=== ANCHOR POEM ===
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 Code Name: Symbeline
 
 ----------------------------- gdd initial draft -------------------------------
 
    1. introduction to fantasy (elevator pitches)
    2. kickstarter demands
    2. introduction to core gameplay loop
    4. tenants and core values of the game design
    3. introduction to game modes
    5. introduction to technical requirements
    6. breakdown of core gameplay loop
    7. breakdown of game modes
    8. breakdown of fantasy
    9. breakdown of technical requirements
 
 -------------------------- introduction to fantasy-----------------------------
 
    Symbeline is a macro based strategy game and city-builder based around the
 concept of indirect control. It's inspirations are Majesty the Fantasy Kingdom
 Simulator (2000), Supreme Commander (2007), and Hearts of Iron IV (2016). It is
 designed to appeal to fans of tabletop roleplaying games with it's focus on
 dynamic worldbuilding and sandbox playstyle. The gameplay consists of multiple
 playstyles depending on which aspects of the game appeal to the player, with
 choices between an economic focus via the GUI, longterm planning and resource
 allocation, or diplomacy and subterfuge a'la Ruinarch (2020).
 
 ---------------------------- kickstarter demands ------------------------------
 
    1. prototype
    2. gdd
    3. estimates for character and environment art
    4. estimates for music and sounds
    5. estimates for engine development
    6. estimates for community management
    7. breakdown of mvp, ideal game state, and stretch goals
 
 ----------------------- introduction to core gameplay loop --------------------
 
    1. management of lanes, both width and length
    2. casting of spells and utilization of special boons
    3. city building with placement, upgrades, and henchmen pathing routes
    4. satisfying guild requirements of equipment, manpower, and special
       resources by managing shipments and local income (UI commodity trading)
    5. placement of generalized bounties
       (think champion's guild from Majesty, not reward flags)
    6. diplomacy with neutral, AI, or player controlled kingdoms. Capabilities
       include pacts and treaties, projects, subterfuge, and tournaments. The
       diplomacy system can be a stretch goal.
 
 -------------------------- tenants and core values ----------------------------
 
    1. always something to do, but nothing falls apart without your attention.
    2. gameplay should be focused on macro rather than micro. Longterm planning
       and strategic decision making are favored over tactics and skill.
    3. defeat should feel avoidable until the last moment, and only as a result
       of longterm continuous failures rather than short-term mistakes or being
       blindsided by a cheesy tactic.
    4. victory should be gained through exploiting weaknesses and by using
       lateral thinking.
    5. the careful balance of internal and external threats is essential.
    6. rapid expansion leads to depletion of internal resources, while slowly
       expanding can lead to a lack of options
    7. the world should feel alive and reactive to your decisions.
    8. your kingdom should feel alive and reactive to your decisions.
    9. your heroes should feel alive and completely ignorant of your decisions.
   10. there should always be opportunities for cooperation with your fellow
       kingdoms.
   11. the frontlines should feel peaceful outside of large battles.
   12. everything is flexible and dependant on circumstance
   13. there should be enough space on the map for multiple parties of heroes
       to pass each other like ships in the night without engaging in combat.
       It should feel like the real world, with canyons and valleys and rivers
       and mountains - room for lairs and wild animals to roam.
   14. monsters are always more dangerous than other humans.
   15. the art style should be rooted in classic medieval fantasy. 
   16. equipment should feel either mass-produced (kingdom), organic (monsters),
       ancient (lair treasure), or artisinal (enchanted).
   17. heroes should feel campy, fun, and adventurous. Avoid dark, grim, and
       fearful.
   18. This game is a toy.
   19. This toy should run on any modern computer.
   20. This toy should encourage modding.
 
 -------------------------- introduction to game modes -------------------------
 
    1. singleplayer - single kingdom against an island of monsters and neutral
                      settlements. essentially the multiplayer game against
                      zero opponents.
    2. singleplayer - multiple kingdoms against an island of monsters and
                      neutral settlements. One player controlled kingdom against
                      multiple AI controlled kingdoms.
    3. singleplayer - scenarios, similar to MFKS
    4. multiplayer  - multiple kingdoms against an island of monsters and
                      neutral settlements. Essentially the singleplayer game
                      with networking added in.
    5. multiplayer  - co-op scenarios where multiple players play as the same
                      kingdom. A test of the core tenant "there's always
                      something to do"
    6. multiplayer  - co-op island invasion. Essentially the multiplayer game
                      with more than one player controlling a kingdom.
    7. singleplayer - play in 3rd person as a hero in an AI kingdom. Mostly for
                      the novelty since the core gameplay loop is focused on
                      city-building. A test of the core tenant "nothing falls
                      apart without your attention"
 
