vision.md

Project Flowstate — Game Definition Specification (GDS)

This document is descriptive and non-authoritative. The Constitution overrides all interpretations.

High-level vision

Flowstate is a competitive, skill-expressive, top-down multiplayer action game where movement mastery and precise aim are inseparable.

Player experience

Player interface

• Primary control scheme: WASD movement + mouse cursor aiming.
• Manual aim is the default and the priority; controller support is intended, with conservative assist where appropriate.

Camera and aim intent (presentation and input)

Key terms:

• Aim Intent: the player’s aiming meaning (e.g., “toward that direction”), independent of camera/UI; typically represented as Aim Direction.
• Aim Direction: the direction the character is aiming, expressed in gameplay terms (not screen terms).
• Target Intent: a chosen target entity (only for abilities that require one), separate from aim direction.

Description:

• The world is 3D with an overhead, tilted top-down camera.

• Primary case (player’s character alive and under control):

  • The camera generally centers on the character, but may offset toward the player’s aim indicator (cursor on mouse/keyboard; aim-stick direction on controller) to increase forward visibility.
  • This offset is a presentation aid, not a gameplay rule.
  • The camera supports edge panning (mouse), configurable offset, and constrained zoom.
  • The camera follows vertical character motion, with vertical movement bounded to preserve readable framing.

• Aiming is intent-driven:

  • Mouse/keyboard: the cursor expresses Aim Intent.
  • Controller: the aim-stick expresses Aim Intent (already close to Aim Direction form).
  • Aim Direction is the default representation for aiming. Some actions may additionally use an Aim Point as a helper reference.
  • The authoritative simulation consumes player intent and applies game rules; it does not depend on cameras, cursors, screen space, or UI.

• Aim Point (optional helper reference, when needed):

  • Aim Point is a client-side reference used to express certain actions; it is not itself authoritative.
  • Aim Point is never required to express basic aim intent; it exists only for actions that explicitly benefit from a point reference.
  • Aim Point is derived from Aim Surfaces (designated ground-like surfaces used for stable aiming references) so it remains predictable in a 3D world with verticality.
  • Occluders (walls/trees/props/characters) affect outcomes and validity (blocking, line-of-sight, collision), not the player’s aim meaning.
  • If no Aim Surface is available (e.g., aiming over a gap/abyss), the client derives a predictable fallback reference to keep Aim Point stable.
  • The authoritative simulation applies the ability’s explicit rules (range, line-of-sight, blocking, collision, etc.) to the player’s intent and any point reference the action provides.

• Free-aim and target intent:

  • Free-aim actions use Aim Direction directly (no target required).
  • Target-required actions use Target Intent; the simulation validates whether the target is legal under the ability’s rules.
  • Target Intent is conceptually separate from Aim Point (a surface reference).

• Different clients may capture aim differently (cursor vs aim-stick), but gameplay remains consistent because the simulation consumes intent—not camera or UI artifacts.

Gameplay rules

Movement kernel

Locomotion modes

Characters operate in an explicit Locomotion Mode that defines how movement behaves and what constraints apply. Locomotion mode may also constrain which abilities are usable and how they behave.

Core locomotion modes:

• Grounded
• Airborne (jumping/falling)
• Gliding (controlled aerial traversal)
• Rail (movement is guided by the rail; the player does not directly steer locomotion while on-rail)

Locomotion transitions (current model)

• Grounded → Airborne (Jump): Jump applies an upward impulse; gravity pulls the character back down.
• Airborne → Gliding: Gliding can only be entered from airborne.
• Gliding → Airborne (Cancel): Gliding can be cancelled at any time by releasing the glide input.
• Airborne/Gliding → Grounded (Land): Contact with the ground immediately enters grounded.
• Grounded → Rail (Enter rail): The character enters rail mode by making contact with a rail while grounded.
• Rail → Grounded (Rail end): Reaching the end of a rail path returns the character to grounded.
• Rail → Airborne (Rail jump): The character can jump from a rail into airborne.

Movement mastery

Movement mastery is expressed through route choice, angle choice, timing, and geometry use under pressure—not just raw speed.

World (primitives)

• World: the playable map space—terrain, obstacles, surfaces, and traversal features—that shapes movement and combat.
• The world includes solid geometry that characters and many ability effects can collide with or be blocked by, creating meaningful angles, routes, and line-of-sight breaks.
• The world supports blocking and line-of-sight breaks as a core interaction, shaping positioning and approach.
• The world includes recognizable positional structures such as obstacles, open lanes, chokepoints, and traversal features.
• Verticality matters insofar as it changes traversal options and moment-to-moment readability (e.g., airborne/gliding arcs, drops, and height-based approach lines).
• Rails are world traversal features that enable the Rail locomotion mode, trading direct locomotion control for guided movement along a path.

Character state (foundational)

A character’s available actions and interactions depend on their current state, including locomotion mode and temporary conditions.

This state model is used to express common competitive situations such as being constrained, committed, or temporarily modified, without requiring bespoke special-case rules.

