ALTAIR — Game Design Document¶

Genre: Vampire Survivors-like Auto-Battler Roguelite Round Duration: 20 minutes (standard) · 10 minutes (Double Time mode @ 2× speed) Perspective: Top-down 2D Target: Balanced for replay, class variety, and escalating challenge

Table of Contents¶

Core Gameplay Loop
Player Stats & Definitions
Leveling & Upgrade System
Economy & Coin System
Meta-Progression & Permanent Upgrades
Classes
Weapons & Evolutions
Passive Items
Enemies
Bosses
Wave Timeline
Double Time Mode
Difficulty Scaling Formulas
Implementation Notes

1. Core Gameplay Loop¶

The player selects a class, spawns on a procedurally-tiled map, and must survive for 20 minutes against escalating waves of enemies. All weapons fire automatically based on their own cooldown timers. The player’s only direct input is movement (WASD/joystick).

Per-Run Flow¶

SELECT CLASS → SPAWN ON MAP → KILL ENEMIES → COLLECT XP GEMS
    → LEVEL UP → CHOOSE 1 OF 3 RANDOM UPGRADES (weapon / passive / ability)
    → SURVIVE BOSS ENCOUNTERS (every 5 min)
    → DEATH or 20:00 SURVIVAL → COIN PAYOUT → META SHOP

On-Map Pickups¶

Pickup	Visual	Effect
XP Gem (small)	Blue diamond	+1 XP
XP Gem (medium)	Green diamond	+5 XP
XP Gem (large)	Red diamond	+25 XP
Coin	Gold circle	+1 Coin (persistent)
Food (Chicken)	Drumstick	Heals 20% Max HP
Magnet	Magnet icon	Pulls all on-screen XP gems to player
Treasure Chest	Gold chest	Drops from bosses. Awards 1–3 random weapon upgrades + 10–25 coins
Rosary	Glowing cross	Kills all non-boss enemies on screen
Vacuum	Swirl	Pulls ALL map XP gems to player

Food spawns from destructible environment props (barrels, tombstones, urns) with a 4% base drop rate, modified by Luck. Coins drop from enemies with a base 3% rate, also modified by Luck.

2. Player Stats & Definitions¶

Every character has the following stats. Base values vary by class; all can be modified by passive items and level-up upgrades.

Stat	Abbrev	Description	Global Base
Max HP	`HP`	Total hit points before death	100
HP Regen	`REGEN`	HP recovered per second	0.0/s
Move Speed	`SPD`	Pixels/second movement rate	200
Might	`MGT`	Multiplicative damage modifier	1.0×
Attack Speed	`ASPD`	Multiplicative cooldown reduction on weapons	1.0×
Area	`AREA`	Multiplicative size modifier on weapon hitboxes	1.0×
Projectile Count	`PROJ`	Additive bonus projectiles per weapon firing	+0
Projectile Speed	`PSPD`	Multiplicative speed of projectiles	1.0×
Duration	`DUR`	Multiplicative duration of lingering effects	1.0×
Pickup Range	`RANGE`	Radius (px) at which XP/coins are auto-collected	50
Luck	`LUCK`	Affects drop rates, crit chance, upgrade rarity	1.0×
Armor	`ARM`	Flat damage reduction per hit (min damage = 1)	0
Cooldown Reduction	`CDR`	Multiplicative reduction on ability cooldowns	1.0×
Revival	`REV`	Number of times player revives at 50% HP on death	0
Growth	`GRO`	Multiplicative modifier on XP gem value	1.0×

Stat Caps¶

Stat	Soft Cap	Hard Cap	Notes
Move Speed	350	500	Diminishing returns after soft cap (50% efficiency)
Might	3.0×	5.0×	—
Attack Speed	2.5×	4.0×	—
Area	3.0×	5.0×	—
Projectile Count	+5	+8	Per weapon
Armor	10	20	—
CDR	0.5×	0.25×	Lower = faster cooldown
Revival	—	3	—
Growth	3.0×	5.0×	—

3. Leveling & Upgrade System¶

XP Curve¶

XP required per level follows a quadratic curve:

XP_required(level) = floor(5 + (level × 3) + (level² × 0.4))

Level	XP Required	Cumulative XP
1→2	8	8
2→3	12	20
3→4	17	37
5→6	28	93
10→11	75	428
15→16	140	1,118
20→21	221	2,283
25→26	318	4,073
30→31	431	6,638

Expected level by game time (with average play):

5:00 — Level ~10
10:00 — Level ~18
15:00 — Level ~25
20:00 — Level ~32–35

Level-Up Choice¶

On level up, the player is presented 3 random options (4 with the Luck-based “Extra Choice” meta upgrade). Options are drawn from:

New weapon (if fewer than 6 weapons held)
Weapon upgrade (level up an existing weapon, max level 8)
New passive item (if fewer than 6 passives held)
Passive item upgrade (level up existing passive, max level 5)
+25 Gold (always available as a consolation/strategic option)

If a weapon reaches level 8 and the player holds its required evolution passive, the weapon automatically evolves into its evolved form (see §7).

Reroll & Banish¶

Reroll (unlockable meta upgrade): Re-randomize the 3 choices. Base: 2 rerolls/run. Max: 5.
Banish (unlockable meta upgrade): Remove an option permanently from the run’s pool. Base: 2 banishes/run. Max: 5.

4. Economy & Coin System¶

Coins are the persistent currency that carry between runs. They are spent in the Meta Shop.

Coin Sources (Per Run)¶

Source	Amount	Notes
Enemy coin drops	1 each	3% base drop rate, ×Luck
Boss kill	25 / 50 / 75 / 100	Bosses at 5/10/15/20 min respectively
Treasure chest (boss drop)	10–25	Randomized per chest
Survival time bonus	1 per 15 sec survived	Max 80 coins at 20:00
Kill milestone: 500 kills	10	One-time per run
Kill milestone: 1,500 kills	25	One-time per run
Kill milestone: 3,000 kills	50	One-time per run
Kill milestone: 5,000 kills	100	One-time per run
Full clear (survive 20:00)	100	Completion bonus
First clear with class	200	One-time per class, ever
Double Time completion	+50% total	Multiplier on all coins earned
Greed stat (meta upgrade)	+10% per level	Max 5 levels = +50%

Expected Coin Income¶

Scenario	Estimated Coins
Death at 5:00, ~200 kills	30–60
Death at 10:00, ~1,000 kills	100–180
Death at 15:00, ~2,500 kills	220–350
Full 20:00 clear, ~5,000 kills	450–650
Full clear + Double Time + max Greed	800–1,100

5. Meta-Progression & Permanent Upgrades¶

Meta Shop¶

All upgrades are purchased with persistent coins. Upgrades apply to all future runs.

