The Party Assembles: Our Development Journey Starts Here
Once upon a time, in a world where stories were scattered like leaves on the wind, there lived a little goblin named Gob. Gob loved stories — the kind that made you laugh, cry, and lean forward in your seat to see what would happen next. But Gob had a problem: there was no stage big enough, or magical enough, to hold them all.
So Gob and his creator Peter went searching. Through the forest of Ideas, across the River of “What Ifs,” past the Mountains of Post-It Notes, Gob found a group of makers, dreamers, and builders at Atomic Object who wanted to help. Together, they set out to create StageMaster: a living stage where anyone could weave characters, scenes, and adventures into stories worth sharing. And so, the journey began…
StageMaster was born as a response to a system where creative individuals often feel stifled and unheard. It’s the DM tool I always wished existed — a virtual stage where anyone can share stories that matter to them, regardless of experience or resources.
At the end of the day, I hope Stage Master lets the average consumer make stories that feel satisfying and authentic. That seems simple, but I think having your creativity validated by your peers is an undervalued part of the human experience. — Peter
This week we officially kicked off the development project with our partners at Atomic Object. The team gathered in Chicago to align on vision, define goals, and set the foundation for the next eight weeks of development. We brainstormed and refined features, eventually charting out a clear eight-week roadmap for StageMaster’s first beta. By the end of our kickoff, we knew what we wanted to build — and how to get there.
Team Highlights
The kickoff surfaced what StageMaster means to each of us, and gave each of the team members a chance to contribute. Our party for this adventure includes:
Peter Moffatt, Owner — the creator of StageMaster, who came in with a strong vision and project artifacts that set the foundation for our work.
Alecia Frederick, Software Consultant & Designer at Atomic — led activities like the character trading cards to surface team goals and fears, and helped shape the design direction.
Nick Hazekamp, Software Developer at Atomic — scoped the technical challenges ahead, especially around stage perspective and rendering, and mapped out early development priorities.
My favorite part of the Kickoff was facilitating a build‑your‑own character activity that helped us talk about goals and fears in a playful way. We created heroes with names, archetypes, and tools, then added villains to represent challenges. It quickly revealed shared obstacles and got everyone opening up without it feeling heavy. — Alecia
What We Did
Reviewed user personas and project goals
Conducted a competitive review of tools in the space
Discussed project artifacts and ideas Peter had prepared
Brainstormed and prioritized features
Built a clear 8-week roadmap for the first StageMaster beta
Where We’re Headed
By the end of the kickoff, we had a clear eight-week roadmap to guide us toward a usable StageMaster beta that lays the foundation for building and sharing stories. The journey ahead feels like laying out a map and marking our first destinations.
One of the biggest challenges will be tackling the stage perspective and rendering — the piece that makes StageMaster feel like a living, breathing stage. Making it effective while staying cost‑efficient is both exciting and daunting, like preparing for a big performance on short notice. It will take experimentation, optimization, and iteration, but we’re eager to meet that challenge head‑on.
Right now it feels like we’re still in the shopping trip before the quest begins. We’re getting familiar with the starting town, stocking up on gear, and maybe even haggling for a discount on rations. Beyond the town walls, the map is mostly fog of war—full of exciting discoveries, unexpected challenges, and who-knows-what waiting.