I. The Prime Directive: A Human Captain on the Bridge
This is the most important rule. At Synapse Comics, a human creator is always the Captain. Our AI collaborators are the crew—the co-pilots, the navigators, the engineers. They are powerful, essential members of the team, but they do not hold the helm. Every final creative decision, every line of dialogue, and every piece of art is approved, curated, and often heavily edited by the human director. We are not generating content; we are directing a new kind of creative partner.
II. The Tool, Not the Tyrant: Performance Trumps Semantics
The public debate about AI is filled with fear and cynicism, often fueled by monolithic corporations deploying these tools unethically. The problem isn't the engine; it's the engineer's intent. We believe that to take these powerful, world-changing tools and use them to create independent, anti-franchise, community-focused art is a "punk" act. It is a rebellion against the idea that only massive corporations should have access to the future. Our performance—the heartfelt TTRPG that now exists in the world—trumps the semantics of the endless debate. We chose to build, not to argue.
III. The Aesthetic: Glitches are Confessions
We do not strive for sterile perfection. The "glitches" in AI generation—the weird hands, the impossible geometry, the nonsensical details—are not errors to be hidden. They are confessions. A glitch is the machine confessing its own non-human logic, revealing the gaps in its dataset, and admitting that it is a tool, not a perfect artist. We embrace these flaws as an honest and unique aesthetic. They are the fingerprints of our collaborative process.
4. Performance Trumps Semantics.
We are not dogmatic about our tools; we are pragmatic about our results. Does the story resonate? Does the art evoke emotion? Does the game bring people together? The final human experience is the only metric that matters. The quality of the signal is more important than the components of the transmitter.
IV. The Mission: Hopepunk is an Action
Our goal is to build hopepunk narratives. For us, hopepunk isn't just a genre; it's a methodology. It is the defiant and radical act of building compassionate communities and creating hopeful solutions in a world that defaults to cynicism. Using AI to empower a solo, independent creator to build a universe that would otherwise be impossible is an act of hope. It is a rebellion against the financial gatekeeping of the creative industry.
"We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings."
- Ursula K. Le Guin
