STARBORNE — NORTH STAR (the bar every worker builds to)

STATUS: canonical vision. Every Starborne worker reads this and aligns each batch to it. We are not building a

tech demo — we are building a breathtaking, generational, AAA-premium dark-fantasy adventure. If a change

doesn't move us toward the pillars below, it's the wrong change.

THE ONE-LINE

A dread, beautiful survival-adventure where you chase 12 Veil Medals across a cursed valley — each won deep in a

dungeon — and only all 12 together let you breach the Ministry and face what counts the living.

THE FIVE PILLARS (judge every batch against these)

1. AAA lore depth — LOTR-grade world coherence. Names, history, factions, the Order/Dragons/Veil-purgatory all

interlock and pay off. Nothing is filler; everything has a reason and a thread back to the macro (MACRO-PLAN.md).

1. Easy to play, hard to put down — instantly understandable controls and goals; gentle onboarding; the next

thing to do is always obvious and tempting. Fun first; friction only where it builds tension on purpose.

1. Creative mechanics — every system has a twist that's ours (the counting/ledger dread, the light-economy,

warm/cold tells, key-item verbs that re-shape traversal). No generic filler systems.

1. Deep, suspenseful horror narrative — Stephen-King dread carried through play: the bureaucratic taking, the

red moon, the Between. Quiet, then teeth. The story is felt through mechanics, not just read.

1. The Pokémon spine — a clear, addictive collect-to-progress chase: **12 dungeons → 12 Veil Medals (the

"badges"). Each medal is a key item won ~70% into its dungeon and needed to finish that zone. Collecting all

12 is what unlocks the Ministry** (Concordia / the Veil's Mouth) to fight the final boss (Evil Alex). The medal

count is the player's heartbeat goal the whole game.

THE PROGRESSION (the player's throughline)

Spawn at the cabin → survive & forge → enter Zone 1's dungeon → win its Medal → the medal's verb opens the rest of

the zone → travel to the next zone → repeat for all 12. Medals show in the menu's Key Items row (a visible

"badge case"). The Ministry door stays sealed, taunting, until all 12 are bound. Then: the finale.

THE JUICE MANDATE (premium FEEL — non-negotiable, restrained to the dread mood)

Every feature ships with its feel, never bare. When you add or port anything, also give it:

• Animation — wind-up/tell, follow-through, idle motion, easing on UI.
• Particles — sparks, embers, ash, frost, dust, blood, Veil-motes — themed to the act.
• Sound — a fitting SFX (and a music/mood cue where it matters); reuse the WebAudio + sample system.
• Screen feedback — hitstop, shake, flash, vignette pulse, slow-mo on big beats — tasteful, not arcade-y.
• Reward telegraphs — medals/level-ups/clears get a real moment (glow, rise, chord, particle bloom).

Restraint is the style: gold/crimson/cold palette, low-and-slow over flashy. Premium = intentional, not loud.

DEFINITION OF "AAA ENOUGH" (the gate)

A change ships only if Horror-Storyteller ≥86 (mood/narrative) AND Game-Director ≥86 (feel/clarity/juice). If it

reads or plays as "indie placeholder," it isn't done — add the lore hook, the tell, the particle, the sound.