# Brainstorming Docs

Loose notes on a mobile crafting game. Early phase — these are working ideas, not decisions. Refine freely.

- [00-concept.md](00-concept.md) — pitch, design pillars, references
- [01-core-loop.md](01-core-loop.md) — the gather→craft→equip→hire engine
- [02-roster.md](02-roster.md) — minions, classes, traits, paper-doll portraits, relationships
- [03-crafting.md](03-crafting.md) — stations, multi-tier supply chains, quality bands, discovery
- [04-expeditions.md](04-expeditions.md) — AFK timer-resolved, procedural events
- [05-economy-progression.md](05-economy-progression.md) — market, patrons, Guild Rank, dopamine sources
- [06-asset-pipeline.md](06-asset-pipeline.md) — AI in production, pre-rendered runtime, bundle strategy
- [07-item-cards.md](07-item-cards.md) — layered sprite composition, item cards, visible crafting choices
- [08-ux-ui.md](08-ux-ui.md) — inventory tiers, scene-based navigation, backdrops, notification surface
- [09-art-style.md](09-art-style.md) — pixel art, Floyd-Steinberg dithering, palette-as-art-direction, pixel/HD coherence rules
- [10-tone.md](10-tone.md) — confident fantasy stylization with muted weight (WoW × Quake × Machinarium), writing voice, audio direction
- [11-setting.md](11-setting.md) — generic medieval fantasy with gnomish-steampunk and dark-elf-necromancy flavor pockets
- [12-onboarding.md](12-onboarding.md) — five-beat first-five-minutes walkthrough, forced-crit hook, soft-not-modal tutorial discipline
- [13-reveal-choreography.md](13-reveal-choreography.md) — card-flip choreography per quality band, length-scales-with-magnitude principle, critical/discovery special cases
- [14-materials.md](14-materials.md) — materials taxonomy (raw / refined / components / consumables / trophies), supply chain depth, quality at every stage
- [15-audio.md](15-audio.md) — Kelethin-style mellow ambient direction, MIDI-source pipeline, sample-pack SFX strategy, mobile audio engineering
- [16-engagement-layers.md](16-engagement-layers.md) — three layers of crafting feel: juice, Master's Touch (Sherlock-style two-meter), adjacent-station synergy
- [17-foldins-2026-05-12.md](17-foldins-2026-05-12.md) — session fold-ins: Steam-first, session pacing, capability/risk model, interactive expeditions, consumables-as-economy-driver, named-character emergence + LotRO-style titles
- [99-open-questions.md](99-open-questions.md) — parking lot
- [samples/](samples/) — reference assets demonstrating the production pipeline