In this TTRPG, Robots are Here to Help but Doomed to Fail

The Mines Interactive Robotics Research Lab (MIRRORLab) at the Colorado School of Mines has announced the beta release of its new one-shot TTRPG, HELLO WORLD I’M SORRY.

HELLO WORLD, I'M SORRY is a two-hour, one-shot TTRPG that explores key tensions in robotics: the tension between a vision of robots that “think on their own” and a reality of robots that primarily pursue the aims of their designers; and the tension between a vision of robots “for social good” and a reality of robots that inevitably cause social harms. The robots played in HELLO WORLD, I'M SORRY strive earnestly to do good and be their best selves, but are inevitably constrained by their designers’ limitations and the difficulty of “doing good” while serving as a mobile surveillance device.

HELLO WORLD, I’M SORRY draws on the Resistance and Forged in the Dark toolboxes, while featuring several novel design elements, including its’ Harm Track. Because the game centers the harm robots cause each character has a harm track rather than a health track. Whenever a player fails (or gets mixed success) on an action, they mark harm to that track to reflect the harm their robot has caused, and the GM helps to explain how that harm manifests in the world. As harm builds up, the robots' capabilities are sabotaged – their bad reputation spreads to other robots – and eventually they are terminated.

Whether you are an educator starting an after-school TTRPG club, a robotics team leader, or just a GM looking for a new one-shot to run with your players, the MIRRORLab hopes you will check out HELLO WORLD, I’M SORRY, which can be downloaded for free at https://williamstome.itch.io/helloworldimsorry — and because the game is in beta, GMs can keep an eye out for a full release in 2026 after final playtesting and art updates from talented artist Will Wiggins (@blackoni).