CaptainsWorld Index¶
Command centre · Published mirror ·
Captainswords.app/docs/brain
Current Focus¶
Now building¶
First Slice Polish Backlog — polish pass on vertical_slice_01 (harbour slice playable)
Asset reference: Harbour Kit v1 - First Playable Slice
Goal¶
Make the first harbour slice feel calm, readable, and authored while preserving story + learning pipeline.
Current task¶
First Slice Polish M1–M5 (see First Slice Polish Backlog):
- M1 Scene structure & collision
- M2 Camera + dialogue UX
- M3 Atmosphere (audio/light)
- M4 Story motion (bottle drift, boat)
- M5 Game HUD + map placeholder
Track execution on Trello: Captain's Words — First Playable Slice → In Progress.
Do not work on yet¶
- full lighthouse
- whale bay
- open world
- outfit customization
- AI mission generation
- mobile app
- full story arc
What are we building?¶
A guided top-down educational adventure where children explore islands, help characters through adaptive literacy or maths missions, and watch the world transform as they learn.
Not worksheets. Not mini-games. A mission-driven learning world.
Current direction¶
Guided top-down 2D adventure (Pokémon-style navigation, no combat). Learning changes the world.
Renderer (locked): Godot for playable top-down world. SDK engines stay outside Godot.
→ 2026-06-30 Visual Engine and Mission Architecture · CaptainsWorld SDK · Godot MCP Workflow
Next slice¶
| Milestone | Proves | Doc |
|---|---|---|
| M0 | Captain walks on tiny map → sparkling bottle | [[Harbour Kit v1 - First Playable Slice#Milestone 0]] |
| M1 | Bottle → read → Fisherman → net repair | [[Harbour Kit v1 - First Playable Slice#Milestone 1]] |
| M2 | Harbour community (3–5 missions) | [[Harbour Kit v1#15. Production Priority]] |
Build prompt: Cursor Build Prompt - First Playable Slice
Active blockers¶
| Blocker | Status | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Visual production pipeline | Active | P0 assets via Harbour Kit v1 - Production Workflow |
| Godot project not scaffolded | Next after M0 art | Cursor Build Prompt - First Playable Slice |
| Harbour Kit art incomplete | In progress | Start with 6 assets, not full kit |
Learning engine and story concept are not blockers.
Decisions locked¶
- Guided top-down 2D, not open-world RPG (2026-06-30 Visual Engine and Mission Architecture)
- Mission grammar + 3 UI modes (Mission Grammar · Mission UI Modes)
- Harbour Kit v1 before bespoke scenes (Harbour Kit v1)
- Godot renderer — SDK logic separate from Godot (CaptainsWorld SDK)
- Dumb renderer principle ([[CaptainsWorld SDK#Important principle]])
Decisions still open¶
- Exact Godot MCP workflow (Godot MCP Workflow — stub)
- Captain walk: 4-frame cycle vs placeholder slide for M0
- When to retire Phaser for harbour slice (Renderer Strategy)
Production spine (Harbour Kit v1)¶
- Harbour Kit v1 — spec
- Harbour Kit v1 - Asset Checklist — every asset ID
- Harbour Kit v1 - AI Asset Prompts — generation prompts
- Harbour Kit v1 - Production Workflow — Kanban + weekly rhythm
- Harbour Kit v1 - Asset Metadata Schema — engine import format
- Harbour Kit v1 - First Playable Slice — what to build first
Key product areas¶
- Product Vision · Core Loop · CaptainsWorld SDK
- Mission Grammar · Visual Engine · Scene Compiler
- Harbour Kit v1 · Art Bible · First Arc
- Godot MCP Workflow · Cursor Build Prompt - First Playable Slice
Weekly rhythm¶
See [[Harbour Kit v1 - Production Workflow#Weekly rhythm]].
After each playtest → 99 Decisions/YYYY-MM-DD Playtest Notes.md
Full vault map¶
01 Vision¶
Product Vision · Core Loop · Design Principles
02 Architecture¶
CaptainsWorld SDK · Engine Separation · Learning Engine · Story Engine · Mission Engine · Visual Engine · Scene Compiler · Renderer Strategy · NPC and Job Data Model · Godot Server Split - NPC Pipeline
03 World Design¶
Island Structure · Harbour · Old Lighthouse · Whale Bay · Grandpa Mystery · Characters: Mara - Harbour Merchant · Finn - Boat Builder · Nori - Lighthouse Keeper · Tomas - Harbour Master · Pippa - Fisherman · Luma - Young Whale · Grandpa Elias · Secondary NPCs
04 Mission System¶
Mission Grammar · Mission UI Modes · Visual Patterns · NPC Mission Generators · Example Missions · NPC Character Roster and Rewards · NPCs by Chapter · Progression Reward Chain · Main Story vs Living World Layer · NPC Role Types · NPC Lifecycle and Relationship Stages · NPC Jobs and Activities · World Verbs · Activity Selection Rules · Story Template and Variation · Deterministic Rewards and Optional Drops · House Memory System
05 Art Direction¶
Art Bible · Asset Library · Harbour Kit v1 · Harbour Kit v1 - Asset Checklist · Harbour Kit v1 - AI Asset Prompts · Harbour Kit v1 - Production Workflow · Harbour Kit v1 - Asset Metadata Schema · Harbour Kit v1 - First Playable Slice · NPC Asset States · Mission Prop States · Animation Library
06 Captain's Words¶
Words Product Definition · Literacy Verbs · First Arc · NPCs World Verbs Rewards and Living World · NPC Product Principles · MVP - NPC Living World System
07 Captain's Numbers¶
Numbers Product Definition · Maths Verbs · Cargo Delivery Example
08 Implementation¶
Godot MCP Workflow · Cursor Build Prompt - First Playable Slice · Cursor Workflow · SDK to Mobile · MVP Roadmap
99 Decisions¶
2026-06-30 Visual Engine and Mission Architecture · 2026-07-05 NPCs World Verbs Rewards Design Document · 2026-07-05 NPC Character Roster Design Document