Upgrade	Levels	Cost Per Level	Effect Per Level
Max HP Up	5	50 / 100 / 200 / 350 / 500	+10% Max HP
HP Regen	5	75 / 150 / 250 / 400 / 600	+0.2 HP/s
Might Up	5	100 / 200 / 350 / 500 / 750	+5% Might
Move Speed Up	5	50 / 100 / 150 / 250 / 400	+5% Move Speed
Pickup Range Up	5	25 / 50 / 100 / 150 / 200	+20px Pickup Range
Growth Up	5	100 / 200 / 350 / 500 / 750	+8% Growth
Greed	5	150 / 300 / 500 / 750 / 1000	+10% coin gain
Luck Up	5	100 / 200 / 350 / 500 / 750	+10% Luck
Armor Up	3	200 / 400 / 700	+1 Armor
Revival	1	1000	+1 Revival
Reroll	3	100 / 250 / 500	+1 Reroll/run
Banish	3	100 / 250 / 500	+1 Banish/run
Extra Choice	1	2000	+1 level-up option (3→4)

Total cost to fully upgrade: ~16,700 coins (roughly 25–35 full clears, or ~50 medium runs)

Class Unlocks¶

Class	Unlock Condition	Cost
Knight	Starting class	Free
Arcanist	Starting class	Free
Ranger	Starting class	Free
Plague Doctor	Survive 10 minutes	Free (achievement)
Berserker	Kill 3,000 enemies in one run	Free (achievement)
Necromancer	Purchase in shop	1,500 coins
Chronomancer	Defeat the 15-minute boss	Free (achievement)
Hemomancer	Complete a full 20:00 run	Free (achievement)

6. Classes¶

Each class has unique base stat modifiers, a starting weapon, and two class abilities (one innate from the start, one unlocked at level 10).

6.1 Knight¶

A stalwart warrior with balanced stats and strong survivability. Ideal for beginners.

Starting Weapon: Broad Sword (melee sweep)

Stat	Modifier
Max HP	120 (base +20)
Armor	1
Might	1.0×
Move Speed	195

Ability 1 — Shield Wall (Innate) Every 25 seconds (affected by CDR), the Knight gains a shield that absorbs the next 30 damage (scales +10 per player level milestone at 10, 20, 30). Shield lasts 8 seconds or until broken. Visual: glowing golden barrier around player.

Ability 2 — Rally Cry (Unlocked at Level 10) Every 45 seconds (affected by CDR), emits a battle shout in a 250px radius (affected by Area). All enemies in range are stunned for 1.5 seconds and take 50 damage (affected by Might). Additionally, the Knight gains +15% Move Speed for 5 seconds.

6.2 Arcanist¶

A glass cannon mage who trades durability for devastating magical area attacks.

Starting Weapon: Arcane Bolt (auto-targeting projectile)

Stat	Modifier
Max HP	80 (base −20)
Might	1.2×
Area	1.15×
Move Speed	190
CDR	0.9×

Ability 1 — Mana Surge (Innate) Every 30 seconds, the Arcanist’s next 3 weapon attacks deal 2× damage and have +50% Area. Visual: purple energy crackling around character, weapon projectiles glow brighter.

Ability 2 — Arcane Nova (Unlocked at Level 10) Every 40 seconds, unleashes an expanding ring of arcane energy outward from the player. The ring travels 400px (affected by Area), dealing 80 damage (affected by Might) to all enemies it passes through and applying a 30% slow for 3 seconds. Visual: expanding purple shockwave ring.

6.3 Ranger¶

A swift, evasive fighter who excels at kiting and projectile-based combat.

Starting Weapon: Iron Shortbow (directional arrow volley)

Stat	Modifier
Max HP	90
Move Speed	230
Projectile Speed	1.2×
Projectile Count	+1
Pickup Range	75

Ability 1 — Evasion Roll (Innate) Every 20 seconds, the Ranger automatically dashes 150px in their movement direction when an enemy comes within 60px, gaining invincibility frames for 0.5 seconds during the dash. If the player is stationary, dashes away from the nearest enemy. Visual: afterimage trail during dash.

Ability 2 — Hunter’s Mark (Unlocked at Level 10) Every 35 seconds, the strongest enemy on screen (highest current HP) is marked for 8 seconds. Marked enemies take +40% damage from all sources and drop 3× XP on death. If the marked enemy is a boss, the bonus damage is reduced to +20%. Visual: red crosshair above target, red tether line from player to target.

6.4 Plague Doctor¶

A poison specialist who controls space with lingering damage zones. Unlock: Survive 10 minutes.

Starting Weapon: Toxic Flask (lobbed AoE poison pool)

Stat	Modifier
Max HP	95
Duration	1.3×
Area	1.1×
Move Speed	185
HP Regen	0.3/s

Ability 1 — Miasma Trail (Innate) The Plague Doctor passively leaves a poison trail behind them as they move. The trail is 30px wide (affected by Area), persists for 2 seconds (affected by Duration), and deals 5 damage/tick every 0.5 seconds to enemies standing in it (affected by Might). Trail ticks apply a 10% slow stack, up to 3 stacks (30% slow).

Ability 2 — Pandemic (Unlocked at Level 10) Every 50 seconds, all currently poisoned enemies (any source) explode, dealing 40% of the remaining poison damage as instant AoE damage in a 100px radius around them (affected by Area). This explosion can chain — if the AoE kills or poisons new enemies, they also trigger after a 0.3 second delay, up to 3 chain iterations. Visual: green bursting particles, chain lightning-style connecting lines.

6.5 Berserker¶

A high-risk melee fighter who grows stronger the more damage they take. Unlock: Kill 3,000 enemies in one run.

Starting Weapon: War Axe (wide circular cleave)

Stat	Modifier
Max HP	150
Might	0.9× (base, but scales up)
Move Speed	205
Armor	0
HP Regen	0.5/s

Ability 1 — Blood Rage (Innate, Passive) The Berserker gains bonus Might based on missing HP percentage:

bonus_might = 0.8 × (1 - current_hp / max_hp)

HP %	Bonus Might	Total Might (with 0.9 base)
100%	+0.00×	0.90×
75%	+0.20×	1.10×
50%	+0.40×	1.30×
25%	+0.60×	1.50×
10%	+0.72×	1.62×

Additionally, below 30% HP, the Berserker gains +20% Attack Speed and their eyes glow red.