• Control state: whether the player has direct control of movement/actions, or the character is temporarily constrained.
• Action state: whether the character is free to act, or committed to an action phase (e.g., casting/commitment windows).
• Condition state: temporary modifiers that change what the character can do or how they interact with others.

Combat and abilities (interaction language)

Abilities are a primary vehicle for skill expression. They vary by how they are aimed, how they reach their destination, and how they commit.

Targeting and delivery taxonomy

Ability behavior can be described along two axes:

• Target acquisition (how a cast selects a target, if any)

  • Free-aim: no target; the action uses an aim direction/point.
  • Target-required: activation requires a valid target under the cursor.
  • Controller assist (policy): on controller, some actions may use conservative assistance for selecting a valid target, scoped per action.

• Effect delivery (how the effect reaches space/target)

  • Instant: resolves immediately on commit.
  • Traveling projectile: resolves via collision during flight.
  • Guided projectile: travels toward a chosen target.

Common aiming and delivery patterns:

• Instant free-aim (immediate resolution at the aimed direction/point)
• Traveling free-aim projectiles (opponents can dodge during travel)
• Target-required instant abilities (must select a valid target under cursor)
• Target-required guided projectiles (lock onto a valid target and travel toward them)

Commitment and disruption

• Some abilities execute immediately; others have a cast time.
• Cast-time abilities may be cancelled by the caster before they complete.
• Cast-time abilities may be interrupted by defined interactions, preventing completion.

Ability authoring model (data-driven)

• Abilities are intended to be authored primarily as structured definitions that describe behavior clearly and consistently, rather than requiring bespoke logic for every new ability.
• These definitions capture the key behavioral dimensions needed to create new abilities reliably (aiming/targeting, delivery style, timing/commitment, effects, and constraints).
• New abilities should be creatable by composing supported behavior primitives, so the game can grow in breadth without redefining the core combat language.

Ability composition vocabulary (initial)

At a minimum, abilities are expected to be expressible in terms of:

• Targeting and delivery (free-aim vs target-required; instant vs traveling vs guided)
• Spatial forms (single-target, directional casts, and area-based effects)
• Effects (damage/healing, defensive effects, and temporary modifiers)
• Movement and displacement (self-mobility and moving/repositioning targets)
• Persistent interactions (briefly persistent fields, pulses, delayed triggers)
• Spawned gameplay objects (temporary objects that meaningfully interact with characters and space)

Constraints and gating

• Ability availability and behavior may depend on character state, including the current Locomotion Mode.
• Abilities may impose temporary movement constraints or change locomotion as part of their behavior.

Resources and costs (ability economy)

Ability usage is governed by a character-specific Resource Profile. Different characters may use different resource models without changing the core combat language.

Baseline:

• Cooldown-only: abilities are limited by cooldowns and state gating (no additional resource pool).

Optional resources (per character):

• Mana: a spendable pool that regenerates passively over time and may also be replenished by other explicit means (sources are character / mode dependent and not assumed by default).
• Energy: a spendable pool that does not passively regenerate and must be earned through play (typically by landing basic attacks; exact earn rules are character-specific).

Costs and timing semantics:

• Eligibility check (start): an action cannot begin unless its requirements are satisfied at activation start (e.g., you cannot start a 50-mana cast with only 40 mana).
• Reservation (start): when an action begins, its resource cost is reserved so it cannot be spent by other actions during windup.
• Commit (later point): on commit, the reserved cost is consumed and any associated cooldowns begin.
• If a cast is cancelled or interrupted before commit, reserved costs are released (no consumption). If it commits, it pays.

Design intent:

• Resource rules must be predictable to the player (no hidden availability math), and consistent across the roster even when Resource Profiles differ.

Readability and counterplay

• Abilities should communicate intent and commitment clearly enough for opponents to respond through positioning, timing, and use of their own tools.
• High-impact actions should have legible tradeoffs (risk, windows of vulnerability, or other costs) appropriate to competitive play.

Domain terms (minimal)

• Character: the entity the player controls.
• Locomotion Mode: the character’s current movement regime (grounded/airborne/gliding/rail).
• Character state: the current conditions that shape what a character can do (including control/action/condition state).
• Control state: whether the player has direct control of movement/actions, or the character is temporarily constrained.
• Condition: a temporary modifier that changes what a character can do or how they interact with others.
• Ability: a combat action a character can perform.
• Cast: a player’s attempt to use an ability (which may commit immediately or after a cast time).
• Aim: the player’s aim intent derived from cursor (or controller), represented as a stable direction/point relative to the character (not dependent on the camera).
• World: the playable map space (terrain, obstacles, traversal features) that shapes movement and combat.

Reference games (for shared vocabulary)

SUPERVIVE (reference only)

• Aerial traversal and “edge/abyss” risk economy
• Gliding as a mobility state with vulnerability windows
• High-speed fights where displacement and positioning matter

Battlerite (reference only)

• Precise WASD + cursor-aim play
• Short, intense arena fights
• Readable combat language (projectiles, dodges, cooldown mindgames)