PRESS KIT

CONTRABAND: Edge of the Fold

A branching narrative space game where every decision matters. Free. Browser-based. One developer.

Quick Facts

Title: CONTRABAND: Edge of the Fold
Developer: Dero Lavigne (solo dev)
Based in: Texas, USA
Genre: Narrative sci-fi adventure / space trader / choose-your-own-adventure
Platforms: Modern desktop browsers (/play/), experimental landscape mobile (/play-mobile/), optional Windows build
Release: April 2026
Price: Free. Optional paid epilogues ($4.99 each) — not yet enabled.
Engine: None. Vanilla JavaScript + Web Audio API
Length: 6–10 hours first run; 25+ hours for completionists
Languages: English UI + branching Spanish localization (HUD + wiki)
Age rating: T — implied violence, existential themes, no gore or sexual content
Website: edgeofthefold.com
Contact: press@edgeofthefold.com

Descriptions

Very short (25 words)

A girl is in danger. The universe is breaking. You have a ship. Rescue Lyra, fight the Black Fleet, and reach the Starforge.

Short (60 words)

CONTRABAND: Edge of the Fold is a free browser-first space narrative about Lyra, the Guardians, the Black Fleet, and the Rift. Choices record on branching timelines while you fly realtime Three.js combat, trade commodities, outfit 42 playable hulls, hire 32 crew members, escalate system threat, mine Asterion machines, chase six named bosses, and pursue four emblematic endings tracked in HUD achievements along with dozens of ancillary goals.

Long (150 words)

CONTRABAND: Edge of the Fold is a browser-based space narrative game from solo developer Dero Lavigne. You play a pilot pulled into the fight over Lyra, the Guardians, the Black Fleet, and the Starforge.

The game's core mechanic tracks major decisions as visible branches, letting players revisit choices and see how abandoned routes still echo through the campaign. Other characters remember what you did, and the route to the Starforge changes with you.

The shipped client ships 300+ scripted story scenes across main arcs, endings, tribunal machine missions, DLC hooks, and mirrored Spanish content — authored in data/story.js.

You manage warp fuel across 34 linked systems bucketed into seven exploration regions — 21 of them expose MARKET/STATION services when landed. Forty-two playable hull IDs, thirty-two crew perks stacking passive bonuses, thirteen Asterion fabricators culminating in Fold resonator upgrades, six bounty villains with scripted loot tiers, escalating threat ladders, Firebase entitlement syncing, realtime Three.js lasers and missiles.

Pointer-lock WASD anchors desktop HUDs; cinematic orbit tooling still honours accessibility sliders; storefront buttons tuck beside DLC indicators near the bottom-right HUD stack.

Features Bullet List

Rift branching — timeline ledger + revisit affordances tracked per save JSON
300+ scripted narrative scenes across main arcs, endings, tribunal machine beats, DLC hooks, and Haven jobs
Four trophy-tracked endings with epilogue fallout plus secret endingSeen variants
Realtime 3D dogfights — lasers, shotgun spreads, EMP / SEEKER / NUKE missiles, hostile escalation
42 purchasable / flyable ships with rarity-based slot grids up through tier‑7 caps
32 hireable crew perks with stacking econ / combat modifiers and chatter lines
Seven regions · 34 systems · 21 full-service docks woven into deterministic trade hashes
Reputation + rumor layers that change Haven cantina chatter, hunts, patrol density
55 achievements, including Apex Sector escalation, Pacifist, Stargazer galaxy sweep
Base fabricator — thirteen craftable Asterion machines + Fold Resonator chain
Autosave everywhere + optional Firebase sign-in/DLC restores
Hybrid audio — procedural ambience plus discrete soundtrack pickups
Free baseline — open URL, optionally install Windows companion or use landscape touch client
Landscape mobile beta — /play-mobile/ cockpit mirroring HUD saves when browsers behave

Screenshots & Media

Screenshots available on request. Email press@edgeofthefold.com for the full media pack (high-res PNGs, 1080p GIFs of combat and branch revisit, raw gameplay footage).

RIFT CHOICES

Visible decision history with branches you can revisit and consequences that echo forward.

SHIP COMBAT

Realtime Three.js bursts, drifting camera, EMP tradeoffs.

NARRATIVE SCENES

ASCII character portraits, branching dialogue, state-reactive text.

GALAXY MAP

Zoom region → system → planet. Land, dock, trade, fight, leave.

The Pitch

"There have been seventeen broken branches before yours. In sixteen of them, a pilot like you took the offered power. Sixteen branches collapsed. One — the seventh — refused. That refusal is the only reason the Guardians still exist. You are pilot number eighteen."

You play an independent pilot. A girl is in danger. The universe is breaking. You have a ship. The enemy is coming. Your first decision is simple: rescue Lyra, run from the Black Fleet, gather allies, and reach the Starforge before reality collapses.

The Guardians fight to keep the Rift from collapsing reality. The Black Fleet wants Lyra, the Starforge, and the power waiting beyond the final route.

You can side with the Guardians. Side with Vex, a woman who exists across seventeen broken branches simultaneously. Side with the Black Fleet, if you're willing to wear their mark. Or refuse to choose and live with all of it.

The game ends one of four ways. None is canon. All are yours.

About the Developer

Dero Lavigne is an indie developer based in Texas. CONTRABAND: Edge of the Fold is his first commercial release.

The game was built over several months using only vanilla JavaScript, CSS, and HTML — no framework, no game engine, no middleware. The entire game is under 120KB of code and runs instantly in any modern browser.

Inspirations include the Loki TV series for reality-breaking stakes, Galaxy on Fire 2 for its sense of a living galaxy, and Disco Elysium for its commitment to dialogue as gameplay.

"I wanted a simple story with immediate pressure: a girl is in danger, the universe is breaking, and your ship is the only thing moving fast enough to matter."

For Streamers & Content Creators

Full permission granted to stream, record, monetize, and share content featuring CONTRABAND: Edge of the Fold. No revenue sharing required. No key needed — the game is free. Just go.

If you feature the game in a video or stream, a credit link to edgeofthefold.com is appreciated but not required.

If you'd like a shoutout on the game's main site or Ko-fi channel, email press@edgeofthefold.com with your stream/video link.

FAQ

Is this really free?

Yes. The full base game (prologue + 4 chapters + side quests + 4 epilogues) is completely free. No ads. No install. Paid cosmetic packs are being considered for the future, but all narrative content is free forever.

How long did it take to make?

Roughly 3 months of focused full-time authoring, iterated weekly since — tens of thousands of lines across play/, data/, wiki/, and tooling. Hundreds of scripted scenes now live entirely in-repo with bilingual coverage.

Why no engine?

Size and speed. A Unity WebGL build would be 20-50MB. The entire game + wiki + landing page fits in ~200KB zipped. The whole thing loads in under 2 seconds on a modern phone. Vanilla web standards also mean zero vendor lock-in — this game will still work in 10 years.

What's the business model?

Free core game, optional cosmetics and epilogue unlocks, Ko-fi donations. Monetization is disabled by default at launch. Revenue goal is to fund continued development, not to gate content.

Any plans for a native version?

Windows desktop build is available; the browser game targets keyboard and mouse. A Steam version is being evaluated for the future.

How can I support the developer?

Share the game. Write about it. Stream it. Buy a Ko-fi coffee if you feel like it. Report bugs. That's it.