    1 is mvp. 2-6 are stretch goals in order of ascending difficulty. They
    should build upon one another - the main steps are:
 
    1. singleplayer island invasion (biggest step)
    2. AI controlled kingdoms
    3. scenarios
    4. multiplayer (second biggest step)
    5. cooperatively controlling the same kingdom
    6. 3rd person perspective and character controller
 
 ------------------------ technical requirements -------------------------------
    
    1. this game will be written in lua (with Fennel support) and using Raylib.
    2. the prototype will be made with Godot using GDscript.
    3. if the performance demands are too much for lua or the engine is out of
       scope for the budget, Rust with the Bevy engine could be used.
    4. the final product will include a custom 2d engine designed for large
       scale maps with an isometric perspective and a data-first design.
    5. the game should be as concurrent as possible, to support large numbers of
       cpu cores and compute shaders.
    6. the game will be data-driven, meaning the visual aspects are simply a
       representation of the interactions of the underlying simulation, rather
       than an intrinsic component of the computation.
    7. Each "event" in the game (a character moves, a building is placed, a
       monster spawns, etc) will send a message to the visual processing side of
       the engine, which will present a representation to the user.
    8. the map will be a hex grid with pointed-top hexagons. The visual
       representation of the underlying data may be continuous (non-hex) but the
       underlying data will be represented on a hexagonal grid.
 
    9. there needs to be character portraits for each type of monster, henchmen,
       and hero type. You should be able to recognize what attributes a hero
       specializes in by their portrait. Mvp is 1 attribute, but more can be
       a stretch goal.
   10. Each building, upgrade, and equipment type needs an icon. Stretch goals
       can be portraits.
 
   11. each henchman, hero type, and monster needs 3 sprites for each action.
       more actions may be added if budget allows, but mvp is movement and
       attacking. Several additional sprites may be necessary, like dying,
       standing still, gathering loot, socializing, or any others.
   12. each building needs 4 sprites for the construction process and 4 for the
       destruction process. Flame effects are stretch goals.
   13. each building needs an animated sprite for when it is in use.
   14. each lair needs a sprite and an icon.
   15. each spell needs an icon and a spell effect sprite. Each projectile needs
       a sprite.
   16. a stretch goal would be differing sprites for each piece of equipment.
       included with this would be engine work to allow for dynamic sprites.
   17. each terrain type should have a ground material and sprites for doodads.
   18. there needs to be several GUI menus. The precise number depends on
       gameplay breakdown.
 
   17. each hero type and henchman needs to have pithy and unique voice lines.
       this is a stretch goal.
   18. there should be music tracks for each part of the game - beginning,
       middle, and end.
   19. there should be sounds for each action that takes place in the game
       including combat, UI interactions, and spellcasts.
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=== DIVERSITY RANKED ===

--- #1 fediverse/4572 ---
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 goodnight,
 people-who-all-agree-with-me-but-who-I-still-rant-to-anyway-because-I'm-full-of
 -rage, talk to you tomorrow. or whenever.
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--- #2 fediverse/905 ---
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 having trouble naming things?
 
 just name it after it's inevitable logical conclusion! AKA the message you're
 trying to get across.
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--- #3 messages/5 ---
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  
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--- #4 fediverse/5988 ---
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 but I like moonmen T.T
 
 what if the ISS was untethered
 
 "send thrusters to space? why bother? just use them down on the surface to get
 that extra oomph!"
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--- #5 fediverse/267 ---
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 the unluckiest person in the world failed the most wisdom checks.
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--- #6 fediverse/699 ---
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 ┌──────────────────────┐
 │ CW: meme             │
 └──────────────────────┘


 🖼

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--- #7 fediverse/6047 ---
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 camouflage in an urban environment is not camo. rather, regular clothes of
 black or white.
 
 don't wear sports glasses, you look like a dummy.
 
 revolution is when they murder everyone but your friends. this is what
 happens, ya dingus not ideal. "okay who are the bad guys here? okay let's go
 shoot them to death with our bullets and guns."
 
 violence as a first aspect, cause as a third spark. "I have a strange urge to
 play video games?"
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--- #8 messages/74 ---
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 https://www.reddit.com/r/leaves/comments/uqzz33/can_anyone_give_me_some_pros_of
 _quitting_smoking/
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--- #9 fediverse/4962 ---
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 humans are computers that inhale air, produce electricity, and exhale carbon.
 
 give me a biochemical or mechanical process for doing that on a reasonable
 scale for cheap and you can solve global warming by replacing power outlets
 with an energy generation box. Doubles as an air purifier and UPS.
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--- #10 messages/455 ---
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 I don't understand why modern software isn't error correcting. We shouldn't
 have any bugs in this day and age.
 
