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Devlog #1: Where Manala came from

Manala · published 7 Jul 2026, 10:18 UTC

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First devlog is up. Manala is a 2D MMORPG built on Finno-Ugric mythology, driven by card combat. This is the story of where it came from.Three influences, three pillars:

LARP (10 years): the faction war. Fun over winning.
MUME, the text MUD I started 25 years ago: under the graphical coat, Manala is still a MUD at heart. Room to room, one persistent world.
Slay the Spire: the card combat. You're not an invincible hero; you're barely staying alive.

Under the hood it's built like a 90s bank: thin-server, thick-database. Right now the world is about 400 rooms modeled on a real place in Estonia, with 170 NPCs (enemies, merchants, and figures pulled from LARP and Estonian mythology).Timeline:

Aug 10: free demo launches on Steam
October: Steam Next Fest
Nov 6: full game launches

If you want to support a solo dev: wishlist the game and come hang in the Discord. That's where I am and where the demo testers will organize.Discord: https://discord.gg/MS9vXquzMX

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