# Vale
## Game Design Document

[!vale](./Assets/Concepts/file_00000000f5686230bb8eaf09d5e151fd.png)

### Core Concept
A roguelike adventure game where players manage a caravan through an apocalyptic world, balancing cozy village preparation with urgent expeditions as cosmic horror threatens to consume everything.

### Genre & Inspirations
- **Primary Genre:** Roguelike/Action-Adventure
- **Inspirations:** Stardew Valley (village life), Monster Hunter (preparation), Oregon Trail (caravan travel), Dark Souls (combat), Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (expedition structure)

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## Core Game Loop

### Phase 1: Village Preparation
**Duration:** Player-controlled, but time pressure increases nightly

**Activities:**
- Explore home village and surrounding biome
- Complete fetch quests and resource gathering
- Craft and upgrade equipment
- Accept requisitions from local guild
- Manage caravan supplies and crew

**Mechanics:**
- Real-time day/night cycle
- Relationship building with NPCs
- Crafting system for gear and caravan upgrades
- Resource management (food, materials, gold)

### Phase 2: Expedition
**Duration:** Variable based on requisition and player choices

**Core Systems:**
- **Caravan Management:** Real-time movement across procedurally generated wilderness
- **Combat:** Action-based encounters with monsters and threats
- **Survival:** Resource consumption, weather, terrain hazards
- **Problem Solving:** Environmental puzzles (broken bridges, quicksand, etc.)

**Requisition Types:**
- **Delivery:** Transport goods between settlements
- **Hunting:** Eliminate specific monsters or threats
- **Scouting:** Explore uncharted wilderness areas
- **Urgent:** Combat cosmic horror manifestations

### Phase 3: Decision Point
**Options:**
1. **Return Home:** Teleport back to village, process rewards, full Phase 1 reset
2. **Continue:** Accept new requisition from current location
   - **In Cities:** Full selection of appropriate requisitions
   - **In Wilderness:** Limited to scouting missions
   - **In Frozen Zones:** Only urgent requisitions available

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## Cosmic Horror System

### The Eclipse Timeline
- **Night 1:** New star appears in sky
- **Night 2:** Star begins to eclipse
- **Night 3:** Full eclipse achieved, first frozen circle appears
- **Nights 4-6:** Circle expands across map, consuming settlements

### Frozen Zone Effects
- **Towns:** NPCs become unresponsive, shops inaccessible
- **Monsters:** Increased strength and aggression
- **Environment:** Visual corruption, audio distortion
- **Progression:** Circle grows steadily, making areas permanently inaccessible

### Victory Condition
Players must complete urgent requisitions to fight through frozen zones and destroy the Eldritch horror at the circle's center before the map is fully consumed.

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## Core Mechanics

### Caravan System
- **Mobile Base:** Rolling headquarters with upgradeable components
- **Crew Management:** Hire specialists with unique abilities
- **Supply Logistics:** Food, medicine, ammunition, repair materials
- **Customization:** Armor plating, weapons, comfort upgrades

### Progression
- **Character Skills:** Combat abilities, crafting expertise, social connections
- **Caravan Upgrades:** Enhanced durability, speed, cargo capacity
- **Knowledge Accumulation:** Map data, monster weaknesses, optimal routes
- **Reputation:** Standing with various guilds and settlements

### Requisition System
- **Difficulty Scaling:** Rewards and challenges increase with distance from home
- **Location Dependency:** Available missions determined by current settlement type
- **Time Pressure:** Eclipse progression affects mission availability and urgency
- **Chain Opportunities:** Strategic route planning for multi-requisition runs

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## Technical Considerations

### Procedural Generation
- **Wilderness Maps:** Terrain, resources, encounters, weather patterns
- **Settlement Variation:** Different guild offerings, NPC personalities, local specialties
- **Threat Distribution:** Monster spawns, environmental hazards, cosmic manifestations

### Progression Persistence
- **Between Runs:** Character knowledge, some equipment, unlocked settlements
- **Within Runs:** Caravan upgrades, relationship progress, map exploration
- **Cosmic Resets:** Eclipse completion triggers world state changes

### Difficulty Scaling
- **Natural Progression:** Distance from home increases baseline challenge
- **Time Pressure:** Eclipse advancement creates urgency without artificial timers
- **Player Choice:** Risk/reward balance through requisition selection and route planning

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## Art Direction

### Visual Themes
- **Village Life:** Warm, cozy, pastoral aesthetic
- **Wilderness:** Varied biomes with realistic but fantastical elements
- **Cosmic Horror:** Progressive visual corruption, impossible geometries, color distortion
- **Eclipse Progression:** Sky changes provide constant visual reminder of approaching doom

### Audio Design
- **Ambient:** Natural sounds in wilderness, village life audio in settlements
- **Combat:** Impactful weapon strikes, monster audio cues
- **Cosmic Influence:** Distorted audio in frozen zones, building tension through sound design
- **Music:** Dynamic scoring that responds to location type and eclipse progression

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## Success Metrics

### Player Engagement
- **Session Length:** 6-night cycles create focused, completable experiences
- **Replayability:** Multiple paths through procedural world, various strategies
- **Skill Development:** Players improve at resource management, route planning, combat

### Emotional Arc
- **Preparation Satisfaction:** Village phase provides calm planning and anticipation
- **Expedition Tension:** Travel phase delivers challenge and discovery
- **Cosmic Dread:** Eclipse progression creates escalating pressure without frustration
- **Victory Relief:** Successfully stopping cosmic horror provides meaningful catharsis