code, game, github

https://gist.github.com/mbutler/24ba7d2b46d21aa0cef9aa760da9126d

Zalvek the Cipher is an experiment in creating self-contained, cryptographic game characters that exist entirely within a single HTML file. It follows directly from earlier work like charm.farm, continuing an interest in characters and systems that are portable, inspectable, and self-contained.

There is no backend, no account system, and no external verification. Everything the character is—and everything it can prove about itself—lives in the file.

Each character is defined by a cryptographic key pair. The public key represents the body: the visible, shareable identity. The private key represents the spirit: the part that must be protected and never revealed. Identity is established through cryptographic proof rather than names or passwords. The character signs data with its private key and allows others to verify those signatures using the public key.

The file includes functionality for generating keys, exporting state, and verifying identity through challenge–response. To preserve continuity, each new version of the character is cryptographically linked to its previous state. Change is allowed, but it must be provable.

This structure removes the need for centralized servers or trusted intermediaries. A character can be copied, emailed, archived, or stored offline while retaining a coherent identity. Interaction becomes an exchange of proofs rather than reliance on shared infrastructure.

Zalvek isn’t a game in the conventional sense. It’s a character encoded as a protocol: a single file that carries identity, history, and the ability to speak for itself.