**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.

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# 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.

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## 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)

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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.