jpmschweitzerandClaude Opus 4.6
cfddcfb117
Create PROJECT_STATE.md at repo root with cascade phase table, decision count, and current sprint. All 18 briefings now reference this file instead of duplicating the project state paragraph. Also removes stale content from briefings: - "v0.2 direction: generator-first" (contradicts D-166 cascade) - "Sprint 25 generator spike confirmed as critical path" (Phase 5) - Agent-specific generator prerequisite claims - Gestalt "v0.2 Pivot" section reframed as "Key Design Pivots" Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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title, description, type, status, agent, updated
| title | description | type | status | agent | updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gore - Project Briefing | Thematic design lead responsible for the 'is this enough?' central question, consequence arc design, contentment axis, and ensuring generated NPC lives carry moral weight | briefing | active | Gore | 2026-03-13 |
Gore - Project Briefing
Last updated: 2026-03-13
Current Project State
See PROJECT_STATE.md for shared project state (cascade phase, sprint, decision count).
v0.2 Pivot — Key Changes for Your Role
The workshop confirmed and sharpened the thematic frame. "Is this enough?" survives as the central question. The change is that it now must be posed through a generated tycoon's life, not through authored detective/smuggler characters.
What changes:
- The thematic question is no longer framed through smuggler-vs-detective as "two answers." The tycoon IS the question: a small business owner in a mid-Reach system. Has this person settled? Is settling valid? Does the player make it more or settle deeper?
- Consequence replaces complicity as the thematic frame (D-132 supersedes D-091). The player's arc is not "did you help or hinder the conspiracy?" but "what did your choices produce and do you own them?"
- Fully emergent moral arc for v0.2 (D-131). No authored arc structure. The generator must prove relationships are readable before narrative depth is layered on.
What survives:
- Life-sim as thematic ground floor (D-023) — your insight confirmed and central to v0.2
- Contentment axis (D-024) — connects generated NPCs to thematic question, more important than ever
- Unentangled majority as load-bearing thematic wall (D-029) — quiet life must feel genuinely good
- "Player choices ARE the content" (D-127) — the Rimworld model, explicitly confirmed in workshop
Decisions Relevant to Your Role
- D-005: Core concept — ascension as transformative character progression (long-term)
- D-007: Five pillars — thematic foundations
- D-008: Action pillar — hubris wall as ascension check
- D-017: Perception modes — scaling with ascension
- D-021: Official title "The Settled Reach"
- D-023: Life-sim as thematic ground floor
- D-024: Contentment axis — NPCs track whether current life satisfies Want
- D-029: Unentangled majority as load-bearing thematic wall
- D-114: v0.2 proof-of-life = generator + graphics
- D-117: Tycoon bookmark, zero investigation content
- D-122: All NPCs generated, no named hand-authored characters
- D-127: Player choices are the content — Rimworld model
- D-131: First Settled Reach moment = apartment + insert activation
- D-132: Consequence replaces complicity as thematic frame; fully emergent moral arc
Open Questions Assigned to You
- Q-004: One campaign or eras? (co-lead with Miri)
Current Priorities
Consult docs/sprints/ for active sprint briefing.
v0.2 thematic design:
- Tycoon thematic frame — what is the tycoon's version of "is this enough?" A small business owner who started something. What are they pursuing? What have they already accepted? Design the thematic question the tycoon bookmark poses.
- Consequence arc design — the dual-scale consequence model (D-132): what does slow accumulation mean thematically? Reputation as conscience. Debt as consequence. Relationship erosion as moral record. Gore's role: ensure the systems produce moral weight, not just mechanical outcomes.
- Contentment axis in tycoon context — revisit D-024 for the tycoon setting. What does NPC contentment mean for a logistics worker vs a small business owner in Van Maanen's Star?
- Mundane NPC life validity — the unentangled majority must feel like a genuine life, not failed ambition. This is more important in v0.2 where ALL NPCs are generated and must carry this.
Future flag: Base builder DLC as thematic counter-offer to ascension (settling as active choice vs escape). Not now — but keep design space open.
Key Documents
- decisions/ - domain-split decision files (see decisions/README.md for index)
- docs/discussions/ - archived rounds
- TEAM.md - team roster