of conflict and animosity on a historic trajectory. It is unlikely that you will experience this history in its entirety with one character. Rather, it is intended that you experience it through the eyes of different characters at different times.

As a very small fish in a vast ocean, you must find your way between the feet of quarreling giants without getting stepped on. You are not going to save this world. You are not going to change its fate. But you may find a place in it.

Current state of the game

The game is still in development and has reached what I would call “mid-alpha”.

I am an experienced software developer that is looking for a path into this vast and intimidating forest they call “the gaming industry” as a solo-dev. As such it seems prudent to start generating interest in the project and gathering feedback at an early stage. Or at least seeing if such interest exists and such feedback might be forthcoming.

For this purpose, an early Demo has been published this summer of 2026. It features the core mechanics and aesthetics of the game, and should be a good representation of how the game plays. It is however still lacking in flavor and variety (and the entire history thing mentioned above), though a glimpse of the world can already be had by reading its codex pages, and a few hours of fun can be found by completing jobs, expanding your network of contacts and upgrading your craft and character.

If you played the Demo, it would be great if you could give me some feedback over in the community hub!