Ability 2 — Savage Slam (Unlocked at Level 10) Every 30 seconds, the Berserker leaps to the densest cluster of enemies within 300px and slams down, dealing 120 damage (affected by Might) in a 180px radius (affected by Area). Enemies in the inner 60px are additionally knocked back 100px and stunned for 1 second. The Berserker is invulnerable during the leap (~0.6s). Visual: red energy trail on leap, ground crack impact, shockwave ring.

6.6 Necromancer¶

A summoner who raises the dead to fight. Lower personal damage, but overwhelming numbers. Unlock: Purchase for 1,500 coins.

Starting Weapon: Soul Siphon (short-range beam that drains enemies)

Stat	Modifier
Max HP	85
Might	0.85×
Duration	1.2×
Move Speed	180
CDR	0.85×

Ability 1 — Raise Dead (Innate) Every enemy killed has a 25% chance (affected by Luck) to raise a skeleton minion at its death location. Skeletons have 30 HP, deal 15 damage/hit (affected by Might) at 1 attack/second, move at 180 speed, target the nearest enemy, and last 12 seconds (affected by Duration). Maximum 8 active skeletons (increases to 10 at player level 15, 12 at level 25). Skeletons that kill enemies can trigger further Raise Dead procs.

Ability 2 — Army of Darkness (Unlocked at Level 10) Every 60 seconds, the Necromancer summons a bone wall ring (radius 200px, affected by Area) around themselves. The wall consists of 12 bone pillars, each with 50 HP. Enemies that touch a pillar take 25 damage and are knocked back. The wall lasts 6 seconds (affected by Duration) or until all pillars are destroyed. While the wall stands, all skeletons inside gain +50% damage and attack speed. Visual: circle of ribcage-like bone pillars, green necromantic energy connecting them.

6.7 Chronomancer¶

A time-bending spellcaster who manipulates enemy speed and cooldowns. Unlock: Defeat the 15-minute boss.

Starting Weapon: Temporal Shard (boomerang projectile that slows on hit)

Stat	Modifier
Max HP	85
CDR	0.8×
Move Speed	200
Might	1.0×
Duration	1.15×

Ability 1 — Time Dilation Field (Innate) A 150px radius aura (affected by Area) passively surrounds the Chronomancer. All enemies inside the aura move and attack at 70% speed. The aura is always active. Visual: subtle clock-like particle ring, enemies inside have a blue-shifted tint.

Ability 2 — Temporal Rewind (Unlocked at Level 10) Every 50 seconds, the Chronomancer rewinds 4 seconds of their own position and HP history. The player teleports to where they were 4 seconds ago with the HP they had at that moment (whichever is higher — current or 4-seconds-ago). During the rewind animation (~0.3s), the player is invulnerable. Additionally, all enemies within 200px of the player’s current position (before teleporting) are frozen for 2.5 seconds. Visual: VHS-rewind distortion effect, clock spinning backward above player, frozen enemies encased in blue crystal.

6.8 Hemomancer¶

A blood mage who sacrifices HP for power and heals through violence. Unlock: Complete a full 20:00 run.

Starting Weapon: Crimson Whip (medium-range blood lash in facing direction)

Stat	Modifier
Max HP	110
Might	1.1×
HP Regen	−0.5/s (passive drain)
Move Speed	195
Luck	1.1×

Ability 1 — Sanguine Feast (Innate, Passive) All damage dealt by the Hemomancer heals them for 5% of damage dealt (lifesteal). This is calculated after Might modifiers. Healing is capped at 8 HP per second to prevent infinite sustain with AoE. The passive HP drain (−0.5/s) creates a tension where the Hemomancer must keep attacking to sustain. Below 50% HP, lifesteal increases to 8%.

Ability 2 — Blood Nova (Unlocked at Level 10) Activated every 35 seconds. The Hemomancer sacrifices 15% of current HP and detonates it as a blood explosion in a 250px radius (affected by Area). Damage equals 3× the HP sacrificed plus 60 base damage (all affected by Might). Enemies killed by Blood Nova heal the Hemomancer for 5 HP each (uncapped, ignoring the per-second lifesteal cap). Visual: player pulses red, blood tendrils radiate outward, crimson explosion.

7. Weapons & Evolutions¶

Each weapon can be leveled to 8 through level-up selections. At level 8, if the player also holds the matching evolution passive item, the weapon automatically transforms into its evolved form (distinct new weapon with enhanced behavior).

Players can hold a maximum of 6 weapons simultaneously.

Weapon Table¶

#	Weapon	Type	Base Damage	Cooldown	Description	Evolution Passive	Evolved Form
1	Broad Sword	Melee sweep	20	1.2s	120° frontal arc slash	Gauntlet (+Armor)	Radiant Claymore
2	Arcane Bolt	Homing projectile	18	1.0s	Fires a seeking bolt at nearest enemy	Tome (+Area)	Arcane Barrage
3	Iron Shortbow	Directional arrows	12	0.8s	Fires arrows in facing direction	Quiver (+Proj Count)	Storm Bow
4	Toxic Flask	Lobbed AoE	8/tick	3.5s	Lobs flask creating poison pool (2s)	Vial (+Duration)	Plague Bomb
5	War Axe	Circular cleave	28	1.8s	360° spin attack around player	War Paint (+Might)	Cataclysm Axe
6	Soul Siphon	Short beam	10/tick	Continuous	Drains nearest enemy within 100px	Skull Pendant (+CDR)	Death Ray
7	Temporal Shard	Boomerang	15 ×2	2.0s	Passes through enemies twice (out+back)	Hourglass (+CDR)	Eternity Loop
8	Crimson Whip	Directional lash	22	1.4s	Lashes in facing dir, 150px range	Blood Ruby (+Might)	Sanguine Scourge
9	Holy Water	Ground AoE	6/tick	3.0s	Drops damaging pool at player’s feet	Sacred Charm (+Duration)	Divine Deluge
10	Throwing Daggers	Multi-projectile	8	0.6s	Fast small projectiles, random spread	Sharpening Stone (+Proj Speed)	Knife Storm
11	Lightning Ring	Auto-strike	25	2.5s	Random lightning bolt on nearby enemy	Conductor Coil (+Area)	Thunderstorm
12	Garlic	Passive aura	5/tick	0.5s	Damage aura around player, 80px	Laurel (+Max HP)	Soul Eater
13	Runic Orbs	Orbital	14	Passive	Orbs circle player, damage on contact	Star Map (+Proj Count)	Celestial Guard
14	Fire Wand	Direct shot	30	1.6s	Fires a fireball in random direction	Ember Ring (+Proj Speed)	Inferno Staff

