Idea Scope Brief — Omega War: Vittles
Skill: idea-scope-brief vittles · Tier: document · Page: alignment/idea-scope-brief-vittles.html · created 2026-06-14
approval_status: ready-for-agent-review.What this approves: the scoped idea brief for Omega War: Vittles, the second title in the Omega War anthology. On approval I write
research/vittles/idea-brief.md and
research/vittles/idea-brief-interview.md, and touch the vittles entry in
research/.progress.yaml. This is pre-customer-discovery: it clarifies concept, hypotheses, constraints,
non-goals, and unknowns — it does not validate a target segment, analyze competitors, or define UX/UI.
research/vittles/_working/fork-seed.md (concept + three confirmed interview decisions). The interview
was completed in-conversation during the fork; this page resumes the idea-scope-brief flow from that seed rather
than re-interviewing from scratch. Everything below is a hypothesis to re-validate downstream,
not settled findings.
1. Idea Assumptions Manifest
What I think Vittles is, before deep questioning. Source tags: [prompt] = the original idea,
[interview] = a confirmed in-conversation decision, [repo] = from existing research,
[inferred] = my assumption to confirm.
| Dimension | Assumption | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Concept summary | Alt-history RTS in the Omega War anthology. June 1948, the Berlin blockade goes hot: a two-act campaign that opens as besieged-enclave siege-and-relief (hold West Berlin, keep the lifeline / air corridor open) and escalates into open-front war. | [prompt][interview] |
| Problem hypothesis | The dev needs a second Omega War title that diverges enough from Unthinkable's 1945 open-front war to be its own game, not a reskin. For players: the 1948 Airlift flashpoint and siege-and-relief tension are near-untouched in RTS. | [inferred] |
| Beneficiary / user hypothesis | Primary: the developer (passion project / portfolio). Secondary: Cold War & alt-history strategy players — possibly a more siege/logistics-leaning segment than Unthinkable's open-front maneuver crowd. | [interview][inferred] |
| Product category | Single-player browser RTS / hybrid deck+base strategy with tactical + strategic layers; Cold-War-gone-hot alt-history; anthology sibling to Unthinkable. | [repo][interview] |
| Value wedge | (1) near-untouched 1948 Berlin Airlift flashpoint; (2) besieged-enclave + lifeline spine as the distinguishing mechanic vs Unthinkable's open-front maneuver; (3) the 1945→1948 arsenal shift (early Cold War kit). | [interview] |
| Constraints | Browser Three.js; deck+base hybrid; tactical+strategic layers; CC0 stand-in art/audio; single-player first; no netcode v1; Europe-only. Reuses Unthinkable's engine & brand constraints — but exact stack-reuse depth is deferred. | [interview][repo] |
| Non-goals | Not a continuation of Unthinkable's 1945 timeline; not multiplayer v1; not the parked "airlift sim" (win-without-firing) concept; not deciding stack-reuse depth here; not selecting a validated target segment. | [interview] |
| Riskiest unknowns | (1) Is siege-and-relief fun and distinct, or just a slower start? (2) The credible 1948 spark (corridor buzzing, the Gatow midair, a checkpoint incident). (3) Two-phase scope doubles the design surface. (4) Stack-reuse depth (deferred). (5) The 1945→1948 arsenal delta. | [interview][inferred] |
Gate — assumptions required
Are the concept, problem, beneficiary, value-wedge, and unknowns captured correctly?
2. Concept Identity & Slug
- Title: Omega War: Vittles
- Product-path slug:
vittles(already active inresearch/.progress.yaml,pipeline_stage: idea-scope-brief) - Scope path:
research/vittles/ - Relationship to the brand: an independent divergence in the Omega War anthology — NOT a sequel or continuation of Unthinkable's 1945 timeline. Real history holds (1945 stays cold; the Airlift happens) until June 1948, when the blockade turns into a shooting war.
"Vittles" is the real US codename for the Berlin Airlift (Operation Vittles). Note: the parked sibling concept is literally an "airlift sim" — if that path is ever activated, the naming must be reconciled.
Gate — idea-identity required
Is the concept identity, slug, and brand relationship correct?
3. Proposed Idea Brief — research/vittles/idea-brief.md
Full content of the file that will be written on approval.
Summary
Omega War: Vittles is the second title in the Omega War anthology — an alt-history single-player RTS set during the 1948 Berlin blockade. Premise: the blockade goes hot in June 1948. The campaign is two-act — it opens as a besieged-enclave siege-and-relief scenario (hold the encircled West Berlin garrison; keep a lifeline / air corridor open against the odds) and escalates into open-front war as the conflict spreads. Vittles is an independent divergence from real history: 1945 stays cold and the Airlift happens, but in this timeline the blockade tips into a shooting war. It reuses Unthinkable's engine and brand constraints; the exact depth of stack reuse is deferred to a design pass.
