From 92e370e8c319741d12998f7fcf53372cd08b4a15 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: type-two Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2026 15:58:03 +1000 Subject: [PATCH] Add role ladder (glassie/bartender/doorgirl/bouncer/DJ) to design + role-agnostic sim rule Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 --- docs/BUILD_PLAN.md | 11 +++++++++++ docs/GAME_DESIGN.md | 46 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------- 2 files changed, 48 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/BUILD_PLAN.md b/docs/BUILD_PLAN.md index 1103e61..aab291e 100644 --- a/docs/BUILD_PLAN.md +++ b/docs/BUILD_PLAN.md @@ -77,6 +77,17 @@ Archetypes, scripted moral encounters, inspector, incident report memory, regula venues 2–4, real pixel art swapped into the paper-doll layer slots, MODELBEAST- assisted art generation if useful. +### Phase 4 — The role ladder (design §6; future, do not start) +Glassie, bartender, DJ roles + roster board. Not scoped yet — but it imposes ONE +rule on every earlier phase: **the simulation is role-agnostic.** Crowd sim, patron +state, meters, and incidents must never assume the player is security — the player +is just an entity with a verb-set reading shared state. If you're about to hard-code +"the player" into a sim system (e.g. "patrons only get cut off by the player"), +model it as an actor capability instead (NPC staff already need this — Kayden works +the door while you're on the floor). The DJ role will drive the TechnoEngine +directly, so LANE-JUICE keeps track parameters (BPM, layer intensities) externally +settable rather than hard-coded. + ## 4. Coordination protocol (all lanes) 1. **Branches:** each lane works on `lane/` (e.g. `lane/door`), pushed to diff --git a/docs/GAME_DESIGN.md b/docs/GAME_DESIGN.md index 93f48d1..be8bad7 100644 --- a/docs/GAME_DESIGN.md +++ b/docs/GAME_DESIGN.md @@ -162,25 +162,53 @@ The unreliable authority you serve. mocking. The kebab shop across the road is visible all night and is the true moral centre of the game. -## 6. Progression +## 6. Roles & career mode -Venues as levels, nights as rounds (Thu → Fri → Sat per venue): +**Structural principle: the venue is ONE simulation; a role is a lens + verb-set +over it.** Patrons are role-agnostic data wandering the crowd sim; each role is a +scene that reads the same state with different permissions. The career ladder +doubles as the tutorial — each role teaches one system before the endgame role +demands them all. NPC staff work whichever roles you aren't (competence varies — +see Kayden). -1. **The Royal (dive bar).** Tutorial. Loose rules, low stakes, capacity 80. -2. **Voltage (Valley club).** Full ruleset, guest list, inspector active. -3. **Elevate (rooftop).** Dress code hell, influencer density, VIP politics. -4. **ROOM (underground techno, boss venue).** Dress code re-randomises every 15 - in-game minutes, everyone claims VIP, the inspector is *definitely* in the - building, and the techno is so loud all dialogue is written as lip-read guesses. +| Role | Verbs | Teaches | Signature tension | +|---|---|---|---| +| **Glassie** (entry) | Collect glasses (hand-stack grows: taller = clears faster, wobbles more; drop = smash + mop duty), mop spills before slips, restock runs through the crowd, find lost phones | Floor navigation, drunk-tells by pure observation | ZERO authority. You see the Maggot but can only radio it in — and watch who responds | +| **Bartender** | Order queue (orders get slurred/ambiguous with patron drunkenness), pour minigame (jigger = safe, free-pour = fast/risky), tips via speed + banter picks, drink-watch (intervene on the glass-hoverer) | Intoxication rules from the server's side | RSA: you legally CANNOT serve a Maggot — the cut-off with them begging across the bar, Heat if the inspector's watching | +| **Doorgirl** | The Door phase (§3.1): IDs, dress code, guest list, rope theatre | Inspection & social judgment | The whole §3.1 tension set | +| **Bouncer** | The Floor phase (§3.2): patrol, ejections, stalls, pat-downs | Enforcement & positioning | The whole §3.2 tension set | +| **DJ** (unlock) | Ride the crowd's Energy curve with track picks (tracks = parameter sets on the synth engine — gameplay drives the actual audio), beatmatch transitions (align two beat bars, cut on the one), field booth requests | Reading the room | Request verbs: the dismissive headphone-lift, the nod-then-never-play, the hard no. Denying: +Vibe (purists), +Aggro (requester's table) | +| **Head of Security** (endgame) | §3.1 + §3.2 interleaved, PLUS radio command of NPC staff in every other role | Everything at once | You used to speak into the radio; now you're the voice on the other end | + +**Roster board** frames progression: pick shifts from a weekly roster +(role × venue = level select), wages differ by role, story beats attach to roles. + +Venues as difficulty tiers, nights as rounds (Thu → Fri → Sat per venue): + +1. **The Royal (dive bar).** Glassie/bartender shifts. Loose rules, capacity 80. +2. **Voltage (Valley club).** Doorgirl/bouncer shifts. Full ruleset, inspector active. +3. **Elevate (rooftop).** Head of Security. Dress code hell, influencer density, VIP politics. +4. **ROOM (underground techno, boss venue).** The DJ shift + Head of Security + finale. Dress code re-randomises every 15 in-game minutes, everyone claims VIP, + the inspector is *definitely* in the building, and the techno is so loud all + dialogue is written as lip-read guesses. Roguelite-lite structure: fail a night → retry the night; 3 Heat strikes → run over. Seeded runs for shareability ("seed VALLEY-4207 is brutal"). +*(Far-future note, not a plan: this structure is accidentally multiplayer-shaped — +one night, each player a role. Architecture shouldn't preclude it; nothing should +be built for it.)* + ## 7. Scope guardrails -- v0.1 = ONE venue, Door phase only, 3 nights, placeholder paper-doll art. Ship it. +- v0.1 = ONE venue, Door phase only (the doorgirl shift), 3 nights, placeholder + paper-doll art. Ship it. - v0.2 = Floor phase + door/floor interleave + audio engine. - v0.3 = progression, regulars' memory, incident report, inspector. - v0.4 = content pass (archetypes, scripted encounters), real pixel art, boss venue. +- v0.5+ = the role ladder (§6): glassie → bartender → DJ, roster board. Roles are + post-core-game content — but every earlier phase must keep the sim role-agnostic + (no system may assume the player is security). - Cut before slipping: fight mini-game, budgie, venue 3. Never cut: the clicker, the stamp feel, the low-pass filter trick.