ThingsHappening — Canonical Wiki / Spec v1

This page is the single source of truth for the current game design (mechanics, voice, unlock rules, and the minimal code layout). In‑game text follows the “happening” language law; this wiki can explain normally, but it also documents every in‑game line exactly.

Hook

Stability vs Collapse

The player is not a character — it is a system under stress. Power is visible. Loss is geometric.

Stable happening — contained growth, readable chaos.

Escalation — entropy rising, fragments active, collapse accelerating.

Overview

ThingsHappening is a top-down geometry simulator where stability is never guaranteed. “Things” appear and begin to happen. You keep them contained, patched, and maintained so that — things keep happening.

If you fail, the planet does not simply lose health. It begins to shrink — not steadily, but in halvings.

Each collapse reduces what remains by half, accelerating like radioactive decay or a crypto halving. The smaller the planet becomes, the faster it collapses.

If it shrinks too far, the universe implodes and goes supernova in a fraction of a second.

About the Game

ThingsHappening is an attempt to revive a genre that never truly came to be. Before sprites defined games. Before textures replaced clarity. There was a path — built from geometry, motion, and mathematics — that was never fully explored. This game follows that path.

There are no sprites. There are no textures. Everything you see is generated entirely from code, geometry, and shading, rendered in a top-down 2D world overlaid with a living 3D simulation grid. Motion, force, and interaction behave like a true physics system, rather than scripted gameplay.

Inspired by Resogun and Geometry Wars 3 - Dimensions Evolved, ThingsHappening plays as a geometry simulator where stability is never guaranteed and chaos emerges naturally from the rules of the system.

Design pillars

Moment‑to‑moment gameplay

1. Things appear. They create local pressure (entropy).
2. You respond. You move, patch, stabilize, and prevent spread.
3. The planet reacts. Stable periods grow the planet; unstable periods shrink it.
4. Growth can backfire. Grow too fast and the planet throws a shard; you must retrieve and patch it.
5. Skill unlocks choices. Maintain score combos to unlock companion sacrifices sequentially.
6. Late‑run gets weird. With 5 companions and a huge planet, the secret Void Particle becomes possible.
7. Failure is existence ending. Wormhole, darkness, the final three lines.

Planet as the only meter

The planet has a radius R. The starting radius is R0. We track a size ratio: S = R / R0.

Core rule

• If you maintain happening, R trends upward.
• If you don’t, R trends downward.
• If R hits Rmin, the universe implodes.

Halving collapse

Shrink is not linear. As the planet collapses, it does so in discrete halves — the smaller it gets, the faster the next collapse arrives. This is a gameplay pressure system: stability must be regained quickly, or collapse accelerates.

Recommended math (simple, stable, tunable)

Use an “entropy pressure” value E (see next section). Convert it to a stability score Stab in [0..1].

Notes: Rcap is a soft cap, not a hard limit. Shrink staying “uncapped” ensures late‑game danger never disappears.

Unlock condition used later

The secret companion requires S ≥ 100 and 5 external companions active at once.

Entropy + difficulty scaling

“Entropy” is the global pressure produced by active happenings, missed patches, spread chains, and overgrowth debt. It is used to drive both planet shrink and spawn intensity.

Entropy sources

• Each active happening contributes a baseline amount per second.
• Spread / propagation adds bursts.
• Patch debt (unrepaired shard damage) adds ongoing pressure.
• Tower side effects can add or reshape entropy (especially the forbidden tower).

Entropy update model (recommended)

Spawn scaling (readable chaos)

Keep spawning readable: increase the number of happenings and their spread chance gradually with E and S, but cap “simultaneous rule complexity.”

Overgrowth backlash (fireworks + shards)

If you grow the planet too quickly, the world “overgrows” and violently sheds mass. This is the self‑balancing loop that prevents perfect play from becoming a safe infinite snowball.

Overgrowth trigger

Track growth velocity v = dR/dt. Define a safe velocity Vs. When v exceeds Vs, build an overgrowth meter O.

On burst (what happens)

• Pixel‑cube fireworks burst outward (pure particles, no textures needed).
• A shard breaks off (spawn a shard entity).
• Immediate planet chip: R -= chip_amount.
• Patch debt increases: patch_debt += 1.

Shard pickup + patch

• Player can pick up the shard (carry state).
• Player patches at the damaged site (or nearest “damage seam”).
• On successful patch: reduce patch_debt, restore some R, reduce E.

Design intent: “Even the best maintenance creates chores.” Overgrowth keeps the run alive by generating new problems.

Score combo system (for sequential companion unlocks)

Companions are not found. They are earned by holding score combos. Each unlock requires sustaining a combo multiplier for a minimum time (not just hitting it once).

Combo breaks

• Taking damage / major fault.
• Missing a required patch window.
• Letting a happening propagate past a severity threshold.

Sequential unlock rule

Unlocks happen in order. You cannot unlock companion #3 before #2. Unlock can be offered; the player may refuse and accept later.

