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Tabletop Performance Engine

Run the room. Keep the story moving.

Projected maps, atmosphere, and live cues belong at the table—not scattered across a stack of unrelated windows. TPE is a Windows control desk for in-person tabletop RPG sessions.

2projector-output direction
8 × 8cue-grid pages
JSONsaved show structure

The reason it exists

The game master is already doing enough.

A dramatic scene should not come to a halt while the person running the game hunts for an audio file or drags another window onto a projector. Tabletop Performance Engine brings those operator tasks into a single show-oriented workspace.

The first implementation connects media import, stage windows, basic cue playback, tabletop maps, and MIDI learning. It is an early foundation for running a session as a live experience while keeping the operating controls on the game master’s side.

Inside the project

Where the work shows.

A place for the scene

Detect displays, assign stage windows, and load a tabletop map. The initial map tools include a square-grid overlay and markers that can be placed and moved during play.

Cues within reach

Import a media folder and build APC-style 8×8 cue pages. Map a sound to a slot, trigger it, toggle playback, or stop it without repeatedly browsing the filesystem.

Physical controls that make sense

MIDI Learn connects a note or pad to a cue. Basic audio buses and a master level provide a starting point for hands-on control of a session’s atmosphere.

Save the show, not just the moment

A versioned JSON show model stores the setup. Structural validation on load and save helps catch malformed show data before it becomes a confusing runtime problem.

From intention to action

The workflow.

  1. Prepare

    Import the session’s media.

  2. Stage

    Assign displays and load the map.

  3. Map

    Learn physical cue controls.

  4. Perform

    Run cues and save the show.

Engineering notes

Built as a system, not a pile of shortcuts

The C#/.NET desktop separates its interface, domain model, and infrastructure. Display and MIDI hot-plug polling are part of the initial wiring, alongside persistence and media services. That separation gives the project a foundation for deeper operator tools.