# Getty Square vertical-slice brief

**Purpose:** validate the BX CRPG's setting and core loop before greenlighting full production.
This is a design and playtest target, not approval to build the complete game.

## What the slice must prove

1. A compressed Getty Square feels specific and recognizable without reproducing it block for block.
2. Ordinary neighborhood interactions can lead naturally into hidden-world fantasy.
3. Exploration, dialogue, party choices, and grid combat form a satisfying 30–45 minute loop.
4. The pixel-art scope is achievable with a small reusable environment kit.
5. Players finish wanting to learn what is beneath the city and where transit will take them next.

## Player experience

### Premise

On the party's first evening together, a routine favor goes wrong: a transit worker fails to return
from a maintenance check after reporting running water where no pipe should be. The party follows a
trail from the square to a sealed service space and discovers that something below Getty Square is
redirecting both water and memories.

This is a **prologue mystery**, not the main quest. Its clues can connect to whatever campaign goal Scott
chooses later without deciding that goal for him.

### 30–45 minute flow

1. **Arrival and party check (5 minutes):** begin at the transit plaza, meet the safe-house contact, and
   learn movement, inspection, and conversation. A party-background choice changes one introduction.
2. **Neighborhood investigation (10 minutes):** visit any two of three leads: a fictional bodega, a bus
   shelter, and the edge of the daylighted river. Skill checks reveal different pieces of the same trail,
   so failure adds a complication rather than blocking progress.
3. **First confrontation (5 minutes):** talk down, evade, or fight two minor hidden-world creatures near
   a service entrance. This introduces initiative, cover, movement, and one class ability per character.
4. **Service-space delve (10–15 minutes):** navigate a compact two-room dungeon with one environmental
   interaction, one optional cache, and one rest decision.
5. **Set-piece combat and choice (10 minutes):** rescue the worker while containing the source. The player
   chooses whether to destroy, bind, or bargain with it; each result changes the closing conversation.
6. **Return and hook (2 minutes):** unlock the safe house and show a transit-style world map with other
   destinations named but unavailable. End on one clue that can point toward the eventual main quest.

## Compressed map

Use five connected screens rather than an open-world district:

- **Transit plaza:** arrival point, crowd ambience, route signage, and the visual center of the hub.
- **South Broadway corner:** fictional storefronts, the first quest lead, and the safe-house entrance.
- **Civic overlook:** a City Hall-inspired silhouette used for orientation, with no explorable government
  interior in the slice.
- **River walk:** a small section inspired by the daylighted Saw Mill River, leading toward the waterfront.
- **Sealed service space:** the combat/tutorial dungeon beneath a fictionalized transit access point.

The geography should preserve the broad relationship between the downtown transit hub, South Broadway,
civic architecture, the river, and the waterfront while shortening walking distances. Do not reproduce
real storefront names, private interiors, or individual residents.

## Content budget

- 5 exploration screens, including 2 small interior/dungeon rooms
- 4 controllable party members selected from 6 premade prototypes
- 5 named NPCs and no more than 8 ambient NPC sprites
- 3 enemy types, with one reused as the set-piece variant
- 1 primary quest, 1 optional cache, and 1 short character interaction
- 3 noncombat resolutions and 2 combat encounters
- 1 reusable street tileset plus transit, storefront, river, and service-tunnel props
- 4-direction walk cycles; combat attacks may use brief pose/effect animation for this test
- 1 portrait per speaking character; expression variants are out of scope

Anything beyond this budget needs to replace another item rather than expand the slice.

## Rules prototype

Use an SRD-derived d20 rules skeleton, but avoid D&D branding and product-identity terms. For the slice:

- four-character party, level 1 equivalent;
- one action and movement per turn, plus a clearly labeled reaction where relevant;
- attack, defend, interact, item, and two signature abilities per character;
- visible hit chances and projected movement before confirmation;
- dialogue checks show the relevant trait and stakes;
- failed checks create cost, danger, or a different route—never a reload requirement;
- autosave on entering each screen and a manual save outside combat.

Balance for learning and decision clarity, not long-term progression. Loot and leveling can be represented
by a single reward choice at the end.

## Art test

Create one representative screen before producing the whole slice: the transit plaza at dusk, at the target
game resolution, containing four party silhouettes, six ambient figures, two storefront materials, a transit
marker, street furniture, and one subtle supernatural effect. Judge it at native scale and on a Steam Deck-sized
display. The screen passes only if characters, exits, interactables, and elevation remain readable without labels.

The first asset kit should prioritize reusable pavement, curb, brick, glass, metal shutter, road marking,
tree/planter, lamp, bench, sign, and water tiles. Custom landmarks are orientation silhouettes, not detailed
architectural replicas.

## Playtest and greenlight gate

Test with at least 5 people, including at least 2 familiar with Yonkers and at least 2 who do not know the area.
Do not explain the controls or premise beyond the game's own opening.

Record:

- completion time and where players become stuck;
- whether players can identify the hub, the current objective, and valid exits;
- whether combat choices are understandable by the end of encounter one;
- which location feels most memorable and why;
- whether Yonkers-familiar players find the compression recognizable and respectful;
- whether players want to continue, and what they think the larger mystery is.

Recommend greenlight only if at least 4 of 5 players finish without facilitator help, at least 4 understand
the combat basics, and at least 4 say they would voluntarily continue. Treat those thresholds as a signal for
another iteration, not proof of commercial demand. Before full production, also test demand with a public-facing
concept page or short downloadable demo and measure follows/wishlists against a stated acquisition target.

## Decisions still needed before implementation

1. Scott's main quest / campaign goal (the existing open item).
2. Tone target: grounded suspense, pulpy adventure, or horror-leaning urban fantasy.
3. Initial six class/role prototypes and whether players customize premades or create characters from scratch.
4. Target native resolution and sprite scale after the representative art-screen test.
5. Which real-world cultural details require local review or permission before public release.

## Geographic references

- [City of Yonkers: Downtown Yonkers](https://www.yonkersny.gov/1107/Downtown-Yonkers) — downtown character,
  Yonkers Station, bus connections, historic architecture, waterfront, and cultural destinations.
- [City of Yonkers: Greenway and South Broadway rehabilitation](https://www.yonkersny.gov/688/Yonkers-Greenway-South-Broadway-Rehabili)
  — relationship among downtown station, South Broadway, the former Putnam rail alignment, and Van Cortlandt Park.
- [MTA Bronx bus map](https://www.mta.info/document/12051) — regional transit context and the Getty Square connection.