Evolution Details¶

Evolved Weapon	Key Enhancement
Radiant Claymore	180° arc, +50% damage, emits holy shockwave every 3rd swing dealing AoE
Arcane Barrage	Fires 3 bolts simultaneously, each explodes on impact for 80px AoE
Storm Bow	Fires double arrow count, arrows pierce all enemies, leave lightning trails
Plague Bomb	Pool radius 2×, enemies leaving pool carry poison for 4 additional seconds
Cataclysm Axe	Spin pulls enemies inward 50px, +80% damage, leaves fire trail on ground
Death Ray	Range 250px, beam chains to 3 additional enemies, 15% lifesteal
Eternity Loop	3 shards orbit continuously, freeze enemies for 0.5s on hit
Sanguine Scourge	Lash hits all directions, enemies killed explode for 60% of their max HP as AoE
Divine Deluge	4 pools drop on random enemy clusters, pools heal player 2HP/tick while standing in them
Knife Storm	360° knife burst every 0.4s, knives bounce off enemies once
Thunderstorm	3 simultaneous bolts, struck enemies chain to 2 nearby, 0.5s stun
Soul Eater	200px aura, converts 1% of aura damage to healing, reduces enemy damage by 20% in range
Celestial Guard	5 orbs, orbit speed 2×, orbs emit damaging light beams outward
Inferno Staff	Fireball explodes into 6 embers on impact, each ember leaves a small fire pool

Weapon Level Scaling¶

Each level (1→8) provides the following per weapon:

Damage: +15% per level (compounding) → Level 8 ≈ 2.66× base
Level 2: +1 base effect (e.g., +1 projectile for bows, +0.5s duration for pools)
Level 4: +1 base effect
Level 6: +1 base effect
Level 8: Evolution (if passive requirement met), otherwise +25% damage spike

8. Passive Items¶

Players can hold a maximum of 6 passive items simultaneously. Each has 5 upgrade levels via level-up selection. Passives both provide stat bonuses and serve as evolution catalysts for weapons.

#	Passive Item	Stat Bonus Per Level	Max Bonus (Lv 5)	Evolves
1	Gauntlet	+1 Armor	+5 Armor	Broad Sword
2	Tome	+8% Area	+40% Area	Arcane Bolt
3	Quiver	+1 Proj Count	+5 Proj Count	Iron Shortbow
4	Vial	+10% Duration	+50% Duration	Toxic Flask
5	War Paint	+5% Might	+25% Might	War Axe
6	Skull Pendant	+5% CDR	+25% CDR	Soul Siphon
7	Hourglass	+4% CDR, +4% Duration	+20% CDR, +20% Dur	Temporal Shard
8	Blood Ruby	+5% Might, +0.1 HP Regen	+25% Might, +0.5 Regen	Crimson Whip
9	Sacred Charm	+8% Duration, +3 HP	+40% Duration, +15 HP	Holy Water
10	Sharpening Stone	+10% Proj Speed	+50% Proj Speed	Throwing Daggers
11	Conductor Coil	+8% Area, +3% Might	+40% Area, +15% Might	Lightning Ring
12	Laurel	+8% Max HP	+40% Max HP	Garlic
13	Star Map	+1 Proj Count (at Lv 3 & 5 only)	+2 Proj Count	Runic Orbs
14	Ember Ring	+10% Proj Speed, +3% Might	+50% Proj Speed, +15% Might	Fire Wand
15	Swift Boots	+6% Move Speed	+30% Move Speed	— (no evolution)
16	Magnetic Amulet	+20px Pickup Range	+100px Pickup Range	—
17	Clover	+8% Luck	+40% Luck	—
18	XP Tome	+8% Growth	+40% Growth	—

9. Enemies¶

Enemies are organized into tiers that progressively unlock as the run progresses. All HP, damage, and speed values are base values at their spawn-in time — they are further modified by the difficulty scaling system (§13).

Tier 1 — Fodder (Minute 0:00+)¶

9.1 Shambler¶

Visual: Ragged zombie, slow stumble animation
HP: 8
Damage: 5 (contact)
Speed: 80 px/s
Behavior: Walks directly toward player. No special abilities.
XP Drop: 1 (small gem)
Design Role: Bread-and-butter enemy. Appears in massive swarms. Tests AoE clearing.

9.2 Bat¶

Visual: Small dark bat, erratic flight
HP: 5
Damage: 3 (contact)
Speed: 160 px/s
Behavior: Moves toward player in a sinusoidal wave pattern (amplitude 40px, period 1.5s), making them harder to hit with narrow projectiles.
XP Drop: 1
Design Role: Fast but fragile. Punishes players who stand still.

Tier 2 — Threats (Minute 2:00+)¶

9.3 Skeleton Warrior¶

Visual: Armed skeleton with rusty sword
HP: 20
Damage: 10 (contact), attacks every 1.5s when adjacent
Speed: 100 px/s
Behavior: Walks toward player. When within 50px, stops and performs a lunging sword strike (hitbox extends 70px in front for 0.3s). Lunge has a 0.5s windup (visual: raises sword).
XP Drop: 3 (small gem ×3)
Design Role: First enemy with a melee attack pattern. Teaches players to keep moving.

9.4 Ghost¶

Visual: Translucent floating specter
HP: 12
Damage: 8 (contact)
Speed: 120 px/s
Behavior: Passes through other enemies (no collision). Every 4 seconds, becomes intangible for 1.5 seconds (semi-transparent, immune to damage, still deals contact damage). Player must time attacks.
XP Drop: 3
Design Role: Disrupts dense formations by phasing through. Intermittent invulnerability creates micro-decisions.

Tier 3 — Elites (Minute 5:00+)¶

9.5 Werewolf¶

Visual: Large bipedal wolf, hunched and snarling
HP: 55
Damage: 18 (contact/pounce)
Speed: 90 px/s (walking), 350 px/s (pouncing)
Behavior: Walks toward player. At 200px range, enters a 1-second crouch (visual: lowers body, eyes flash) then pounces in a straight line toward the player’s position at pounce-start. Pounce covers 250px. After landing, pauses for 0.8 seconds before resuming walk. Pounce cooldown: 6 seconds.
XP Drop: 10 (medium gem)
Design Role: Scary burst movement. Crouching telegraph teaches pattern recognition. Punishes stationary play.

