# DevilDriver Design Bible (notes) (v2.0, 2026-10-05)

## EDIT CONTRACT (AI contributors read first)

AI CONTRIBUTORS READ THIS: the shared source of truth is the GitHub repo Torres0990/devildriver-bible (public) — read devildriver.json there, not a cached copy. The unit of change is a NOTE. To ADD knowledge (a new Style, a new mechanic, a new zone): append an object to notes with a unique kebab-case id, a category from the categories list (or add a new category object — build.py generates its page automatically), status locked|decided|open, and an updated date. To EDIT: modify the note in place and bump updated. NEVER change the meaning of a locked note without Sebastian's explicit approval — locked means he confirmed it final. Style kits live in category styles, one note per Style, using the style-kit schema in the style-system note. Bodies use plain text: blank line = new paragraph, lines starting with '- ' = bullets. If you have repo write access, commit directly; otherwise hand the new/edited note JSON to Sebastian and he will route it. After editing: python3 build.py, then python3 deploy.py.


## Overview

### Pitch [locked] (note: game-pitch)

Each team owns an enormous demon. The demons duel each other in the central city while the players skirmish around them — fighting enemy players, attacking the enemy demon, and gathering souls to buff their own demon. An unbuffed duel always ends in mutual destruction; souls are the tiebreaker that lets one demon live.

### Design pillars [locked] (note: design-pillars)

- Demons are the match clock — everything orbits their duel
- Souls are the only progression inside a match
- No builds, no loadouts — a Style is a complete fixed kit
- Big health pools — nobody gets deleted instantly
- Verticality everywhere — wall-running, climbing, three stacked zones

### Match flow [locked] (note: match-flow)

1. Skirmish — teams fight over positioning and the first souls while the demons open their duel.
2. Demon duel — the demons fight in the main city, driven toward mutual kill unless soul buffs tip it.
3. Demon fall — one demon dies. Its team permanently loses respawns.
4. The hunt — the surviving demon hunts the remaining enemy players alongside its team. Match ends on team wipe.

Win condition: wipe the enemy team after their demon falls.
Respawns: while your demon stands, dead teammates respawn after a delay (delay length: open). When your demon falls, no more respawns.

### Prompting doctrine [decided] (note: prompting)

Compose prompts FROM the structured fields in the notes — never from memory or imagination.

Image prompt recipe: visual_identity + silhouette + palette (as material colors) + distinct features + visual_not (as negative prompt) + 'game character concept art, bold clean shapes, front view, neutral background'.

Design prompt recipe: role + kit attacks/mechanics + match-flow context. Never lock open questions in a prompt — check the open list first.

## Demons

### Samurai demon [decided] (note: demon-samurai)

Two arms during normal combat (standard rig, cheap to animate). The second pair manifests ONLY for the ultimate — the manifestation IS the telegraph.

### Gravity leviathan [decided] (note: demon-leviathan)

Serious, threatening, unmistakably airborne flying leviathan. Celeste / light-blue body with white-cyan glow accents. Buildings float weightlessly around it so gravity control reads instantly in the silhouette. Not cute, not cartoonish — must read as a rival boss to the samurai.

Kit: manipulates gravity around BUILDINGS only — never directly on players (fairness rule, locked). Makes structures float or ignore gravity temporarily; terrain changes are neutral opportunities for both teams. Asymmetric kit, equal match effectiveness vs the samurai — no soul advantage means the duel still ties. Special abilities, timed ultimate, anti-rider responses, telegraphs and counters.

### Asset budgets [decided] (note: asset-budgets)

- Boss body: 30K tris (hidden ult arm pair reserved inside)
- Katana: 4K tris each — 2 in base form, 4 in ultimate
- Per demon armed: ~38K tris; both demons: ~76K tris (under 15% of a Quest-class frame budget)
- Weapons are separate assets parented to hand sockets; chest crystal separate for health/ult pulsing
- Draw calls (materials per model) matter more than polygons; transparency overdraw is the silent killer

## Arena

### Arena concept [locked] (note: arena-concept)

One vertically layered arena, three zones. Streaming-friendly: side zones stay unloaded until players travel.

### Main city [locked] (note: zone-main-city)

Large moving, floating, and destructible buildings. The demon duel happens here.

### Floating city [locked] (note: zone-floating-city)

Reached by crossing floating rocks. Can host a soul spawn.

### Underground city [locked] (note: zone-underground-city)

Entered through a hole; exit holes launch players back into the air.

## Mechanics

### Player model: Style [locked] (note: player-model)

No character selection, no weapon mixing, no skill trees, no builds. A Style is a complete fixed kit: manifested equipment, attacks, defense, movement, abilities. Start with one Style; later additions are complete new Styles.

### Core mechanics [locked] (note: core-mechanics)

- Strong parry
- Wall-running and heavy vertical movement
- Demon climbing — players can climb demons and attack body regions
- Structure damage only via specific Style abilities, never basic attacks
- Large health pools — no instant deletions

### Souls [decided] (note: souls)

Tiebreaker for the demon duel. Feeding souls to your demon is the only way it survives the mutual-kill outcome.

Cadence: one soul every 90 seconds. No bank or deposit system.

Open: sequential limited souls vs unlimited recurring spawns vs one rotating active soul; delivery method; whether souls drop on player death; buff magnitude per soul; spawn location rotation.

### Comeback systems [decided] (note: comeback-systems)

- One for all (outnumbered): buff activates when one player fights two or more enemies with teammates absent.
- Last person standing: temporary comeback window for the final player — activates only after they have taken enough damage. Not instant, not permanent, not a second life.

Numbers, cooldowns, visuals, and interaction with demon death: open.

## Styles

### Style system + style-kit schema [locked] (note: style-system)

A Style is a complete fixed kit — picking it is the entire pre-match decision. Schema for a Style note:

- name: the Style's name
- fantasy: one-line combat fantasy (e.g. 'untouchable duelist who turns defense into offense')
- equipment: manifested gear (weapons are part of the kit, not separate picks)
- attacks: basic attack behavior
- defense: parry/block/dodge identity within the strong-parry system
- movement: how it wall-runs, climbs, repositions — what makes its traversal distinct
- abilities: named abilities, including which one damages structures
- vs-demons: how this Style fights or supports around the demons
- status: open until Sebastian locks it

### First Style (to be designed) [open] (note: style-first-tbd)

The first Style is undefined. When Sebastian (or a contributing AI) designs it, add it as a new note in this category following the style-kit schema — do not fill this placeholder in.

## 3D Pipeline

### Tripo 3D pipeline [decided] (note: tripo-pipeline)

Service: Tripo (studio.tripo3d.ai). Samurai: image-to-3D mesh from the approved design sheet → 31,506 quad faces (~63K tris) → texture pass → auto-rig with clean skeleton placement.

Next: decimate 63K to 30K tris, export GLB, import into Horizon Studio.

### Horizon Studio status [decided] (note: engine-status)

Target: Meta Horizon Studio. In gradual early access / waitlist as of 2026-10-05; Sebastian joined the creator program. Weekly launch watch runs Mondays.

Confirmed: camera APIs + Monster Hunter-style camera example, custom model import, FBX animation import, AI mesh/texture generation (AssetGen 2.0, animatable characters announced).

Unverified: action-combat netcode reliability, tick rate, melee lag compensation, destruction quality, climbing + animation workflow, physics quality, real-device combat feel, AI character generation output ceiling.

Principal risks: destruction, climbing, animation workflow, physics quality, real-device combat feel. No confirmed standalone export — platform-locked.