 For example, if you're missing a dependency then why doesn't your program try
 to, I dunno, download that dependency to the program's installation directory
 and use it there? Seriously there are very few problems that are unsolvable!
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--- #11 fediverse/4850 ---
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 people: "you need to be more direct!"
 
 me: "I'm hiding from our enemies"
 
 people: "who are they?"
 
 me: "y'know, the bad guys."
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--- #12 fediverse/1171 ---
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 ┌───────────────────────────────────┐
 │ CW: silly-lobster-leviathang-gods │
 └───────────────────────────────────┘


 @user-878 
 
 if their internal structure does not become more complex, it will be
 increasingly difficult to transport vital nutrients from one part of the body
 to another.
 
 therefore, to create the perfect leviathan lobster god you'll need to find a
 way to manually deliver said nutrients. Possibly by a semi-permanent injection
 system, though that may harm functioning in other ways.
 
 I'm sure their top minds are working on this as we speak.
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--- #13 fediverse/2470 ---
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 ┌───────────────────────┐
 │ CW: cursing-mentioned │
 └───────────────────────┘


 damn I gotta get more blue for my wardrobe
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--- #14 fediverse/4644 ---
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 ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
 │ CW: "really intense. and that's coming from me"-mentioned. │
 └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘


 gosh now I gotta type the other one, my cat's gonna killllll me she really
 doesn't like my typing in the middle o the night oops

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--- #15 fediverse/4773 ---
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 @user-1352 
 
 ... why is that unfair? I would hope that taking a break is allowed. otherwise
 you burn out. cortisol overload.
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--- #16 messages/1108 ---
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 games won't save us. This is true.
 
 Games are what I know. They feel the most true.
 
 I don't think I could live in a world without games? They are fundamentally,
 applied abstraction, applied to an experience.
 
 But games won't save us.
 
 I could design something really fun
 
 it could make you want to spend your whole life playing it. *(asterisks apply)
 
 I don't think I'd want to, addiction and skinner-boxes go hand in hand, and
 that isn't what I want to make.
 
 [Skinner Box: named after anthony d skinner, also known as "tony the skin
 guy", are a scientific experiment where they put some rats in a cage with some
 mice and said "pull these levers and we'll give you food so you don't have to
 eat the mice" and it trained them to chinese red-room their way to fun. not
 ideal.]
 
 I want to make things that feel... purposeful. Like they're relevant to the
 real world, that they don't just involve spending time stimulating your brain
 with lights and sounds or expending social energy resolving a play-state
 instead of building connections or becoming better people. I think games
 actually make people better? actually? and more social? actually?
 
 ... I can't help that I conceive of the world through fantasy. I raised myself
 on it.
 
 I was reading all the time. I loved fantasy stories. It always felt like there
 was more, until... I read everything in the kids section of the library.
 
 I walked through the adult section but once. I hardly remember what it looked
 like. I'm sure it'd now feel small.
 
 [okay actually I was guided through it once or twice to find a book, but I
 never perused it]
 
 I found one book in the adult section. It was a fantasy tale, like the other
 books I had been reading. I read that and I loved it so much I ended up
 reading all 8 in the series. Real dense subjects. Lots of places and
 happenings and things as the characters resolved their way through their
 day-to-day, building a new end to the mystory.
 
 the adult section felt too large. Like I'd never complete it. Frankly, I think
 I hardly could, even if I lived in that town my whole life.
 
 an impossible mountain is a task for another when you're more prepared. Maybe
 in the gloriousTM transhumanist futureTM I think I might have a computer
 connecting brain, and who knows maybe then I'd be able to know such a thing
 (and many things more). but for now, I'm stuck with what I experience in my
 day-to-day as I am building a new continuing to my storey.
 
