Core Loop

The Primary Loop

The game follows a three-stage loop: Prepare (HUB) -> Traverse (Overworld) -> Purge (Mind Dive).

1. The HUB Phase (Social & Management)

• Management: Tending to the Digital Farm to grow permanent stat-boosting crops.
• Social: Interacting with NPCs and the “Suspicious Central AI” to accept new requests or “Jobs.”
• Crafting: Spending resources gathered from previous runs to permanently upgrade the Combat Drone and the player’s core attributes.

2. The Overworld Phase (Gated Exploration)

• Exploration: Navigating the HD2D “Sectors” to find the location of a specific target’s Mind.
• Standard Combat: Engaging in single-screen, real-time action encounters with corrupted data.
• Gating: Using System Keys earned from Bosses to unlock new paths and shortcuts.

3. The Mind Dive Phase (The Roguelike Run)

• Procedural Crawling: Navigating through randomized rooms inside a human’s subconscious.
• Boon Collection: Picking up temporary “Software Fragments” that change the Combat Drone’s bullet patterns.
• Boss Purge: Defeating the sector boss to “stabilize” the mind and earn a permanent System Key or rare upgrade material.

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Core Actions (Moment-to-Moment)

These are the basic actions the player performs every few seconds:

Movement & Evasion

• The Dash: High-speed movement with “iframes” (invincibility frames). This is the player’s primary tool for surviving bullet-hell patterns.
• Sprinting: Navigating the overworld and HUB at high speeds.

Combat (The Drone System)

• Shooting: The Combat Drone automatically or manually fires at targets. The player’s role is to aim and position the Drone for maximum efficiency.
• Active Skills: Triggering powerful, high-cooldown abilities that link the Player and the Drone (e.g., a massive beam or a defensive shield).
• Heat Management: Pausing fire or using specific “Coolant” items to prevent the Drone from overheating and entering a “Fragile” state.

Interaction

• Talking: Engaging in dialogue with NPCs and the Combat Drone.
• Diving: The act of initiating a “Mind Dive,” which shifts the game from the Overworld view to the procedural Dungeon view.
• Harvesting: Picking crops in the farm and gathering “Data Fragments” dropped by enemies.

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The “Hook” Loop

The player’s psychological motivation follows this cycle:

1. Desire: “I need a System Key to see the next beautiful HD2D sector.”
2. Action: “I must dive into this character’s Mind and defeat the boss.”
3. Reward: “I defeated the boss, got the Key, and found a memory log that explains why this person was corrupted.”
4. Permanent Growth: “I’ll use the rewards to upgrade my Drone’s fire rate so the next dive is easier.”