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soul.md

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+**BLUF:** Below is a structured “Soul Doc” for your 1v1 real-time capture-the-flag game. It captures the aspiration, player promise, fantasy, pillars, core loops, the specific system beats you described (fog of war, jail/escort, pre-phase setup, motion lights, classes), plus the two unresolved design tensions: anti-turtling and fun flag recapture. I’ve kept it in “what” space (ideation). Any build/platform details are quarantined to an appendix.
+
+---
+
+# Soul Doc: *Neighborhood Quarterback* (working title)
+
+## 1) One-sentence identity
+
+A fast, real-time 1v1 capture-the-flag game where you play the older kid quarterbacking a neighborhood crew, winning by **commanding** and **anticipating** under **fog of war**.
+
+## 2) Player promise
+
+You are the big kid who sees the whole field. You out-think and out-maneuver a rival captain by reading their setup, shaping the chaos, and calling the play that wins.
+
+## 3) Fantasy and emotional target
+
+* **Fantasy:** “I’m the captain who controls the tempo and makes the smart call.”
+* **Emotions to hit:**
+
+  * Cleverness from being the older kid (pattern recognition, traps, misdirection)
+  * Tension of “kids out of bed” at night (risk, stealth, sudden exposure)
+  * Glee when a plan collapses into improv and you still pull it off
+
+## 4) The hook
+
+“StarCraft-style squad command at Rocket League pace, but it’s capture the flag in a suburban neighborhood at night, with a jail mechanic and motion lights.”
+
+## 5) Design pillars (non-negotiables)
+
+1. **Anticipation beats reaction**
+
+   * Great players win by setting conditions, not by micromanaging panic.
+2. **Information is the real resource**
+
+   * Fog of war plus scouting creates mind games, not just execution checks.
+3. **Misdirection is always viable**
+
+   * Diversions, sacrifices, and feints are legitimate paths to advantage.
+4. **Every match tells a story in 5 minutes**
+
+   * Quick pre-phase, real-time game phase, immediate “what just happened” highlights.
+
+## 6) Core verbs
+
+* **Command:** assign routes, patrols, and intentions to five distinct kids.
+* **Anticipate:** infer opponent roles, predict rotations, exploit timing windows.
+
+## 7) Core loops
+
+### Loop for great players (the aspiration)
+
+**Plan → Perturb → Observe → Identify → Seize**
+
+* Plan: form a hypothesis about their defense/flag/jail placement and likely rotations.
+* Perturb: poke or stage a feint to force information-revealing reactions.
+* Observe: read movement, patrol patterns, light triggers, missing units.
+* Identify: locate the weakness (gap, slow responder, overcommit, exposed jail path).
+* Seize: commit to the play that wins (flag run, mass capture, or decisive diversion).
+
+### Loop for average players (still fun)
+
+**Poke → React → Scramble**
+
+* Poke creates action and chaos; scramble produces highlight moments.
+* The game should reward graduating from scramble into intentional perturbation.
+
+## 8) Match structure
+
+**Two phases, one match**
+
+1. **Pre-phase (fast):**
+
+   * Choose team composition (roles/classes).
+   * Place your **flag** and **jail**.
+   * Optionally place limited defensive “reveals” (motion light concept).
+2. **Game phase (real-time):**
+
+   * Command five units to capture opponent flag while defending your own.
+   * Capture/jail mechanics create temporary numerical advantage and narrative momentum.
+
+## 9) The play space
+
+* **Setting:** a neighborhood block at night.
+* **Topology:** streets and backyards, not a grid; shortcuts through some yards.
+* **Sides:** two territories separated by a **neutral zone**.
+* **Readability:** clearly legible lanes, chokepoints, and “exposure zones” (lit, open streets) vs “shadow zones” (backyard paths, cover).
+
+## 10) Unit identity and roles
+
+You control **5 kids**, each with a clear job and counterplay.
+
+### Class archetypes (working)
+
+* **Sneak:** excels at infiltration and flag running; fragile if caught.
+* **Patrol:** excels at holding space and denying routes; strongest at defense and capture control.
+* **Speed:** excels at rapid response, chasing, and quick pivots; enables aggressive tempo.
+
+**Team composition decision:** You’re drafting a plan, not just picking stats.
+
+## 11) Information and fog of war
+
+Fog of war is the constraint that creates the mind game.
+
+* You should never have perfect certainty.
+* The player is rewarded for:
+
+  * inferring unseen rotations from partial signals
+  * forcing reveals through perturbations
+  * managing risk when committing to a run
+
+### Motion light concept (as an information tool)
+
+A limited, placeable “reveal trigger” that:
+
+* turns movement into a signal
+* invites mind games (“trigger it on purpose” vs “avoid it entirely”)
+* creates moments of panic and opportunity when it fires
+
+## 12) Capture and jail: the match’s momentum engine
+
+Captures are how you tilt the field before going for the flag.