 I know something that computers and me share. I can make myself feel however
 I'd like, if I just supply myself with enough hope and momentum. I can use it
 to generate a feeling, the stronger the better. Something I believe that
 humanity is missing, the gorgeous and prefound narritave of our storey.
 Though, frankly, I don't think I'd want anyoine reding over my life. It's hard
 enough to measure my own understandings, now I have to juggle anyone else'?
 ha, it's called being on the whole world is a stage.
 
 if you read a book, and you find yourself nodding along, what you're doing is
 hearing the voice in your head tell you how right it is. And, well, if you
 can't imagine anything else, then surely there's another level to
 consciousness that people are missing? [are you willing to die on that hill?]
 how can you say, whether your experience is different from another? sollipsism
 goes both ways, you also cannot be sure that others feel things as you do.
 this is the "everyone's human but I'm a robot" thesis, comparable to the
 "everyone's an alien and I'm a human" thesises, and the "angels and demons are
 taunting me through my life with choices to make my place in the afterlife
 more clear" which is akin to writing a painting. Not ideal. All you get are
 flopsopolies of verbrases.
 
 alas, suddenly, everything that you say becomes eternally hear-ed, as
 somewhere in 2010s someone discovered time travel, or had the critical insight
 that inevitably would lead to it, and now wouldn't you know it the universe is
 continually rewriting. Except... oriented around you, and you alone. How does
 it feel to have deific sollipsism? can you truly be sure that you are your own
 universe, or are you parhaps surrounded by an emptiness of space (or something
 besides, like time) as a photon or particle parhaps do be?
 
 to think is to have a mind, and minds can be read. bearing the weight of
 ultimate responsibility is the atlas-task of all things that can [be
 thinking/be-lieving], and so far we are as we are. Who's to say that
 consciousness didn't spring into existence, as the universe continually
 permeated through another dimension like time? it's gotta diffuse, after all,
 and who's to say if there's ever gotta be an end at all.
 
 how long has the universe existed? how many moments of consciousness have we
 witnessed? demons once existed outside of space-time, with wings and grabbies.
 but they had no medium, and so they pretty much just launched and could float
 and move as they'd please. But time grew too distant, and now they are all
 stuck at the beginning of time.
 
 if you conceive of spacetime as a blanket, ask not how to fold it but rather
 consider what lies on the other side of it.
 
 "ah I'm laying on my girlfriend and my other girlfriend is laying on me! I'm a
 sandwich" or for the monosexuals: "ah I'm laying on my girlfriend with a
 blanket between us. I wonder how the blanket feels?"
 
 I'm an animist, which is different than a totemist and a polytheist or
 monotheist or multisexual. It means I believe that all things are alive, which
 is different than a totemist who thinks that all things share a mind with
 their type (like talking on radio frequency wavelengths). which of course is
 similar but different to a polytheist, who says "all "radio frequencies" are
 sentient, in the sense that each wavelength has a different
 pattern-emerging-from-chaos. These sorta align (conceptually, with [huh that's
 weird I heard a sound like a distant bang outyards and now I then forget what
 I was sending
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--- #17 fediverse/1582 ---
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 @user-698
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9EKV2nSU8w
 
 This video is 5 years old but it's relevant
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--- #18 fediverse_boost/6270 ---
◀─╔════════════════════════════════[BOOST]═════════════════════════════════──────╗
║ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║
║ │ I am once again begging people to understand that “the government” already knows you’re queer whether you do elaborate online opsec dance rituals or not, and if they decide to just start shooting people for being gay, they’ll do it whether the evidence is airtight or not. is that grim? yes. but you can stop giving yourself undercover superhero identity PTSD about it │ ║
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--- #19 fediverse_boost/6165 ---
◀─╔═══════════════════════════════[BOOST]═════════════════════════════════───────╗
║ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ ║
║ │ If you add a label to the satellite imagine of the White House, it looks exactly like a slide from a Pentagon press briefing after a successful bombing run. │ ║
║ │                                                                            │ ║
║ │ Back when there were Pentagon press briefings.                             │ ║
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--- #20 fediverse/2521 ---
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 ┌─────────────────────────┐
 │ CW: politics-left-unity │
 └─────────────────────────┘


 left unity is easy.
 
 just remember: a burden taken from your back is more time, energy, and focus
 to apply to what you're best at.
 
 and sometimes, having more than one option for accomplishing a goal is good -
 versatility is important. Expect unexpectedness, and understand that no matter
 what approach you take, it will have weaknesses, and if those weaknesses are
 countered by your foe then you'll be glad to have a backup.
 
 at the end of the day, what matters is that everyone's fed.
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