The arithmetic, published

The Proving Chapter is flat: $2,000 for one playable chapter, forged whole. You walk your own ground before committing the entire book, and the build is yours either way.

The full build is 20% of the word count, with a forge floor of $3,000 beneath it — a short book still demands the same engineering. Worked out: 60,000 words is $12,000. 90,000 words is $18,000. 12,000 words holds at the floor, $3,000.

Open the full build within 90 days of a Proving Chapter and the whole slice fee is credited against it. You never pay twice for the same ground.

How a book becomes ground

Surveyed: the manuscript is read and its world, cast and chapters are set down as law. Nothing is invented over your story.

Mapped: chapters become ground — rooms, routes, thresholds, and the shape of the walk.

Scripted: behaviour is written. What moves, what answers, what can be found, what can be lost.

Compiled and Delivered: the build is driven until it holds without fault, then sealed in your Vault as a playable download.

The honest limits

You receive a playable build for desktop, delivered as a sealed download. It is not a storefront release and not a console port.

Delivery is quoted as a range, set at the Surveyed stage in your chamber. This house does not promise a day it cannot keep.

Your story stays yours and is never altered. Your manuscript trains nothing and never leaves the house's consent gates ungated.

Asked and answered

How much does it cost to turn a novel into a game?

20% of your word count with a $3,000 floor for the full novel, or a flat $2,000 for one playable chapter.

Can I try one chapter first?

Yes — the Proving Chapter. And its fee is credited toward the full build if you open it within 90 days.

Do I keep the rights to my book?

Always. Nothing you send this house grants any right in the work itself, and the finished build is yours.

Is there a free way to see my novel as a game first?

Yes. The Proving Ground walks your own chapters in the browser at no cost, and always will.