+
+### Core concept
+
+* Units can be **captured** and **escorted** to jail.
+* Escorting creates **tempo tradeoffs**: you gain numerical advantage but spend time and attention.
+* **Abandonment** en route is allowed, which creates:
+
+  * rescue plays
+  * bait plays
+  * risky overextensions
+
+### Desired emergent outcomes
+
+* “I captured your fast kid, now you can’t respond to my flag run.”
+* “I baited your patrol into an escort, then slipped my sneak through the yard gap.”
+* “We fought over an escort path like it was its own objective.”
+
+## 13) Flag play: make scoring common, make winning earned
+
+Your stated preference is important: **flags should be captured in most games**.
+
+* That implies:
+
+  * defense should be strong enough to create tension but not so strong it prevents scores
+  * matches should swing, not stalemate
+
+### The fun part is not “touch flag,” it’s what happens after
+
+* escapes, chases, sacrifices, rescue missions, last-second interceptions
+* “quarterback moments” where you win via anticipation and timing, not raw APM
+
+## 14) Anti-turtling: forcing action without feeling artificial
+
+You want a mechanic that prevents two players from playing too defensively.
+
+Design intent (what it should feel like):
+
+* Defensive play is valid, but **pure turtling is strategically losing**.
+* The game gently but inevitably creates windows where someone must move.
+
+Aspirational outcomes:
+
+* Early probing is safe-ish and useful.
+* Midgame pressure escalates.
+* Endgame has a clear “someone’s about to break.”
+
+(Implementation options are intentionally omitted here; see “Open Questions” for what you need it to accomplish.)
+
+## 15) Recapture: making “the return trip” exciting
+
+Recapturing a taken flag should be fun, not a reset-to-neutral chore.
+
+Design intent:
+
+* The moment the flag is taken, the game should enter a heightened state:
+
+  * clearer incentives
+  * sharper information plays
+  * dramatic chase and interception opportunities
+
+Desired outcomes:
+
+* “Turning the tables” stories: bait a greedy runner, spring a trap, flip momentum.
+* A reason to keep playing aggressively even after conceding a grab.
+
+## 16) Aesthetic and tone
+
+* **Visual identity:** “backyard baseball meets satellite-map clarity,” with a tongue-in-cheek vibe.
+* **Tone:** kids out of bed at night; playful rule-breaking, not grim violence.
+* **Silhouette readability:** units and their roles must be immediately legible.
+* **Signature moments:** motion light pops on, silhouettes scatter, a patrol cuts someone off at the curb.
+
+## 17) Progression fantasy (non-monetized framing)
+
+* **Accolades and recognition:** you become “the neighborhood legend.”
+* **Cosmetic identity:** personalization and bragging rights (skins later).
+* The progression should reinforce the fantasy of being the captain, not become a grind.
+
+## 18) What the game is not (scope guardrails)
+
+* Not a slow, methodical tactics sim.
+* Not a deep narrative campaign.
+* Not a base builder.
+* Not a pure stealth game where contact is failure.
+* Not a micro-heavy RTS where 200 APM is required.
+
+## 19) Success criteria
+
+When you watch a good match, you should be able to point to:
+
+* a deliberate perturbation
+* a clean read
+* a decisive pivot
+* a “quarterback call” that looks obvious in hindsight
+
+When you watch an average match, you should still see:
+
+* chaos that resolves into a story
+* at least one flag touch
+* at least one capture that mattered
+
+## 20) Open questions (ideation-grade, not implementation)
+
+These are the few decisions that most affect the soul:
+
+1. **What is the anti-turtling pressure supposed to reward?**
+
+   * scouting, tempo, map control, capture economy, or flag attempts?
+
+2. **What is the “recapture fantasy”?**
+
+   * dramatic chase, clever interception, coordinated ambush, or jail-break pivot?
+
+3. **How swingy should matches be?**
+
+   * If flags are often captured, what prevents the game from feeling coin-flippy?
+
+4. **How many “signals” exist in the information game?**
+
+   * If fog of war is core, what are the deliberate, learnable tells?
+
+5. **What is the identity of each class in one sentence?**
+
+   * The sharper these are, the more the “quarterback” fantasy lands.
+
+---
+
+## Appendix: details you mentioned that are “how/build,” not “soul”
+
+(Keeping them so they don’t get lost, but they’re not part of the ideation core.)
+
+* View/camera specifics (2D isometric, zoom-to-unit)
+* Input specifics (select then drag routes, patrol mode variants)
+* Tooling/config emphasis for iteration and testing knobs
+* Engine/platform targeting (Unity, iOS/Android/desktop)
+
+---
+
+If you want the next step: I’d compress this into a **one-page internal pitch** (still “what”), plus a **3–5 bullet marketing spine** derived from the same pillars, without drifting into monetization or implementation.