# Splix IRL (name pending)

- **Target audience**: all ages, people interested in large outdoor games combining technology and physical activity
- **Target platform**: mobile phones with location services and internet connection, possibly custom hardware
- **Genre**: outdoor game, multiplayer
- **Number of players**: depending on game mode and scale, enough to fill the game area (in the tens)
- **Gameplay time**: depending on game mode and scale, from an hour to several days, maybe more?


## Overview

The game takes the base mechanics of games like splix.io and adds a physical component to it. Having simple rules
and mechanics, the game creates an easy to learn and play experience. It aims to be replayable by being playable
in different environments and scales to create different experiences.

The game is played in real world, with players moving around in the game area. Just like in splix, the game area
is divided into territories, which are claimed by players. The players are safe, when they stay inside their area,
but if they leave it, they leave behind a trail. If another player crosses the trail, they are eliminated. However,
if the player manages to return safely to their area, they can claim the area that they have circled with their trail.
Players who have been eliminated can return to the game by starting from zero. The penalty for being eliminated
is that the player loses all the area they have claimed and have to move to a randomly selected starting location.
In team modes, the team has a limited number of lives, when a player is eliminated, they lose a life for their team.
When a team runs out of lives, they have start from zero.

Players use their phones to play the game. The phone tracks the player's location and displays the game state
on the screen.

A simple story and setting can be added to the game to make it more interesting but may not be necessary.


## Gameplay

The game has multiple game modes, which allow for different scales and different styles of gameplay. The main modes
are:
- **Free for all**: all players are competing against each other, the player with the most area after a set time
  wins
- **Teams**: players are divided into teams, the team with the most area claimed wins
- **Teams blind**: players are divided into teams, the team with the most area claimed wins, players outside their
  area can't see the trails of other players


## Technical limitations

Location tracking may not be fast enough to allow for fast-paced gameplay in a small scale area. To slow the game down
and make it more strategic, the game area can be made larger.


## Aspects of playing in different environments and scales

The game can be played in different environments and scales, which affect the gameplay.

When the game will be played in an area with large freedom of movement, it will be easy to play the game safe and take area
by smaller chunks. This kind of environment will work better for smaller scale, shorter games, which will force the players
to take more risks and try to claim enemy territory.

In an area with a lot of large obstacles, such as a city, the players will have to plan their routes carefully and sometimes
take larger risks to claim more area. Such areas will be interesting for longer team games, where the players can plan
their strategies together and will have smaller punishment for being eliminated. This kind of area will also be interesting
for **teams blind** mode, where the players will have to rely on communication to coordinate their actions.

Different scale will also affect the gameplay. In a small scale, the game will be more fast-paced and physical, while in
a large scale, if played on foot, the game will be more about endurance and planning. In a large scale, the players can
also make use of other means of transportation (rules can be modified by the game master), which will make the game more
interesting and allow for more strategies.