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RPG98 Design Document

Page 1: Cover & Game Overview

Working Title: RPG98 Target Platform: Miyoo Mini Plus with Onion OS Core Genre: High-stakes 2D top-down extraction roguelike with real-time combat

One-Sentence Pitch

RPG98 is a gritty fantasy extraction roguelike where players prepare in the fortified village of Blackthorn Hollow, choose how to power the Dungeon Portal (Unstable, Stable, or Empowered), venture into procedurally generated dungeons, fight with melee and spells, hunt for powerful gear with random affixes and augment slots, and risk everything to extract — or permanently lose their equipped items and abilities.

Core Identity & Pillars

1. High-Stakes Extraction

Every run carries real risk. Players must constantly weigh pushing deeper for better loot against the danger of losing everything currently equipped. Successful extractions feel genuinely rewarding.

2. Gear & Loot-Driven Progression

  • No character levels or traditional skill trees.
  • All power comes from extracted gear: rarity tiers, random affixes, 0–3 augment slots.
  • Abilities are also loot-driven (Ability Tomes / Runes). Starter abilities are fixed; additional ones are lost on death if equipped.

3. Emergent Multiplayer Stories

  • PvE-only queues (max 4 players) for safer runs.
  • PvPvE queues (up to 8 players) where alliances and betrayals happen naturally.
  • Full loot remains on corpses in PvPvE and can be stolen.

4. Meaningful Town Hub

Blackthorn Hollow serves as the only safe zone. Players return here to store loot, craft augments at the Aether Forge, check daily/weekly tasks on the Bounty Board, recycle at the Compactor, and prepare for the next run.

Visual Direction & Tone

  • Gritty fantasy survivor settlement — Super Retro Roguelike assets form the main base for town buildings and paths.
  • Darker, more oppressive dungeons — Selective use of ELV Rogue Adventure tiles for ruins, crypts, and menacing atmosphere.
  • Town feels hard-won and fragile; dungeons feel genuinely dangerous.
  • All UI designed to be clean and readable on the Miyoo Mini Plus small screen.

Core Gameplay Loop

  1. Preparation — Return to Blackthorn Hollow, manage stash, equip gear, craft augments at the Aether Forge, check daily/weekly tasks on the Bounty Board.
  2. Portal Choice — At the Dungeon Portal choose mode:
    • Unstable (Free) — small dungeon, low rewards, 0% compactor.
    • Stable (20 Aether) — medium dungeon, standard rewards, 30–40% compactor.
    • Empowered (1 Aether Core) — large dungeon, high-tier drops, 100% compactor, PvPvE only.
  3. The Run — Enter procedurally generated dungeon (size scales with mode). Engage in real-time combat. Hunt for gear, Ability Tomes, and components.
  4. Extraction — Reach the extraction portal before the dungeon despawns (escalating time windows: 5 / 10 / 15 minutes). Failure = lose everything equipped.
  5. Return & Growth — Successfully extracted items and abilities go to the permanent stash. Use Crux and Aether for supplies and crafting.

Design Guardrails

  • All meaningful power must come from successful extractions.
  • Keep sessions bite-sized and rewarding on the Miyoo.
  • Prioritize emergent player stories over heavy lore.
  • Maintain visual cohesion when mixing Super Retro Roguelike and ELV assets.
  • Optional daily/weekly tasks and augment crafting exist to support the loop without forcing grind.

Version 0.2 • April 2026