Ω Game Design Document

00

00 — Tier 1 Amendments (Post-Design Refinements)

This document captures design decisions made during Tier 2 that supersede or refine earlier decisions in the Tier 1 documents (`01_core_loop.md`, `...

01

01 — Core Gameplay Loop

This document defines the moment-to-moment, mission-level, session-level, and meta-level gameplay loops of *Tao Baryon*. All other gameplay design ...

02

02 — Physics-to-Mechanics Mapping

This document defines how real-world physics concepts map to *Tao Baryon* gameplay systems. This mapping is what makes the game thematically cohere...

03

03 — Difficulty Curve, Sectors, and Progression Philosophy

This document defines how challenge scales across the *Tao Baryon* campaign and endless mode, names and characterizes the five campaign sectors, an...

04

04 — Ships

This document specifies the complete ship roster for *Tao Baryon* v1.0. Each ship is defined by its archetype, signature mechanic, passive bonuses,...

05

05 — Weapons

This document specifies the complete weapon catalog for *Tao Baryon* v1.0. Each weapon is defined by its physics, doctrinal origin, mechanical beha...

06

06 — Modules

Modules are passive equippable modifiers that augment ship and weapon performance. Each ship has 3 module slots: **Offense**, **Defense**, **Utilit...

07

07 — Enemies

This document specifies the complete enemy roster for *Tao Baryon* v1.0. Enemies are organized into 6 behavior categories with 24 total variants sp...

08

08 — Bosses

This document specifies the five major bosses of *Tao Baryon* — one at the end of each sector. Each boss is a 3-phase encounter with HP gates at ...

09

09 — Economy

This document consolidates all economic systems of *Tao Baryon* — currencies, energy, build queues, ad-revive mechanics, and pricing structures. ...

10

10 — Stage Designs: Sector 1 — The Frontier

This document specifies the complete stage-by-stage design for Sector 1 of *Tao Baryon* — the player's first six stages. Each stage is defined by...

11

11 — Stage Designs: Sector 2 — The Long Reach

This document specifies the complete stage-by-stage design for Sector 2 of *Tao Baryon* — stages 7 through 12. Each stage is defined by its ident...

12

12 — Stage Designs: Sector 3 — The Veil

This document specifies the complete stage-by-stage design for Sector 3 of *Tao Baryon* — stages 13 through 18. Each stage is defined by its iden...

13

13 — Stage Designs: Sector 4 — The Ergosphere

This document specifies the complete stage-by-stage design for Sector 4 of *Tao Baryon* — stages 19 through 24. Each stage is defined by its iden...

14

14 — Stage Designs: Sector 5 — The Apparatus

This document specifies the complete stage-by-stage design for Sector 5 of *Tao Baryon* — stages 25 through 30. Each stage is defined by its iden...

15

15 — Endless Mode Generation Algorithm

This document specifies the procedural generation system for Tao Baryon's endless mode. It covers the wave generation algorithm, depth-based scalin...

16

16 — Pilot Rank Progression

This document specifies the Pilot Rank system — the account-wide progression track that spans Ranks 1 through 50. It defines XP earn rates, XP th...

17

17 — Achievement System

This document specifies the complete achievement catalog for *Tao Baryon* v1.0. It defines 72 achievements across 9 categories, with unlock conditi...

18

18 — Codex System

This document specifies the Codex system — the in-game lore database that accumulates as the player progresses. It covers the discovery engine (h...

19

19 — HUD (Heads-Up Display)

This document specifies the complete in-game HUD for *Tao Baryon*. It defines every element visible during active gameplay — layout, position, vi...

20

20 — Menus, Hub, Hangar & Shop

This document specifies all meta-screen layouts and flows outside of active gameplay: the main menu, Achernar Station hub, hangar, shop, and naviga...

21

21 — Codex UI

This document specifies the Codex screen UI — the discovery flow, entry reading experience, navigation, and visual design. For the full content c...

22

22 — Settings

This document specifies the Settings screen — all configurable options, their defaults, and their behavioral effects. Accessible from Main Menu a...

23

23 — FTUE (First-Time User Experience) & Tutorial

This document specifies the first-run experience — everything that happens between the player launching the game for the first time and completin...

24

24 — Audio Direction

This document specifies the complete audio direction for *Tao Baryon* — per-sector music architecture, the dynamic music layering system, the SFX...

25

25 — Visual Identity

This document specifies *Tao Baryon*'s complete visual identity — color system, typography, the lime `#c8f542` accent logic, iconography principl...

26

26 — VFX & Particle Systems

This document specifies all visual effects and particle systems in *Tao Baryon* — enemy death VFX, player hit reactions, weapon impacts, environm...

27

27 — Spritesheet Specifications

This document specifies every spritesheet required for *Tao Baryon* v1.0 — canvas dimensions, grid layout, frame content, palette constraints, an...

Tao Baryon — Claude Design Brief

This is the complete design brief for *Tao Baryon*, a mobile vertical-scrolling arcade shooter developed by CDL Production. It contains everything ...

Tao Baryon — Enemy Spritesheets: Claude Design Guide

Every Telos enemy is a **religious artifact**. They do not look evil. They look beautiful in the way of cathedral stained glass — warm colors, or...

Tao Baryon — Ship Spritesheets: Claude Design Guide

You are drawing **pixel art ships** for a mobile vertical shooter. Every ship lives inside a **64×64 pixel cell**. The final PNG is exported at 1�...

Tao Baryon — Weapon Spritesheets: Claude Design Guide

Weapons in Tao Baryon are represented by two things:

Tao Baryon — Story Bible

> *"We are the Tao of the Baryon. We are what we are. We do not cross."*

Tao Baryon

*A story.*