Torizon Telecom: An FPS Built Entirely out of Letters and Words
Yechan Choi spoke about the text-based FPS game Torizon Telecom, explaining how the idea started as a typing game, how the progression system works, and detailing how he managed to create the game as a Solo Developer.
Introduction
Hello. My name is Yechan Choi, an indie Game Developer from South Korea, and I develop games under the nickname !CyberApex. I started making games in 2018 and have since developed a variety of titles, including Assau!t, Roots Need Control 3.0, and Super Kingcrab Simulator.
I've always loved creating things. As a child, I enjoyed making up stories and scenarios through games, and that naturally led me to become interested in game development. Today, I continue pursuing my passion as an indie game developer, creating unique and experimental games.
You can check out my website, itch.io, and Twitter/X.
Torizon Telecom
Torizon Telecom actually has its roots in one of my earlier projects. A few months after I entered university, I made a typing game in TypeScript called Torizon. The project originally started under the rather strange name TssaulT. At first, my goal was to turn my previous game, Assau!t, into a typing-based shooter.
As development continued, I changed the direction of the project and renamed it Torizon, a combination of the words "Text" and "Horizon." You can still play the original Torizon on my itch.io page. A few years passed after that. Then, around August of last year, I was invited to participate in a game jam in Jeonju.
During the event, while I was taking a break and thinking about ideas instead of actively working, I suddenly remembered Torizon. I realized that if my next project was going to be another typing game, it would have clear limitations. Then a simple idea came to me: "What if I used text as the graphics instead?"
The moment that idea crossed my mind, I opened Godot Engine and built a small first-person 3D maze prototype made entirely out of text. The prototype immediately felt like it had much more potential than I had expected. It made me want to explore the concept further. Just a few days after the game jam ended, I created a more polished prototype. That prototype eventually became the beginning of Torizon Telecom.
The response was far greater than I had expected, and seeing so many people interested in the concept convinced me to start developing Torizon Telecom in earnest.
Core Mechanics
The game already supports multiple languages. English has been available from the beginning, but since I'm Korean, most of the screenshots and gameplay clips I've shared online have naturally been in Korean. As for the story, Torizon Telecom follows the protagonist as they fight their way out of Telecom, a virtual nation built entirely out of text.
As players progress through the game, the visual world gradually evolves. The text characters become more spaced apart, and graphical elements such as wireframe structures and other visual details begin to appear. You can think of it as the evolution of the game's graphics.
The world slowly transforms from pure text into something that resembles reality. Ultimately, the protagonist's goal is to escape Telecom and reach the real world. In other words, the further players progress, the more visually detailed the game becomes, reflecting the protagonist's journey toward reality.
Development Process
One of the biggest technical challenges during development involved Godot Engine's TextMesh system. Godot provides a built-in TextMesh feature, but I found that some fonts would render incorrectly or have missing characters. Since Torizon Telecom relies heavily on text as its primary visual element, this became a major obstacle during development.
In the end, I had to abandon the built-in TextMesh system and develop my own alternative method for rendering the text-based graphics. I was hoping that a recent Godot Engine update would address these issues, but unfortunately the problem remains. If there's one thing I'd like to see improved in future versions of Godot, it would definitely be the TextMesh system.
I also use several custom tools to speed up the development of Torizon Telecom. Most of these tools were created with the help of AI. They include a map editor, a localization tool, a reinforcement learning AI system, weapon creation tools, and various other utilities designed specifically for this project. These tools help streamline my workflow, allowing me to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time developing the game itself.
Steam Page
The Steam store page for Torizon Telecom is already open. I'm currently aiming to release the game either by the end of this year or during the first quarter of 2027. Before the full release, I plan to launch a public demo around October so players can get an early look at the game.
Conclusion
Development of Torizon Telecom is currently about 55–60% complete. Most of the core gameplay systems and overall structure have already been finished, and I'm now focusing primarily on content creation, such as level design. Torizon Telecom is scheduled to be exhibited at BIC 2026 (Busan Indie Connect Festival).
I also enjoy attending smaller game development events whenever I have the opportunity. They've been a great place to meet other developers, exchange ideas, and learn from their experiences. Showing my game to fellow developers and receiving their feedback has been incredibly valuable, and those conversations have helped shape the game throughout its development.