9.6 Cultist¶

Visual: Robed figure with glowing staff
HP: 25
Damage: 12 (projectile)
Speed: 70 px/s
Behavior: Ranged enemy. Maintains 200px distance from player (retreats if closer). Every 3 seconds, fires a dark orb projectile (speed 200 px/s, size 12px) aimed at the player’s current position. Orb persists for 3 seconds or until hitting the player. Orbs pass through other enemies.
XP Drop: 8
Design Role: First ranged threat. Forces player to dodge projectiles while managing melee swarms. Backline priority target.

9.7 Swarm Rat¶

Visual: Tiny scurrying rat
HP: 3
Damage: 2 (contact)
Speed: 200 px/s
Behavior: Always spawns in packs of 8–12. Each rat has slightly randomized speed (±20%). They move directly toward the player. Individually trivial but difficult to clear all at once.
XP Drop: 1 each (but the volume compensates)
Design Role: AoE check. If AoE is weak, rats swarm and chip damage adds up. Satisfying to clear with good AoE.

Tier 4 — Dangerous (Minute 8:00+)¶

9.8 Witch¶

Visual: Hovering figure with dark aura
HP: 35
Damage: 0 (does not deal direct damage)
Speed: 90 px/s
Behavior: Stays at 250px range from player. Every 8 seconds, casts Curse on the player: reduces player Move Speed by 15% for 4 seconds (stacks up to 2× from multiple Witches = 30% slow). Every 12 seconds, casts Empower on all enemies within 200px of herself: empowered enemies gain +25% speed and +20% damage for 5 seconds (glowing red aura).
XP Drop: 12 (medium gem)
Design Role: High-priority support enemy. Doesn’t threaten directly but makes everything else deadly. Encourages target prioritization.

9.9 Bone Golem¶

Visual: Hulking skeleton construct, twice normal enemy size
HP: 120
Damage: 20 (contact), 30 (ground slam)
Speed: 60 px/s
Behavior: Slow but tanky. Every 5 seconds, performs a ground slam: stops, raises fists (1s windup), slams creating a 150px radius shockwave dealing 30 damage and applying 0.5s stun to the player. During windup, the Golem gains 50% damage reduction. On death, splits into 3 Skeleton Warriors.
XP Drop: 20 (large gem)
Design Role: Tank enemy that demands sustained DPS. Ground slam punishes melee-heavy builds. Death-split creates secondary threat.

9.10 Shadow¶

Visual: Dark humanoid silhouette, flickers
HP: 30
Damage: 15 (contact)
Speed: 140 px/s
Behavior: Invisible (fully transparent) until within 150px of the player, at which point it fades in over 0.3 seconds. Moves quickly and directly. If it takes damage while invisible, it is revealed immediately. Every 10 seconds while visible, can re-cloak if more than 200px from the player.
XP Drop: 8
Design Role: Jump-scare enemy. Tests player awareness and punishes tunnel vision. Rewards wide AoE (reveals them before they get close).

Tier 5 — Nightmare (Minute 12:00+)¶

9.11 Vampire Noble¶

Visual: Pale aristocrat in dark cloak, red eyes
HP: 80
Damage: 22 (melee), 15 (bat swarm)
Speed: 130 px/s
Behavior: Walks toward player. At 100px, performs a rapid 3-hit claw combo (each hit 22 damage, 0.2s between hits). Every 8 seconds, summons a bat swarm of 4 bats (same as Tier 1 bats) that target the player. Heals 5 HP per second passively (lifesteal aura). Killing the Noble stops the bat spawns.
XP Drop: 25 (large gem)
Design Role: Mini-boss tier regular enemy. Sustain + adds + burst melee = must prioritize.

9.12 Arcane Construct¶

Visual: Floating geometric shape (icosahedron) with glowing runes
HP: 60
Damage: 0 (contact), 25 (laser)
Speed: 100 px/s
Behavior: Hovers at 300px from player. Every 4 seconds, telegraphs a laser beam (red line appears for 1s) then fires a piercing beam in a straight line (width 20px, infinite range, lasts 0.5s). The beam deals 25 damage to the player if hit. Rotates targeting — aims at where the player will be based on current velocity (leading shots).
XP Drop: 15
Design Role: Advanced ranged threat with predictive aiming. Forces erratic movement or direction changes. Laser telegraph is readable but requires attention during chaotic swarms.

9.13 Plague Bearer¶

Visual: Bloated green zombie, dripping
HP: 45
Damage: 8 (contact), 4/tick (poison cloud)
Speed: 70 px/s
Behavior: Walks toward player. Leaves a poison trail (40px wide, lasts 3 seconds) that deals 4 damage per tick (2 ticks/second) to the player. On death, explodes into a 120px radius poison cloud lasting 4 seconds (same damage). Contact damage also applies a poison DoT of 3 damage/second for 3 seconds.
XP Drop: 10
Design Role: Zone denial. Players must be aware of death explosions. Melee characters suffer most. Creates lingering hazards.

Tier 6 — Cataclysm (Minute 16:00+)¶

9.14 Death Knight¶

Visual: Armored undead knight with flaming sword, larger than standard
HP: 150
Damage: 35 (melee swing), 20 (shockwave)
Speed: 110 px/s
Behavior: Walks toward player. Melee swing every 2 seconds in a 140° arc, 100px reach. Every 6 seconds, plants sword in ground and emits 4 directional shockwaves (N/S/E/W) each 30px wide, traveling 300px, dealing 20 damage. Has 3 Armor (flat damage reduction). On death, drops a Food pickup (guaranteed).
XP Drop: 25 (large gem)
Design Role: Endgame elite. Demands respect even from well-built characters. Shockwave pattern tests positioning.

9.15 Banshee¶

Visual: Floating ghostly woman, long flowing hair and tattered dress
HP: 40
Damage: 10 (contact), 0 (scream — debuff only)
Speed: 150 px/s
Behavior: Phases through all enemies (like Ghost). Every 7 seconds, performs a Wailing Scream: all player weapons are disabled for 2 seconds (cooldowns freeze, active projectiles remain but no new ones fire). Affects the player if within 400px. The scream has a 1.5 second windup (visual: Banshee stops, mouth opens, sound wave rings pulse outward). Killing her during windup cancels the scream.
XP Drop: 12
Design Role: Extremely dangerous support enemy. Weapon disable during swarms = death. Top priority kill target. Windup is generous but requires awareness.

