Daggerfall has always lived in my head rent-free. Not because of its graphics — but because of what it represented: a world so deep and systemic that it felt like it had a life of its own. Hundreds of cities, NPCs with schedules, a economy, factions, climbing rooftops to escape guards. A world that didn't just exist as a backdrop, but as an actual place.

I've been chasing that feeling for years. So I tried Daggerfall Unity, which is a fantastic way to play the old game today. Yet despite the massive technical improvements, it still retains the controls and UI from 1996. And since no one else seems to be building exactly what I want, I decided to build it myself — engine included.

The game is a first-person open-world RPG in the spirit of Daggerfall, but built with modern technology and a contemporary approach to UI and UX. The world is procedurally generated but deterministic — same seed, same world for every player. The goal is to build interlocking systems that create emergent stories on their own. The player decides what kind of life they live in this world. Follow the main storyline. Explore dungeons. Join factions and climb the ranks. Run a trade. Or just settle down in a city and mind your own business. The game doesn't judge.

Right now there are no NPCs, no quests, no combat. Just a procedurally generated open world that I keep finding myself walking around in — which honestly tells me that something is already working.

This is what it looks like today. Still early, but it's starting to feel like a place worth living in.

I'm building the Daggerfall successor I always wanted to play