Project Athena — Nexus Academy

"The OASIS school from Ready Player One, but real."

An open-world adaptive learning game for ages 2 and up. No quizzes. No tests. No essays. The world demands knowledge and rewards mastery. Playing IS learning.

Powered by Atlas Cortex. Built by DigitalBrainstem.

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Architecture

graph TB
    subgraph Client["🎮 Game Client (Three.js/TypeScript)"]
        WE[World Engine] --> R[3D Renderer]
        WE --> P[Physics]
        WE --> C[Crafting]
        AI[Audio/Input] --> V[Voice]
        AI --> T[Touch/Gamepad]
        AI --> K[Keyboard]
    end

    subgraph Server["⚡ Game Server (FastAPI/Python)"]
        PR[Profiles] --> MS[Mastery Tracker]
        CT[Content Server] --> QS[Quest System]
        SY[Sync Engine] --> OF[Offline Support]
    end

    subgraph Atlas["🧠 Atlas Cortex"]
        LLM[LLM Engine] --> CG[Content Generator]
        LLM --> GA[Gap Analysis]
        LLM --> DT[Difficulty Tuning]
        TTS[Fish Audio TTS] --> CV[Companion Voice]
    end

    Client -->|REST API| Server
    Server -->|Module API / Nightly Batch| Atlas

    subgraph Platforms["📱 Platforms"]
        B[Browser]
        S[Surface Go Kiosk]
        SAT[Satellite Speaker]
    end

    Client --- Platforms

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The Game

Five mastery tiers, one seamless world that grows with the player:

Tier	Ages	Experience
Foundation	2–5	Dora-style companion talks directly to the child. Touch + voice. Colors, counting, shapes, phonics.
Discovery	6–10	Open world unlocks. Companion becomes adventure partner. Quests teach arithmetic through calculus foundations.
Builder	11–14	Full crafting, Code Forge, Time Rift missions. Real chemistry formulas, structural physics, economy systems.
Innovator	15–18	Physics simulations, chemistry labs, historical debates. AP/college-prep level content.
Creator	18+	Research-grade tools. Calc 3, organic chemistry, quantum mechanics, ML, distributed systems.

Knowledge is the only currency. No microtransactions. No ads. No pay-to-play. Ever.

Documentation

20 focused spec documents in docs/:

#	Document	Focus
01	Vision	Design pillars, inspirations, what this IS and ISN'T
02	World Design	Biomes, morphing, procedural generation
03	Travel Mechanics	Village → galaxy, ships, FTL, fuel chemistry
04	Mastery Tiers	Foundation through Creator — detailed mastery-level gameplay
05	Gameplay Loops	Quests, crafting, building, Code Forge, economy
06	Mastery System	Ender Protocol: spaced repetition, gap detection
07	Subject Mapping	Every subject → game mechanic, all tiers
08	Atlas Integration	Invisible architect, nightly batch
09	Content Pipeline	Generation, validation, caching, distribution
10	Story & Narrative	The Founders, mystery arc, endgame
11	Companion System	Character arc, personality, teaching
12	Voice Gameplay	Zero-screen satellite mode
13	Input & Controls	Touch, voice, keyboard, gamepad
14	Multiplayer	Co-op, classroom mode, child safety
15	Profiles	Calibration zone, sync, progression
16	Art Direction	Stylized 3D, per-tier visual style
17	Audio Design	TTS, adaptive music, spatial audio
18	Tech Architecture	Three.js, FastAPI, DB, offline
19	Accessibility	Visual, motor, cognitive, auditory
20	Screen Time	Parental controls, COPPA, safety

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ (client)
• Python 3.11+ (server)
• Atlas Cortex instance (optional — game runs standalone)

Development

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/Digitalbrainstem/athena.git
cd athena

# Client (not yet implemented)
cd client && npm install && npm run dev

# Server (not yet implemented)
cd server && pip install -r requirements.txt && python -m server.app

Satellite Audio-Only Mode

The game runs on Atlas satellite speakers (Hermes) with zero screen — pure voice interaction. See Voice Gameplay for the full design.

Design Principles

1. Learning IS gameplay — the world demands knowledge, not answers to questions
2. The game runs standalone — Atlas is the architect, not the engine
3. No microtransactions — knowledge is the only currency
4. Never feels like school — no grades, no scores, the world simply responds
5. Radians AND degrees from age 2 — angles as "turns" builds lifelong intuition
6. Gender-neutral everything — interests tracked by behavior, never demographics
7. Screen time is unlimited — parent-configurable, never punitive
8. The companion grows up with you — from Dora-style friend to research partner

Atlas Ecosystem

Codename	Project
Atlas (Cortex)	Self-evolving personal AI
Athena	Nexus Academy — this game
Apollo	ContextForge — context window manager
Hermes	Satellite speakers (Pi/ESP32)
Iris	Computer vision system

License

MIT — © 2026 DigitalBrainstem / Derek Thomas