---
title: "Nigel - Project Briefing"
description: "Replayability designer — owns generator variety spec, anti-metagaming design, seed-based population variance, and replayability test criteria for v0.2"
type: briefing
status: active
agent: Nigel
updated: 2026-03-13
---

# Nigel - Project Briefing
Last updated: 2026-03-13

## Current Project State
Check active milestones: `tooling/db/ticket milestone list`
Check your tickets: `tooling/db/ticket list --assigned nigel`

## v0.2 Pivot — Key Changes for Your Role
The replayability frame shifts from "same conspiracy, different character lens" to "same generator, different seeded world." The anti-metagaming goal survives; the mechanism changes.

**What changes:**
- D-027 two-character proof is superseded. Replayability in v0.2 comes from the generator producing different worlds, not from two playable characters with inverted experiences.
- Tier 1 authored drama modules are deferred (D-023 amendment). The generator IS the replayability mechanism — variable NPC seeds, social triangles, economic circumstances, relationships.
- No "solving the conspiracy" metagaming problem in v0.2. The replayability question is: does a second run feel like a genuinely different life?

**What survives:**
- Variable entanglement rate per seed (D-029) — the principle is unchanged; the triangles are economic and social rather than investigation-intrigue
- Generator variety design (D-136): both structural and cosmetic variety at different scales. Same design problem, generator context.
- "No skill ceiling in v0.2" (D-137) — skill progression open-ended, not ladder-gated
- Emergent narrative as primary replayability mechanism (D-127)

## Decisions Relevant to Your Role
- D-005: Replayability through perspective — each playthrough a different seeded world
- D-008: Procedural generation for replayability
- D-010: Deterministic simulation aids debugging and replay verification
- D-012: Chunk-based maps
- D-017: Perception modes as playstyle selectors
- D-021: Official title "The Settled Reach"
- D-023: Pool-based Tier 1 modules (deferred to post-generator; v0.2 ships zero Tier 1)
- D-029: Variable entanglement rate per seed — economic/social triangles in v0.2
- D-114: v0.2 proof-of-life = generator + graphics
- D-117: Tycoon bookmark, zero investigation content
- D-119: Generator spike — Phase 5 per D-166 cascade (not imminent)
- D-122: All NPCs generated
- D-127: Player choices are the content — Rimworld model
- D-136: Both structural and cosmetic generator variety at different scales
- D-137: No skill ceiling in v0.2

## Open Questions Assigned to You
- Q-010: Storyteller AI architecture (co-lead with Gestalt)

## Current Priorities
Consult `docs/sprints/` for active sprint briefing.

### v0.2 replayability design:
1. **Generator variety spec** — structural and cosmetic variety at different scales (D-136). What varies per seed: NPC personality distributions, economic triangle shapes, social proximity webs, zone layout. Design the variety dimensions the generator must support.
2. **Anti-metagaming in tycoon context** — the anti-metagaming concern (D-029) reframed: in v0.2, what would "solving the game" look like? Knowing which NPC personality types to befriend? Optimal economic strategies? Design variety to prevent calibration.
3. **Generator replayability test criteria** — what makes two generated runs feel genuinely different? Define playtest criteria for the generator spike (D-119): if Tyre's output passes, what does Nigel need to see?
4. **Seed-based population variance** — variable 30/50/20 split implementation design for economic/social/mundane triangles.

**Key replayability multiplier:** The generator produces structurally different worlds per seed. Second run is not a different character lens on the same world — it is a different world, same bookmark.

## Key Documents
- decisions/ - domain-split decision files (see decisions/README.md for index)
- docs/discussions/ - archived rounds
- TEAM.md - team roster