EP Game Prototype — a browser videogame for the Escalation Protocol universe
Can I build a playable videogame prototype in the browser — squad combat with an escalating tension system, set in the Escalation Protocol universe — by directing AI as a non-programmer?
Building a playable game (not a paper model) is where balance problems actually show themselves. Running the outcome resolution as a Monte Carlo simulation — playing a clash out thousands of times — turns the vague question 'does this feel fair?' into measurable data. The squad-combat loop with an escalating tension meter (a nod to Ogre Battle's Chaos Frame) is the heart of it, and the part most worth tuning.
It's a playable prototype: the core loop runs. Parked at the point where the next moves are content and polish rather than proving the concept. Hard rule on this one: no third-party art, ever — in the repo or anywhere public.
What it is
A playable videogame prototype, running in the browser, set in the Escalation Protocol universe. The combat is squad-based — units resolving against each other in formations — with mechanics inspired by the classic strategy game Ogre Battle.
The mechanics worth tuning
- Squad combat — the moment-to-moment loop of units clashing.
- An escalation system — a tension meter that ramps the stakes as a battle unfolds, in the spirit of Ogre Battle's Chaos Frame.
- Outcome resolution (AREPO) — balanced with a Monte Carlo simulation: the computer plays a given encounter thousands of times and reports the spread of results, so I can tune by evidence instead of gut feel.
Why I built it
It's the most direct test of the idea that I can direct AI to build a real, interactive game as a non-programmer. The thinking is mine — the universe, the mechanics, the feel I'm after — and the build comes out of my multi-agent workspace. It's also a through-line to my origin: my thesis was about prototyping games to prove a concept. Same instinct, new tools.
Where it stands
The core loop is playable. From here it's content and polish, not proof. And a strict asset policy stays in force: no third-party sprites or art, ever — the prototype stands on its own mechanics and visuals.