9.16 Lich¶

Visual: Skeletal mage in ornate robes, floating phylactery
HP: 100 + 30 (phylactery)
Damage: 20 (projectile volley)
Speed: 60 px/s
Behavior: Stays at 350px range. Every 5 seconds, fires a fan of 5 projectiles in a 60° arc toward the player (each projectile: 20 damage, 180 speed). Every 15 seconds, resurrects up to 3 nearby dead enemies (within 200px) at 50% HP. Has a phylactery (small floating orb beside it): the Lich cannot die until its phylactery is destroyed (30 HP, hittable). If the Lich body reaches 0 HP with phylactery alive, it becomes invulnerable and regenerates to 50% HP over 3 seconds.
XP Drop: 30 (large gem)
Design Role: Ultimate regular enemy. Resurrection ability compounds danger. Phylactery mechanic rewards targeted/precise damage. A run-ender if ignored.

10. Bosses¶

Bosses spawn at fixed time intervals. Each boss enters with a screen-shake, a warning indicator (directional arrow for 3 seconds before spawning at screen edge), and dramatic audio cue. All non-boss enemies continue spawning during boss fights. Bosses are immune to knockback and stun effects (unless specified).

Boss HP, damage, and speed scale with current difficulty multiplier (§13). Values below are base values.

Boss 1 — THE HOLLOW KING (Minute 5:00)¶

An enormous skeletal monarch wreathed in green flame, dragging a massive rusted blade.

Stat	Value
HP	800
Speed	85 px/s
Size	3× standard enemy
Armor	2

Phase 1 (100%–50% HP):

Cleave: Every 3 seconds, swings blade in a 180° arc (range 150px, damage 30). Telegraphed by 0.8s windup (blade raised, green particles gather).
Summon Shambler Guard: Every 12 seconds, summons 8 Shamblers in a circle around himself.
Bone Spikes: Every 8 seconds, spikes erupt from the ground in a line toward the player (5 spikes, each 40px apart, 1 spike/0.2s, damage 20 each). Telegraphed by ground cracks appearing 0.6s before eruption.

Phase 2 (50%–0% HP):

Gains +30% speed (110 px/s).
Cleave upgraded: now 270° arc, +10 damage.
Death March: Every 15 seconds, charges in a straight line toward the player at 250 px/s for up to 400px, leaving a trail of bone spikes behind (persist 3 seconds, 15 damage on contact). Telegraphed: 1.2s of glowing eyes + directional indicator.
Stops summoning Shamblers; instead, all enemies on screen gain +15% speed while the King is in Phase 2.

Drop: Treasure Chest (15–25 coins, 1–2 weapon upgrades), 25 flat coins.

Boss 2 — THE CRIMSON COUNTESS (Minute 10:00)¶

A vampiric matriarch hovering above the ground, surrounded by swirling blood mist.

Stat	Value
HP	2,000
Speed	100 px/s (hover)
Size	2.5× standard enemy
Armor	3

Phase 1 (100%–60% HP):

Blood Lance: Every 4 seconds, fires a blood lance projectile at the player (speed 280, damage 25, pierces through enemies). Telegraphed: 0.6s of arm extending, red glow at hand.
Bat Cloud: Every 10 seconds, releases a spiral pattern of 12 bats that expand outward from her position. Bats have 3 HP each, deal 5 damage on contact, and home loosely toward the player. They despawn after 5 seconds.
Blood Shield: She has a regenerating shield of 100 HP that restores at 10 HP/second when she hasn’t taken damage for 3 seconds. Visual: red translucent bubble.

Phase 2 (60%–25% HP):

Blood Rain: Every 8 seconds, rains blood droplets in a 300px radius area centered on the player’s position (drops fall over 1.5s, each droplet deals 10 damage, ~15 droplets). Telegraphed: 1s of red circle on ground at target area. Droplets heal the Countess 2 HP each if they hit the player.
Blood Lance now fires 3 lances in a fan (30° spread).
Shield regeneration increases to 20 HP/second.

Phase 3 (25%–0% HP):

Crimson Fury: Countess gains +50% speed, eyes blaze red. Swoops toward the player every 3 seconds, dealing 20 contact damage per pass. Swoop covers 300px in 0.5s.
Blood Rain becomes constant (lower density: ~5 droplets every 2 seconds in a 200px area around player).
Shield is removed — she trades defense for offense.

Drop: Treasure Chest (15–25 coins, 2–3 weapon upgrades), 50 flat coins.

Boss 3 — THE ELDER LICH MALACHAR (Minute 15:00)¶

An ancient skeletal sorcerer floating above a runic circle, phylactery orbs spinning around it.

Stat	Value
HP	4,500
Speed	70 px/s (teleporting)
Size	2× standard enemy
Armor	5

Special Mechanic — 3 Phylacteries: Malachar has 3 phylactery orbs orbiting him at different distances (150px, 250px, 350px). Each has 200 HP. While any phylactery is alive, Malachar takes 50% reduced damage. Destroying all 3 removes the damage reduction. Phylacteries also fire their own attacks (see below).

Core Behavior:

Teleport: Every 6 seconds, Malachar teleports to a random position 300–500px from the player with a 0.5s fade-out/fade-in. Leaves a dark explosion at departure point (100px radius, 15 damage).
Soul Barrage: Every 3 seconds, fires 3 homing soul orbs (speed 150, damage 20 each, tracking for 4 seconds then dissipate). Orbs are destroyable (5 HP each).
Mass Resurrection: Every 20 seconds, all enemies killed in the last 20 seconds within 500px are resurrected at 30% HP (max 15 enemies). Destroying the inner phylactery disables this ability.

Phylactery Behaviors:

Inner Orb (150px orbit): Enables Mass Resurrection. Fires a continuous beam at the player when within 200px (8 damage/tick, 4 ticks/second). Beam is visible as a purple line.
Middle Orb (250px orbit): Every 5 seconds, creates a gravity well at the player’s position that pulls the player toward it for 2 seconds (pull force 60 px/s). Well is 80px radius, visible as a dark purple vortex.
Outer Orb (350px orbit): Every 4 seconds, fires a ring of 8 projectiles outward (damage 12 each, speed 160). Creates a bullet-hell pattern.

Enrage (below 20% HP):

All attack speeds doubled.
Teleport every 3 seconds.
Soul Barrage fires 6 orbs.
Any destroyed phylacteries are resurrected once at 100 HP each.

Drop: Treasure Chest (20–25 coins, 3 weapon upgrades), 75 flat coins.

Boss 4 — TERMINUS, THE UNDYING (Minute 20:00 — Final Boss)¶

A colossal amalgamation of every fallen enemy — a towering mass of bone, shadow, and screaming faces.

Stat	Value
HP	8,000
Speed	50 px/s (walking) / 300 px/s (charges)
Size	5× standard enemy
Armor	8

Special Mechanic — Adaptive Resistance: Terminus tracks the damage type that has dealt the most damage to it every 15 seconds and gains 50% resistance to that damage type for the next 15 seconds. This encourages weapon diversity. Damage types: Melee, Projectile, AoE, DoT, Summon.

