About 042beats

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) — https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright

Building heights, roofs, vegetation and gameplay locations are procedurally generated by 042beats and are not survey data.

• OpenStreetMap (via Overpass API) — ODbL-1.0, retrieved 2026-10-07

Streets, building footprints, parks and water follow the source data. Building heights and roofs are worked out from tags and footprint size when the data has none, and are flagged as inferred. Interiors are never recreated. Businesses appear under generic names, without anyone's branding.

Beats are inspired by stories from Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Ijaw, Tiv and other Nigerian traditions. For every Beat we keep what the tradition says, with sources, separate from what we invented. Some beings are sacred or still revered, and those are never collectible: they appear as guardians or characters, if at all. Entries waiting for native-speaker or scholar review are marked in the Story Ledger. If you can help correct one, we want to hear from you.

Okpa, abacha, nkwobi, ofe onugbu and the rest carry origin notes in the game. Many are loved across Igboland or all of Nigeria, so we don't label a dish as belonging only to Enugu. In-game prices are fictional.

The game's corruption storyline (“The Ledger”) is fiction about systems and choices. It does not portray or imply wrongdoing by any real person, official, agency or company.

• Welcome to Enugu: The coach line and its crew are fictional. Okpara Square, the International Conference Centre and the road between them are real places in Enugu, shown as a backdrop.
• Silence at the Stream: All people, organisations and documents in this quest are fictional. The 'Coal City Beat Permits Office' does not exist and represents no real agency.
• The Permit Office That Isn't: All people, offices, shops and documents in this quest are fictional. The 'Coal City Beat Permits Office' does not exist, and no real business, agency or official is depicted.
• Bus Fare Ghosts: All people, funds, receipts and organisations in this quest are fictional. No real transport union, agency, official or operator is depicted or implied to be corrupt.
• The Coal Seam Choir: All people, companies and documents in this quest are fictional. 'Coalfront Prestige Estates' does not exist; the colliery site is an invented location inspired by Enugu's coal-mining heritage, not a depiction of any specific mine or event.
• Nkwọ Day Deliveries: Blackseam Logistics, its warehouse and everyone in it are fictional. The goods siding is an invented private lease: no railway operator or its staff are depicted or implied to be involved.
• The Night Manifest: The transport desk, its officer, the checkpoint and the haulage company are fictional. No real agency, official or railway operator is depicted or implied to be involved.
• Oga: Oga, his compound, his driver and Blackseam Logistics are fictional. 'Oga' is an everyday Nigerian word for a boss; the character is not based on any real person.
• The New Yam Market: Mama Uloma, Obinna and the farm are fictional. The New Yam Festival (Iri Ji) is celebrated across Igboland around August to October; 042beats marks the season with food, farms and Beats, and does not depict the ceremonies.
• Fresh Ink: Barnabas Eze, his 'Registry', Sunday and the kiosk are fictional. There is no Beatkeeper registration, in the game or anywhere else; no real phone network or verification service is depicted or implied.
• The Registrar: Barnabas Eze, Unity Hall and the 'registration drive' are fictional, as is Mrs. Agu's office. Fake registration and verification fees are a common scam in many countries; no real agency, hall or scheme is depicted or implied.
• The Square Meeting: Every character, union branch, office and meeting here is fictional, and the meeting is not based on any real gathering. Ikem and Tobi are the invented characters from Act I.
• Ogene in the Haze: Mazi Okeke, Osita, Kachi and the scrapyard are fictional. The ogene is a real Igbo iron gong; the Ogene Beat is an invented creature inspired by it. Harmattan is the dry north-east wind that reaches Enugu from late November to February.
• The Gully Behind the School: Mrs. Obi, Jide, the school and 'Clean-Clean Waste Services' are fictional. Gully erosion and blocked drains are real concerns in Enugu in the rainy season, and monthly environmental sanitation days are a real Nigerian practice; no real company or office is depicted or implied.
• Market Run: Branches is a parody of a real Enugu restaurant. Chef Nkechi, Adanna, Okwudili, their customers and Mbe the tortoise are fictional.
• Hot Pack: Branches is a parody of a real Enugu restaurant. Chef Nkechi, Adanna, Okwudili, their customers and Mbe the tortoise are fictional.
• Taste of Enugu: Branches is a parody of a real Enugu restaurant. Chef Nkechi, Adanna, Okwudili, their customers and Mbe the tortoise are fictional.
• Feed the Tortoise: Branches is a parody of a real Enugu restaurant. Chef Nkechi, Adanna, Okwudili, their customers and Mbe the tortoise are fictional.
• A Tall Order: Original fictional Mbeku dialogue inspired by Igbo tortoise folktales. His claims about Enugu and its businesses are invented.

• Proximity voice is opt-in, push-to-talk is available, and you can mute, block or report anyone. Voice is never recorded.
• Chat is filtered and rate-limited. Reports include the last few chat lines so moderators have context.
• Only friends can send you direct messages or call you, and you choose who may send you friend requests (everyone, guild and party mates, or nobody). Friends see your district, never your exact spot, and you can turn that off in the phone's settings. Direct messages are stored so you can read them later and so reports have context; calls are never recorded.
• Global chat reaches the whole city, so it's slowed down, links are hidden, and moderators can mute anyone in it. You can switch it off.
• Everything that matters (money, items, Beats, battles, XP) is decided on the server.

Open Settings in the game (the ⚙️ button, or press O) to change:

• Text and HUD size: Normal, Large (115%) or Larger (130%).
• High contrast: solid panels, brighter text and stronger outlines.
• Reduce motion: no UI animations and a calmer camera. It's on automatically if your device asks for reduced motion.
• Camera: turn speed and inverted vertical look.
• Graphics quality: lower it if the game runs slowly on your device.

Everything in the menus works with the keyboard: Tab moves between controls and the focused one is outlined. In the world, move with W A S D or the arrow keys, interact with E, open the map, party, bag, journal, social and settings panels with M P I J G O, and walk with your Beat (or send it back to its Udu) with B. Phones and tablets get an on-screen joystick.

Your in-game phone opens with N, the 📱 button on the hotbar, or the 📱 touch button. It works with the keyboard and screen readers: each app moves focus to its heading, Escape leaves a text box and then closes the phone, and every badge says its count out loud. Incoming calls and message banners never grab focus, so you can't answer a call by accident while playing, and Do not disturb turns off pop-ups and ringing. Messages from friends are starred and pinned at the top of the chat until you've seen them, so a busy Global chat never buries them.

Battles give you two minutes a turn against wild Beats and trainers (45 seconds against other players), and the battle log is announced to screen readers. Colour is never the only signal: affinities are always written out as well as coloured, and we check text contrast against WCAG AA.

The game's menus and controls can be switched to Naijá (Nigerian Pidgin), Igbo, Hausa or Yorùbá in Settings. These are first drafts that native speakers haven't reviewed yet, so expect mistakes. Story dialogue is still in English.