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01 / 12  ·  Cover

Linear stories end.
Interactive stories never do.

Arcanum is the creation engine for rule-driven, stateful, monetizable interactive stories — built for the creator who thinks in story first.

Pre-Seed
Stage
$500K
Ask
IF / Creator Economy
Category
2026
Year
Confidential
Distribution
02 / 12  ·  The Problem
Interactive story creation is broken
at the tool level.

The creator who wants to build an interactive story faces a binary that has existed for 15 years: learn to script, or accept a tool with no depth.

  • Twine requires JavaScript for real state management — <5% of 2M+ downloads publish commercially.
  • Ink demands its own scripting language. Fiction writers abandon it before their first publish.
  • Simple choice editors have no rule system, no stats, no inventory, no validation.
  • No free IF tool validates graph integrity live. Dead ends are found by players, not creators.
  • No creator-first IF tool has native monetization. Revenue requires an external payment stack.
<5%
of 2M+ Twine downloads ever publish commercially
15 yrs
Twine's age — still the dominant free IF tool. No serious rival.
0
creator-first IF platforms with native monetization in the market today
03 / 12  ·  The Insight
Creators think in narrative intent.
Not in variables and logic trees.

The fundamental mismatch: existing tools ask creators to think in systems. Fiction writers think in story. Forced to switch between narrative and technical modes simultaneously — they abandon the tool.

  • Story intent must be the input. The creator describes what happens. Arcanum derives the structure automatically.
  • "The player tries to pick the lock" → system generates: rule type, dice definition, outcome bands, destination nodes, effect groups, condition groups.
  • Advanced options revealed only when requested — invisible to creators who don't need them.
  • The creator sees the story. The engine handles everything else. This is the inversion that unlocks the market.
04 / 12  ·  The Solution
Five templates. Zero code.
Complete logic — automatically.

Each template is a complete system hidden behind a single story prompt. The platform converts narrative description into deterministic, testable, monetizable logic.

T1
Simple Choice
Options with auto-generated branches. No dice, no stats. Pure narrative branching.
T2
Risk / Luck
Hidden probability roll. Fail / Success / Critical outcome bands — creator sets thresholds.
T3
Skill Check
Stat-bound roll vs difficulty class. Easy / Medium / Hard. System generates 1d20 + stat vs DC.
T4
Fight / Challenge
Combat with health and resource effects auto-wired to round outcomes.
T5
Advanced / Custom
Full rule system. Custom dice notation. Restricted DSL expressions. For expert creators only.
05 / 12  ·  How It Works
Every action resolves through
the same deterministic chain.
ActionTemplate selected
→
RuleDice + stat logic
→
OutcomeNamed result bands
→
TransitionConditions + Effects
→
StateStats / flags / items
→
NodeNext scene
// "Pick the lock" — Skill Check template, Dexterity, DC 15 action.rule = 1d20 + player.dexterity // generated by template outcome[fail] → roll < 15 → node: corridor_locked | effect: stamina -= 1 outcome[success] → roll 15-19 → node: room_beyond | effect: rooms_explored += 1 outcome[critical] → roll = 20 → node: secret_passage | effect: has_lockpick = false
  • Validation engine flags broken chains live — click to jump to the issue node.
  • Test mode: force outcomes, override state, jump to any node, rollback.
06 / 12  ·  The Product
What creators build with.
What players experience.

Creator Side

  • Visual node graph editor: drag, connect, zoom, group, collapse
  • 5 action templates with progressive complexity disclosure
  • Live validation panel — 9 issue types, jump-to-node navigation
  • Placeholder system — full story architecture before any prose
  • Test mode: force outcomes, state override, jump, rollback
  • Analytics: path heatmap, branch coverage, player drop-off