Phase 1 — The Maw (100%–70% HP):

Crushing Advance: Walks toward player. Contact deals 40 damage per hit (due to size, hard to avoid at close range).
Consume: Every 10 seconds, inhales for 2 seconds, pulling the player toward him (pull force 120 px/s) and pulling all XP gems/coins toward him (destroying them). If the player touches Terminus during inhale, takes 60 damage. Telegraphed: mouth-like cavity on body opens, suction particles appear.
Spawn Amalgamation: Every 8 seconds, one of Terminus’s body-parts detaches and becomes a random Tier 3–4 enemy. Up to 5 spawned this way at a time.

Phase 2 — The Storm (70%–35% HP):

Void Zones: Every 6 seconds, slams the ground, creating 3 void zones at random positions within 400px of the player. Each zone is 100px radius, deals 15 damage/second, and lasts 8 seconds. Max 9 zones active at once. Telegraphed: dark circles appear on ground 1 second before activating.
Tendril Sweep: Every 5 seconds, extends 4 tendrils (each 300px long, 30px wide) that sweep in a 90° rotation over 1 second. Tendrils deal 25 damage. Telegraphed: tendrils slowly extend outward over 0.8s before sweeping.
Adaptive Resistance now resets every 10 seconds (faster cycling).

Phase 3 — The End (35%–0% HP):

All regular enemy spawning stops. The map goes dark.
Terminus gains +100% speed (100 px/s base).
Death Spiral: Terminus continuously orbits the player at 200px radius, closing to 100px over 20 seconds. Contact damage increased to 50.
Soul Storm: A permanent vortex of projectiles orbits Terminus (12 projectiles at 250px radius, 15 damage each, rotating at 180°/second). Creates a bullet-hell avoidance pattern.
Final Consume: At 10% HP, performs one final massive inhale (pull force 200 px/s, 3 seconds). If survived, Terminus staggers for 5 seconds (takes 2× damage, stops moving).
On defeat: All enemies on screen die. Massive XP/coin explosion. Victory screen triggers.

Drop: 100 flat coins, guaranteed 3 Treasure Chests (each: 25 coins, 2–3 weapon upgrades). Unlocks Hemomancer class if not already unlocked.

11. Wave Timeline & Director System¶

The game uses a Wave Director that controls spawn rates, enemy composition, and intensity based on elapsed time. Below is the full 20-minute timeline.

Spawn Budget System¶

Every second, the director has a spawn budget that determines how many “threat points” of enemies can spawn:

budget_per_second(t) = 2 + (t_minutes × 1.5) + (t_minutes² × 0.15)

Time	Budget/sec	Approx Enemies/sec
0:00	2.0	~2 Shamblers
2:00	5.6	~3–4 mixed
5:00	13.3	~5–8 mixed
8:00	23.6	~8–12 mixed
10:00	32.0	~10–16 mixed
12:00	42.0	~12–20 mixed
15:00	58.3	~15–25 mixed
18:00	78.0	~20–35 mixed
20:00	92.0	~25–40 mixed

Enemy Threat Points¶

Enemy	Threat Cost
Shambler	1
Bat	1
Swarm Rat	0.5
Skeleton Warrior	2
Ghost	2
Cultist	3
Werewolf	4
Witch	4
Shadow	3
Bone Golem	6
Plague Bearer	4
Vampire Noble	7
Arcane Construct	5
Death Knight	8
Banshee	6
Lich	10

Detailed Wave Timeline¶

Time	Event	Enemy Composition
0:00–1:00	Calm start	Shamblers only. Low density. Let player acclimate.
1:00–2:00	First swarm	Shamblers + Bats. Bat packs of 3–5 every 10 seconds.
2:00–3:00	Tier 2 intro	Skeleton Warriors begin spawning (1 per 8 seconds). Shamblers increase.
3:00–4:00	Ghost arrival	Ghosts appear (1 per 10 seconds). First mixed groups.
4:00–5:00	Pre-boss ramp	All Tier 1–2 enemies. Density spikes by 30% for 30 seconds before boss.
5:00	BOSS: The Hollow King	Boss spawns. Regular enemies continue at 70% rate.
5:00–6:00	Post-boss recovery	Enemy spawn rate drops to 50% for 30 seconds after boss dies, then resumes.
6:00–7:00	Tier 3 intro	Werewolves (1 per 12s), Cultists (1 per 10s) begin. Swarm Rats debut (pack every 15s).
7:00–8:00	Escalation	All Tier 1–3 active. Bat swarms increase. Cultist pairs start appearing.
8:00–9:00	Tier 4 intro	Witches appear (1 per 20s). Bone Golems (1 per 25s). Shadows (1 per 15s).
9:00–10:00	Pre-boss ramp	Density spikes 40%. Witch+Werewolf combos. Double Bone Golem spawns.
10:00	BOSS: The Crimson Countess	Boss spawns. Regular enemies at 60% rate during fight.
10:00–11:00	Post-boss recovery	Spawn rate drops to 40% for 30 seconds.
11:00–12:00	Pressure builds	All Tier 1–4 active. Multiple Witches at once. Shadow packs of 2–3.
12:00–13:00	Tier 5 intro	Vampire Nobles appear (1 per 30s). Arcane Constructs (1 per 20s).
13:00–14:00	Nightmare fuel	Plague Bearers arrive (1 per 15s). Poison zones dominate the map.
14:00–15:00	Pre-boss ramp	Density spikes 50%. Vampire Noble + Witch combos. Triple Cultist formations.
15:00	BOSS: Elder Lich Malachar	Boss spawns. Regular enemies at 50% rate.
15:00–16:00	Post-boss recovery	Spawn rate drops to 30% for 30 seconds.
16:00–17:00	Tier 6 intro	Death Knights appear (1 per 25s). Banshees (1 per 30s).
17:00–18:00	Hellscape	All enemy types active. Lich appears (1 per 45s). Multiple Banshees possible.
18:00–19:00	Maximum pressure	Spawn budget at near-max. Wave compositions actively target player weaknesses.
19:00–19:50	Final crescendo	Budget at maximum. Every 10 seconds, a “surge” of 30+ Tier 1 enemies + 3–5 Tier 4–5 enemies simultaneously.
19:50–20:00	Calm before the storm	All enemies freeze for 2 seconds. Screen darkens.
20:00	BOSS: Terminus, The Undying	Final boss spawns. Regular enemy spawning resumes at 60% during Phase 1–2, stops in Phase 3.

