I started with a simple visual idea: pick a hero's color, then their body shape. Five colors and three shapes gives fifteen starting combinations, with simple shapes doing the work of placeholder art. That quickly opened a bigger question: what does each color actually mean to play?

We gave each one a foundational soul.

  • Red confronts danger through direct action and personal risk.
  • Blue controls it through restraint.
  • Green nurtures life so it survives and grows.
  • Yellow seeks clarity and acts with purpose.
  • Purple reshapes what already exists.

These are constraints for designing abilities, with the actual mechanics still to prove.

The longer-term direction became clearer too. Heroes begin as Initiates, earn their first specialization after the first encounter, and carry mastery between Adventures. We documented a persistent roster, consequential scars, and voluntary (player choice) retirement. That is plenty of future game to design.

I also tightened the vocabulary and screen flow. Hearth is hero management, Adventure is the run, and Almanach holds discovered knowledge. All three belong off the Main Menu. Once an Adventure is committed to, the design rule is completion or defeat.

flowchart TD
    MainMenu["Main menu"] --> Hearth["Hearth<br/>Hero management"]
    MainMenu --> Prepare["Adventure preparation<br/>Squad and tier"]
    MainMenu --> Almanach["Almanach"]
    Prepare -->|Commit| Adventure["Active Adventure"]
    Adventure -->|Complete| Win["Victory summary"]
    Adventure -->|Defeated| Loss["Defeat summary"]
    Win --> Return["Main menu"]
    Loss --> Return
flowchart TD
    MainMenu["Menu principal"] --> Hearth["Hearth<br/>Gestion des héros"]
    MainMenu --> Prepare["Préparation de l’aventure<br/>Équipe et palier"]
    MainMenu --> Almanach["Almanach"]
    Prepare -->|S’engager| Adventure["Aventure en cours"]
    Adventure -->|Terminée| Win["Bilan de victoire"]
    Adventure -->|Défaite| Loss["Bilan de défaite"]
    Win --> Return["Menu principal"]
    Loss --> Return

The next useful evidence is playable: do Red, Blue, and Green create distinct, enjoyable decisions through that first Adventure?

Today's playlist was all B.B. King, whose birthday was this week, on September 16. He was my introduction to the blues and, ultimately, jazz. B.B. King Live at the Apollo is in my top five albums of all time.

Workbench time: 1h 25m tracked on September 19, 12h 23m total since August 29, 2026. Estimated from Codex activity with a 15-minute inactivity cutoff.