Game Design Document: Rogue Robots

1. High-Level Concept

Title: Rogue Robots
Genre: A hybrid of Tower Defense, Autobattler, and Rogue-like genres.
Platform: Browser-based, optimized for both Desktop and Mobile (iOS, Android).
Core Premise: Players defend their base on a procedurally generated maze against opposing AI robots, utilizing resource management, strategic unit placement, and a persistent meta-progression system.

The "Creep" Clash: The foundational combat involves auto-generated robot combatants spawning at regular intervals from both bases. These units march along the path toward the opposing base, automatically engaging enemy units they meet.
Map & Grid Structure: Each round features a randomly generated, maze-like grid with a single continuous route carved through it.
Territorial Divide: The maze is split horizontally by a visible line. The top half belongs to the NPC enemy, and the bottom half is the player's territory.
Bases & Win Condition: The NPC base is at the top-left, and the player's base is at the bottom-right. Each base has a set amount of Hit Points (HP). The first team to reduce the opposing base's HP to zero wins the round.
Player Actions: The player spends resources to influence the battle strictly on their side (the bottom half).
- Spawn Special Robots at the player base to join the main wave.
- Dynamically drop Special Robots anywhere on the walkable path within their territory.
- Build Static Defenses (Towers) on the walls to fire projectiles at incoming enemies.

In-Match Resources: The game utilizes three distinct resources: Metal, Batteries, and Silicon.
- Metal: Awarded to the team that secures the killing blow on an enemy robot.
- Batteries & Silicon: These spawn at random locations on the walkable spaces and are collected when a team's robot physically walks over them.
Crafting Recipes: Every deployable Special Robot or Tower requires a specific combination (recipe) of these three resources.
Pre-Round Economy: Resources do not carry over between rounds; players start completely fresh each time.
Asymmetrical Starts: Each round provides a fixed, predetermined pool of starting resources. This information is revealed during the pre-round loadout phase, incentivizing players to draft units that capitalize on abundant starting materials.

Experience Points (XP) & Leveling: Players earn XP based on their overall run performance, contributing to a persistent player profile level.
The Unlocking System: New robot and tower types are unlocked via meta-progression. A new player starts with roughly 3 foundational choices and eventually unlocks a diverse pool of 20 to 30 options.
Pre-Round Loadouts: Before a round begins, players are restricted to choosing only 8 types of robots/towers to bring into that specific battle, forcing strategic synergy.
Post-MVP Run Structure: Eventually, a "Full Game" will consist of a fixed sequence (e.g., 15 rounds) against progressively harder, distinct NPC "AI" profiles.

Grid Composition: The grid consists of two terrain types:
- Walkable Spaces: The continuous path for marching robots and dropping Special Robots.
- Walls: Unwalkable terrain reserved for placing Static Defenses (Towers).
Unit Types:
- Basic Creeps: Automatically generating combatants.
- Special Robots: Summoned units costing resources.
- Towers: Static structures placed on walls providing covering fire.

Visual Style: Top-Down 2D Retro Pixel Art.
Animation Scope (MVP): Simple, functional sprite states limited to walking, attacking, and dying.
Asset Pipeline: Artwork generated using AI tools via explicit prompts for "sprite sheets".
Audio Direction: 8-bit chiptune music and sound effects (Post-MVP).

Game Engine/Framework: Phaser.js.
Justification: Provides WebGL rendering to handle 50+ moving units smoothly on desktop and mobile. Includes built-in game loops, physics, and collision detection. Free to use.

(Note: All player-deployed units share a 1-second Universal Deployment Cooldown).

Name	Robot?	Metal	Silicon	Batteries	Spawn	HP	Dmg	Range	Armor	Move Spd	Atk Speed	Special Behavior	Unlock
Grunt	Y	0	0	0	Base	3	1	1	0	Medium	Medium	None	Lvl 1
Punchbot	Y	3	0	0	Base	5	2	1	0	Medium	Medium	None	Lvl 1
Zapbot	Y	3	0	1	Base	3	2	3	0	Medium	Medium	None	Lvl 1
Scavenger	Y	3	1	0	Drop	1	1	1	0	Fast	Slow	Instead of pathing to base, paths to nearest resource. Self-destructs after picking up a resource.	Lvl 1
Boombot	Y	3	1	1	Base	3	10	1	0	Fast	Fast	Damage is AoE in small radius; self destructs after first attack.	Lvl 2
Tankbot	Y	7	0	0	Base	7	2	1	1	Slow	Medium	None	Lvl 2
Floatbot	Y	2	2	2	Base	3	2	1	0	Medium	Medium	Can fly -- doesn't need to follow path so moves in straight line to enemy base; Can only be attacked if range > 1.	Lvl 3
Boomtrap	N	5	1	2	Drop	3	10	1	0	None	None	If enemy walks within range, does damage in small radius then self-destructs.	Lvl 3
Zap Tower	N	5	1	5	Drop	5	2	3	0	None	Medium	None	Lvl 3

Grid Dimensions: 12 Columns by 16 Rows (12x16) grid.
The Territorial Divide: Rows 1–8 belong to the NPC (Top Half); Rows 9–16 belong to the Player (Bottom Half).
Dynamic Pathing Archetypes:
- The Serpent (Single Path): A long, winding path with multiple switchbacks.
- The Fork (Multi-Lane): Path splits into 2 or 3 distinct lanes.
- The Grid (Webbed Paths): Open layout with interconnected short paths.
Fixed Endpoints: NPC base at top-left (0,0) to player base at bottom-right (11,15).

Primary Directive: Auto-generating units will always calculate and follow the absolute shortest available route to the opposing base.
Equidistant Branching: Random selection when encountering equidistant intersections.

Pre-Round Draft UI: Player selects up to 8 deployables for their active loadout slots.
In-Game Deployment: Two-step "tap-to-place" system (tap slot, tap grid).

Primary Targeting Priority: All units attack the Closest Attackable Enemy within their range by default.
Special Targeting: Overridden only by specific "Special Behavior" attributes.

The Baseline Spawner: Player Base auto-spawns 1 friendly Grunt every 4 seconds. NPC Base auto-spawns 1 enemy Grunt every 3 seconds.
The Escalation Timer ("Soft Enrage"):
- At 5 Minutes: NPC base spawns 1 Grunt every 2 seconds.
- At 10 Minutes: NPC base spawns 1 Grunt every 1 second.
Wave Structure: Grunts spawn infinitely until one base reaches 0 HP.