# Tetra Tactics

## Summary

Tetra Tactics is a strategic roguelike tower-defense.
The player defends their position by building modular structures (tetraminos) and
**exploiting their sinergies** while waves of enemies fall from above.

## Experience

**Primary Feeling**: The satisfaction of strategic planning combined with the
thrill of narrowly avoiding disaster ("just barely made it"). The player should
feel **clever** and **resourceful**.

A single encounter has a duration of ~10 minutes, or in general a short duration.

Depth emerges from the interaction between shape, positioning, timing, and build
choices.

## Inspiration

- Ball Pit
- 9 Kings
- Drop Duchy
- The King Is Watching
- Vampire Survivor

## Design Pillars

- **Exploiting Sinergies**: breaking the game is fun
- **Modular Depth**: simple tetromino rules combine in unexpected ways;
complexity emerges naturally from interaction
- **Consequence & Clarity**: threats are telegraphed clearly; every placement
has visible impact; failure is immediate and understandable
- **Momentum & Escalation**: each successful wave grows your toolkit and unlocks
new synergies; pressure mounts steadily without overwhelming

## Encounter Loop

1. **Telegraph**: Warning indicators show where next wave enemies will fall.
2. **Build & Adapt**:
    - Draft new shapes (randomly offered).
    - Place/Rotate units on persistent board.
    - **Trigger Synergies**: Adjacency bonuses light up (Visual Feedback).
3. **Resolution**:
    - Enemies fall/attack.
    - Towers fire.
    - **Player repositions shapes in real-time** to dodge incoming fire.
    - **Player can active a the main tower skill**
4. **Outcome**:
    - **Defense Breached**: Lose Health (Punishment).
    - **Defense Holds**: Gain Gold/XP.
5. **Evolution**: Buy upgrades or Mutate blocks (Synergy scaling). Threats
escalate automatically.
6. **Repeat** until Death or Victory.

## Progression & Motivation

### Encounter Goals
- Encounters consist of a **variable number of waves** (RNG-driven difficulty/length)
- Some encounters feature **mini-bosses** mid-run
- The **final encounter of a scenario** is a **boss fight**

### Player Motivation Arc
- **Moment-to-Moment**: Hit synergies, exploit combinations, survive threats ("feeling clever")
- **Single Run**: Build scaling through gold; adapt to random shapes; defeat
mini-bosses and scenario bosses
- **Long-Term (Meta)**: Unlock new block types and permanent perks across runs;
expand synergy possibilities; enable new strategies in future runs

### Permanent Progression
- **Unlockable Blocks**: New tetromino types unlock over time, creating fresh
synergy combinations
- **Unlockable Perks**: Passive bonuses that persist across runs, increasing
player power and enabling riskier strategies
- Progression feeds back into motivation: "What can I break with this new block?"

## Core Mechanics

- **Tetromino Placement & Rotation**: Spatial puzzle element; player chooses
positioning and orientation on grid
- **Adjacency Synergies**: Shapes trigger bonuses when placed next to
complementary pieces; core depth driver
- **Persistent Board State**: Board carries between waves; placement decisions
compound and escalate over time
- **Shape Drafting (Random)**: Player selects from randomly offered tetrominos
or mutations; forces adaptive strategy
- **Real-Time Repositioning**: During enemy attack, player moves shapes to dodge
and optimize defense in slow motion
- **Encounter Market**: Shapes or Upgrades purchased with gold; modify base
stats and effects;
- **Resource Economy**: Gold collection from successful waves → purchases upgrades/mutations;
paces progression
- **Automatic Wave Escalation**: Threats increase autonomously each wave;
creates growing pressure
- **Enemy Telegraph**: Visible threat indicators before waves;
enables defensive planning
- **Mini-Bosses & Bosses**: Special encounters with unique attacks that twist
standard wave mechanics
- **Perk System**: Permanent unlocks that affect all game state (damage, costs,
synergy bonuses, etc.); unlock through meta-progression