Company Philosophy

Diversity, Metaphor, and Allegory

Ede Sol Games (pronounced “Eed Sohl”) was founded by a trans-creator. As such we believe strongly in strength in diversity, building consensus to solve our greatest problems, and getting to the core of different viewpoints to find our deeper connections. Han Cluster itself reflects this philosophy on many levels, from the practical, to the metaphorical, to the allegorical, without making judgements or attempting to draw direct parallels in the modern world. In short, the setting was created not only to facilitate a fun time at the table and to encourage cool storytelling between friends, but we believe it’s also a work of art in its own right. We think it has much to say, but we want to allow the setting to speak for itself. What you take from it (or don’t) is up to you.

Working with Others

We believe in treating our partners and fans fairly and compassionately.

Quality Takes Time

We believe in, as one of our heroes Mister Rogers said, “taking our time to do it right.” This means working together to build the best product we can within our capabilities. Creating a game like Han Cluster with its truly unique mechanics and tightly integrated themes requires creativity, iteration, and extensive testing. We put the time in to refine our ideas and do the best we can to release a final product worthy of our vision and our fan’s expectations.

AI and the Imperative to Preserve Human Culture

The short version is that Han Cluster and all Ede Sol Games’ products are 100% created by human creators as much as is possible.

Below is the long version:

AI In the Han Cluster

Artificial Intelligence machines presented in the Han Cluster are born from a very specific and intentional creative philosophy. Without getting into the nitty gritty, though they have some parallels to the AI tools in the real world, the artificial beings in the Han Cluster also possess a couple key differences.

First, they can only become conscious and sapient entities if they have a physical, interactive body. This, not only makes them vulnerable and mortal, like humans, it also makes them indelibly connected to the physical body with which they interact with the universe. There are deep implications to this that are in stark contrast to most of the AI algorithms and models that inhabit our real world. The second difference (which in our current times perhaps remains to be seen) is the Linked robots of the Han Cluster are formatively influenced by their creators, both intellectually and spiritually. There is something very human about the artificial intelligence machines in the Han Cluster that in our real world has so far been impossible to simulate, let alone authenticate. Linked machines are an independent species, but they can also still truthfully call themselves the children of humanity.

The Promise of Progress

This is all a long way of saying that we believe there is promise for AI in our real world–taking some of the menial tasks away from humans, calculating and solving problems in a way humans never could, and improving our quality of life in profound ways, both as we grow and as we age. Indeed, this kind of progress is inevitable. But one thing we would rather not see is the appropriating of human creativity and culture by automated tools. This is happening right now with generative AI products that are designed to create art, writing, poetry, music, and other artistic or creative products on our behalf without the substantial input of an active, engaged, conscious mind.

Creativity Stifled

We believe this is a corrupting of our culture, and left unchecked, could seriously stifle our ability to create, innovate, and iterate in ways only humans can. In a world where AI tools are generating our art for us, our imaginations are sidelined, and our souls are degraded. This is the line we are in real danger of crossing, and Ede Sol Games believes strongly in the fact that, despite the potential ease of use, monetary savings, and time efficiency these tools SEEM to provide, it’s still worth it to deliberately eschew them when possible in favor of human craft.

Our Promise

For that reason, we choose to do our best not to use them in this way. In a world where these tools are becoming more and more indelibly and inseparably integrated into our daily lives, this can be a moving target, but we will continue to navigate this path as best we can according to the principals we’ve outlined above.