Design Documentation
Welcome to the comprehensive design documentation for MOONSTALKERS: ONLINE — an extraction shooter set in a drowned Earth, where tidal floods from a shattered moon force desperate scavengers to risk everything on the surface below. This documentation covers world design, gameplay mechanics, progression systems, multiplayer dynamics, and lore.
Core Sections
World
Post-cataclysm Earth, tidal cycles, surface zones, and underground shelter systems.
Vessel
Your orbital home — clone bay, workshop, and upgrade systems.
Mechanics
Core gameplay loop, spawn systems, extraction, survival, and death mechanics.
Progression
Wealth accumulation, vessel upgrades, contracts, and the path to independence.
Multiplayer
Organic cooperation, social spaces, and two player philosophies.
Lore
Selenite Corp, the cataclysm, Drifters, the Network, and Black Sites.
Reference Documents
Illustration Style Guide
Master reference for all visual content — color palette, art direction, and technical specs.
Glossary
Terminology definitions — Moonstalker, Selenite Corp, Clone Bay, and more.
Atmosphere & Tone
Emotional experience, mood documentation, and thematic pillars.
System Relationships
Visual diagram showing how game systems interconnect.
Open Design Questions
Unresolved design decisions requiring further exploration.
The Core Tension
The surface is dangerous, profitable, and persistent. Your vessel is safe, permanent, but isolated. Extraction is relief and progress. Death is loss and reset. Every decision weighs risk against reward. And somewhere beneath the tides, the truth about what Selenite Corp did to the moon — and what they're still hiding — waits to be uncovered.