Example thresholds (tunable)

These numbers are placeholders for tuning; the sequential + “hold” structure is the locked mechanic.

Companions + sacrifice (body as UI)

You begin the run whole. You also begin with a base internal “extra life” companion inside you. Companions are literal pieces of you that break out; the missing shape stays visible for the run.

Internal revive (base companion)

• Start with one internal extra life (not a pickup, not a UI icon).
• If you revive, you permanently lose it for the rest of the run.
• Revive permanently changes your body silhouette (missing piece).

External companions (5 max)

• Unlocked sequentially by combo holds.
• Accepting a companion breaks a piece out of you → companion becomes external.
• You can have up to 5 external companions active at once.
• The more you break out, the more “committed” the run looks and feels.

Recommended companion roles (tunable)

These are the five “slots” (effects can be tuned, but keep the overall ecosystem):

Important: in‑game descriptions for these companions must use the word “happening” (documented later in the voice section).

Void Particle (secret companion)

Void Particle is the 6th companion (secret). It is not one of the five “broken‑out” slots; it is an additional, late‑run companion.

Unlock conditions (ALL required)

• external_companions == 5 (all five broken out and active simultaneously)
• S = R/R0 ≥ 100 (planet at least 100× original size)

Behavior

• Moves like magnetic fluid (smeary, responsive, “alive”).
• Attracts and bends happening (can help, can create new danger).
• It is not “an upgrade.” It is a reality distortion that becomes its own problem.

Voice line (unlock)

Towers (3) + cooldown law

Towers are temporary interventions, not defenses. They shape how happening behaves in a radius. They must never be spammable. They must always create periods of vulnerability.

Global tower law (locked)

Global tower parameters

• L: lifespan (seconds active)
• W: wind‑down (last seconds; effect weakens; warning text)
• C: cooldown (seconds until you can place that tower again)

Cooldown stacking rule (locked)

Tower specs (current numbers)

Note: the above effects are expressed mechanically here for clarity. The in‑game voice lines remain happening‑only (see voice section).

Forbidden tower (start unlocked)

One tower is available from the first second: the forbidden accelerator. It does not help you survive. It helps you end runs faster.

Canonical placement line

Spec

Endings + universe darkness

There is one loss condition: if the planet shrinks too far, existence stops existing. The ending is audiovisual: geometry collapses, the universe drains of color, and a wormhole remains.

Final text (locked)

The game does not say “you died.” It frames failure as “happening ended.” After a short darkness / silence, the run restarts.

In‑game voice lines (canonical)

These are the in‑game phrases (happening‑law). All are stored centrally (recommended: text.gd) and referenced by event keys.

Core hook

Failure

Revive

Forbidden tower

Towers (happening‑law)

Void Particle unlock

Procedural visuals (no assets required)

The game can ship with zero traditional assets. Everything can be rendered as math + shaders: polygons, circles, lines, gradients, distance‑fields, particles, and radial distortions.

Visual primitives

• Planet: circle + glow + gradient shader; radius = gameplay.
• Player: polygon with subtractive wedges (missing pieces).
• Happenings: simple geometric glyphs with pulse/flicker to show severity.
• Fireworks: cube particles (points + velocity + decay) on overgrowth bursts.
• Wormhole: radial warp + vignette + color drain on implosion.

Why this matters

• Tiny download size.
• Fast iteration.
• Easy ports (desktop/mobile/web).
• Philosophically aligned: existence is literally math.

Minimal code layout (Brotato‑small)

Goal: keep the entire game in ~10 source files.

Rule: if a feature requires new folders, it’s too complex. Keep it small until the fun is proven.

Tuning surface / constants (what to expose)

Put these in data.gd (or equivalent) so the game can be balanced without refactors:

• Planet: R0, Rmin, Rcap, p, G, D
• Entropy: Emax, per‑happening pressure weights, resolve power
• Spawning: base spawn rate, scaling coefficients, readability caps
• Overgrowth: Vs, O_decay, chip amount, debt pressure, shard restore value
• Combo: decay rate, break rules, per‑step thresholds + hold durations
• Companions: per‑slot effects, max external (5), void unlock ratio (100)
• Towers: per‑tower radius, lifespan/wind‑down/cooldown, cooldown stacking factor
• Ending: darkness timing, wormhole timing, restart delay

Store description draft (before‑you‑buy)

Tone‑accurate, readable, no spoilers beyond the premise.

This draft can be tightened for Steam/App Store later; it’s here as a working “vibe-accurate” baseline.

Changelog

• v1 (this page): Consolidated full mechanics from conversation: planet meter, overgrowth shards, combo→companions, 5 companions max, void particle unlock at 5+100×, towers with L<C, forbidden accelerator, canonical voice lines, and minimal code layout.

Next: as the project grows, add “Happening Types”, “Planet Variants”, “Balance Notes”, and “Patch Notes” sections here.