Max Enemies On Screen¶

To maintain performance, a hard cap of 300 active enemies exists. When the cap is reached, new spawns are blocked until existing enemies are killed. Tier 1 enemies are despawned first (farthest from player) to make room for higher-tier spawns.

12. Double Time Mode¶

Unlock Condition: Complete a full 20:00 run on standard mode with any class.

Mechanics¶

All game systems run at 2× speed: enemy spawns, enemy movement, projectile speeds, cooldowns, XP gem values, coin drops, boss timers — everything.
Player movement speed is 1.6× normal (not full 2×, to increase difficulty).
Game clock runs at 2× speed: a “20-minute” run completes in real-time 10 minutes.
Damage values are unchanged — the danger comes from density and speed, not raw numbers.
All coin rewards are multiplied by 1.5× at end-of-run payout.

Balance Considerations¶

Double Time is intended as a high-skill farming mode for experienced players. The primary difficulty increase comes from:

Needing to process and react at 2× speed
Player movement not fully keeping pace with enemies
Boss attack patterns being twice as fast (tighter dodge windows)
Level-up choices come faster (less deliberation time)

Double Time Specific Adjustments¶

Boss HP is reduced by 15% (since the player has less real-time to deal damage)
Food pickup healing increased to 25% Max HP (survivability compensation)
Treasure chest coin range increased to 15–30 (reward incentive)

13. Difficulty Scaling Formulas¶

All enemies receive stat scaling based on elapsed time to maintain challenge against the player’s growing power.

HP Scaling¶

enemy_hp(t) = base_hp × (1 + (t_minutes × 0.12) + (t_minutes² × 0.008))

Time	HP Multiplier	Example: Shambler HP
0:00	1.00×	8
5:00	1.80×	14
10:00	3.00×	24
15:00	4.60×	37
20:00	6.60×	53

Damage Scaling¶

enemy_damage(t) = base_damage × (1 + (t_minutes × 0.06))

Time	Damage Multiplier
0:00	1.00×
5:00	1.30×
10:00	1.60×
15:00	1.90×
20:00	2.20×

Damage scales more slowly than HP to prevent one-shot deaths and keep the game feeling fair.

Speed Scaling¶

enemy_speed(t) = base_speed × (1 + (t_minutes × 0.015))

Time	Speed Multiplier
0:00	1.00×
10:00	1.15×
20:00	1.30×

Speed scaling is gentle — the challenge comes from enemy variety and density, not speed alone.

XP Gem Value Scaling¶

Enemies drop proportionally more XP as the game progresses:

xp_value(t) = base_xp × (1 + (t_minutes × 0.05))

This ensures the player can keep leveling at a reasonable pace even as enemies become harder.

14. Implementation Notes¶

Architecture Recommendations¶

This document is designed to be consumed by an agentic code editor or an AI-assisted development workflow. Here are structural recommendations.

Entity Component System (ECS)¶

Recommended architecture: use an ECS pattern for enemies, projectiles, and pickups.

Components:
  - PositionComponent { x, y }
  - VelocityComponent { vx, vy }
  - HealthComponent { current, max, armor }
  - DamageComponent { amount, type, aoe_radius? }
  - SpriteComponent { texture, animation_state }
  - AIBehaviorComponent { behavior_type, state_machine, params }
  - SpawnTimerComponent { cooldown, elapsed }
  - DropTableComponent { xp, coin_chance, food_chance }
  - StatusEffectComponent { effects: [{ type, duration, magnitude }] }

Key Systems to Implement¶

WaveDirector — Manages spawn budget, enemy composition, and timeline events.
WeaponSystem — Manages cooldowns, firing patterns, evolution checks. Each weapon type is a strategy/behavior.
EnemyAISystem — Processes AIBehaviorComponent. Use state machines for complex enemies (Werewolf: WALK → CROUCH → POUNCE → RECOVER → WALK).
CollisionSystem — Broad-phase spatial hashing (cell size ~100px) for O(n) collision checks.
PickupSystem — XP magnet behavior, pickup range, gem values.
LevelUpSystem — XP accumulation, option generation, weapon/passive pool management.
BossSystem — Phase management, attack pattern scheduling, drop handling.
DifficultyScaler — Applies time-based multipliers to enemy stats on spawn.
MetaProgressionSystem — Persistent coin storage, upgrade application to base stats.
DoubleTimeManager — Global time scale multiplier, adjusted player speed, reward multipliers.

Spatial Considerations¶

Map size: Infinite scrolling (procedural tile generation around player). Tile set: graveyard / dark forest / ruined cathedral.
Enemy spawn distance: Between 600px and 900px from the player (off-screen but not too far).
Enemy despawn distance: Enemies more than 1200px from the player are despawned and their threat cost refunded to the director.
Screen visible area: ~800×600px centered on player (scale to resolution).

State Machines for Complex Enemies¶

WerewolfAI:
  WALK → (range < 200px) → CROUCH [1.0s] → POUNCE [0.3s] → RECOVER [0.8s] → WALK
  WALK → (pounce on cooldown) → WALK (normal chase)

BoneGolemAI:
  WALK → (timer 5s) → SLAM_WINDUP [1.0s] → SLAM [0.2s] → WALK
  ON_DEATH → SPLIT [spawn 3 × SkeletonWarrior at position]

LichAI:
  HOVER → (timer 3s) → SOUL_BARRAGE → HOVER
  HOVER → (timer 15s) → MASS_RESURRECT → HOVER
  ON_BODY_DEATH → CHECK_PHYLACTERY → (alive) → REGENERATE [3s] → HOVER
                                   → (dead) → TRUE_DEATH

Performance Targets¶

Metric	Target
Max active entities	500 (300 enemies + projectiles + pickups)
Frame rate	60 FPS stable
Collision checks	< 2ms per frame via spatial hashing
Spawn processing	< 0.5ms per frame

Data Format¶

All enemy, weapon, class, and passive data should be stored in JSON configuration files so they can be tuned without code changes:

/data/
  enemies.json       -- All enemy definitions, stats, behaviors
  weapons.json       -- Weapon stats, level scaling, evolution map
  passives.json      -- Passive item stats and evolution links
  classes.json       -- Class definitions, stat modifiers, abilities
  bosses.json        -- Boss definitions, phases, attack patterns
  waves.json         -- Wave timeline, spawn compositions
  meta_upgrades.json -- Shop items, costs, effects
  economy.json       -- Coin sources, payout formulas
  scaling.json       -- Difficulty curve parameters

End of Game Design Document — v1.0