Player Side

  • Scene rendering: text, image, external video links (MVP)
  • Choice resolution + dice roll visualisation with result reveal
  • Live stat and inventory display updated on every transition
  • Save / load via state snapshot at any node
  • Premium branch unlock — in-story payment gate at transition level
  • Embeddable player for creator-owned web destinations
07 / 12  ·  What Creators Receive
Not just a tool.
A complete creation-to-monetization pipeline.
Capability Twine Ink / Inkle Choice of Games Arcanum
No code required⚡ Partial✗ Scripting✗ ChoiceScript✓ All tiers
Rule system (dice, stats)✗ JS only⚡ Via code✓ Yes✓ 5 templates
State / inventory management⚡ Manual script✓ Yes✓ Yes✓ Auto-managed
Live graph validation✗ None✗ None✗ None✓ 9 issue types
Structure-first workflow✗ Not supported✗ Not supported✗ Not supported✓ Placeholder system
Native monetization✗ External tools✗ External tools⚡ Platform locked✓ Story + branch level
Creator-owned revenue✓ Yes✓ Yes✗ Platform locked✓ Commission model
08 / 12  ·  Market
$13.4B market. No category winner
in creator-first tooling.
Total Addressable Market
TAM
$13.4B
Serviceable Addressable Market
SAM
$1.2B
Obtainable — Year 3 Target
SOM
$12M ARR
  • Narrative games market: $13.4B (2024) · growing 28% YoY
  • Mobile narrative games (Choices, Episode): $2.4B annual revenue · demand proven
  • Visual novel sub-market: $1.8B · fastest growing segment within games
  • NaNoWriMo creator pool: 4.2M participants · 800K completions per year
  • Twine's 2M+ download pool with near-zero commercial conversion — the unmonetized supply
  • Platform gap: no new creator-first IF tool at scale since StoryNexus sunsetting in 2022
09 / 12  ·  Business Model
Creator subscriptions +
platform commission.

Two revenue streams that grow together. As creators succeed, platform revenue grows with them.

  • Creator Free — $0/mo + 20% commission. 1 story, 3 templates. Acquisition funnel.
  • Creator Pro — $19/mo + 15% commission. Unlimited stories + analytics.
  • Creator Studio — $49/mo + 12% commission. Team seats + API access.
  • Platform commission — 18% avg blended on all player transactions.
Unit Economics
Blended ARPU~$22/mo
CAC (community-first)$18
LTV (12-month)~$264
LTV : CAC14.7 : 1
Gross Margin~82%
Monthly churn target5%
Breakeven estimateM+22
10 / 12  ·  Competitive Advantage
Not a feature.
A new category.

Existing tools are used by creators who have no better option. Arcanum replaces the compromise entirely.

◈
No code at any tier
The only IF creation platform where the full rule system is accessible without scripting or technical knowledge — at every subscription level.
◈
Live validation — unique in the category
No other free IF tool validates graph structure in real time. 9 issue types, jump-to-node. This is a platform capability, not a feature.
◈
Creator-owned monetization
Creator sets prices. Arcanum takes a commission — aligning incentives rather than creating lock-in. Choice of Games retains exclusivity; Arcanum does not.
◈
First-mover window is open and widening
StoryNexus sunsetted. Wattpad sold. No new creator-first IF platform at scale since 2019. The window has been open for five years.
◈
Data flywheel
Creator graphs, player paths, and state transitions build a corpus that improves templates, validation, and AI generation over time — harder to replicate each month.
11 / 12  ·  Financials
$180K → $820K → $3.2M ARR.
Three years. 82% gross margin.
Metric Year 1 — 2026 Year 2 — 2027 Year 3 — 2028
Paid creators4001,8007,000
Active players5,00030,000200,000
Published stories2001,1005,000
Blended ARPU~$22/mo~$24/mo~$28/mo
Subscription ARR$106K$519K$2.35M
Commission ARR$74K$301K$850K
Total ARR$180K$820K$3.2M
Gross Margin~82%~83%~84%
LTV : CAC14.7 : 115.2 : 116.0 : 1

Breakeven est. M+22 · Series A target M+18 at $400K+ ARR · B2B API ARR begins Year 4 · International expansion Y4–6 projects $33M ARR at 0.1% global narrative games penetration

12 / 12  ·  The Ask
Pre-Seed Round
$500K

18 months of runway to build the product, onboard the first 1,000 creators, and reach the metrics that justify a Series A.

$280K
Engineering (MVP)
$120K
Product & Design
$60K
Community & GTM
$40K
Operations & Legal
Series A Targets — M+18
$400K+
ARR run-rate
1,000+
Active creators
≥10:1
LTV : CAC proven
1,000+
Story completions
1 signed
B2B API partner
01 / 12
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