trenchlock/tetra-tactics.md

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