Problem Hypothesis
The developer needs a second Omega War title that diverges enough from Unthinkable's 1945 open-front war to stand as its own game rather than a reskin. The wedge is structural: a besieged-enclave siege-and-relief opening is a different shape of play from open-front maneuver. For players, the 1948 Berlin Airlift / blockade-goes-hot flashpoint is near-untouched in RTS, and the siege-and-relief tension is an under-served fantasy in the genre.
Beneficiary Hypothesis
- Primary: the developer — passion project and portfolio entry; a second anthology title proves the brand model.
- Secondary: Cold War / alt-history strategy enthusiasts. Possibly a different audience slice than Unthinkable's open-front RTS crowd — one leaning toward siege, logistics, and "hold the line" tension. Audience overlap vs divergence is a key thing for customer discovery to test.
Product Category Guess
Single-player browser RTS / hybrid deck+base strategy with tactical and strategic layers; Cold-War-gone-hot alt-history; anthology sibling to Omega War: Unthinkable.
Value Wedge
- Untouched flashpoint: the 1948 Berlin Airlift / blockade-goes-hot setting is rarely used in games.
- Distinguishing mechanic: the besieged-enclave + lifeline spine (hold West Berlin, keep the corridor open) is structurally distinct from Unthinkable's open-front maneuver.
- Arsenal shift: the 1945→1948 transition to early Cold War kit gives a different unit roster and visual identity from Unthinkable.
Constraints
- Browser-based, Three.js renderer.
- Deck + base hybrid; tactical + strategic layers.
- CC0 stand-in art / audio.
- Single-player first; no netcode in v1.
- Europe-only theatre.
- Reuses Unthinkable's engine and brand constraints — but the exact depth of stack reuse is deferred to a design pass; do not assume the full stack carries over.
Non-Goals
- Not a continuation of Unthinkable's 1945 timeline — Vittles is its own divergence.
- Not multiplayer in v1.
- Not the parked "airlift sim" concept (the airlift as the gameplay, win without firing a shot) — that is a deferred sibling, recorded in the manifest.
- Not deciding stack-reuse depth in this brief.
- Not selecting a validated target segment, competitors, UX, or architecture — those belong to downstream skills.
Assumptions And Unknowns
| # | Unknown | Status / why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Is siege-and-relief fun and distinct, or just a slower start to an open-front game? | Core design risk — the whole wedge rests on the siege act being engaging, not a tax before the "real" war. |
| 2 | What is the credible 1948 spark that tips blockade into combat? | Candidates: corridor buzzing, the Gatow midair collision, a checkpoint incident. Premise believability depends on it. |
| 3 | Two-phase scope (siege → breakout) doubles the design surface. | Production risk — two distinct play modes is roughly two games' worth of systems and content. |
| 4 | Depth of engine / stack reuse from Unthinkable. | Deferred to a design pass; affects build cost and how "independent" Vittles really is under the hood. |
| 5 | The 1945→1948 arsenal delta. | Needs a Vittles-specific arsenal study; early Cold War kit differs from Unthinkable's 1945 roster. |
Customer Discovery Readiness
Ready for the next research stage. Inputs the next skill should use: this brief, the fork seed
(research/vittles/_working/fork-seed.md), and Unthinkable's brand DNA (research/unthinkable/
— treated as reference, not inherited fact). Assumptions to test first: (a) whether siege-and-relief is a distinct,
desirable fantasy vs a slower open-front start; (b) whether the 1948 spark reads as credible; (c) whether Vittles'
audience overlaps with or diverges from Unthinkable's open-front RTS crowd; (d) appetite for the two-act structure.
Next Steps
Primary: /game-audience vittles — mirror the Unthinkable pipeline (idea-brief →
game-audience → game-fantasy → game-genre-map) for the new path, since the game pack is enabled and this is
a video-game concept.
Alternatives if the focus shifts: /game-fantasy vittles (lock the emotional promise of the
siege-and-relief act first) · /customer-discovery vittles if you want generic discovery before
game-specific research (requires npx skillpacks install business-research).
4. Scope & Non-Goals
In scope for Vittles' concept: the two-act siege→open-front campaign, the 1948 blockade-goes-hot premise, the besieged-enclave/lifeline wedge, and the 1945→1948 arsenal shift. Explicitly out of scope (see Non-Goals in the brief): continuation of Unthinkable's timeline, multiplayer v1, the parked airlift-sim concept, stack-reuse depth, and any segment/competitor/UX/architecture decisions.
Gate — scope-nongoals required
Are the scope boundaries and non-goals right?
5. Customer Discovery Readiness
The concept is idea-ready: the premise, two-act structure, wedge, constraints, and non-goals are defined, and the
riskiest unknowns are named. Because this is a video-game project with the game pack enabled, the recommended next
move is /game-audience vittles (the same first research step Unthinkable took), with the assumptions
above as the things to test first.
Gate — discovery-readiness required
Is Vittles ready to leave idea-scope and enter research, and is the recommended next step right?
6. Interview Log — research/vittles/idea-brief-interview.md
The interview was completed in-conversation during the 2026-06-14 fork. Full content of the file that will be written on approval.
Q1 — Is Vittles a continuation of Unthinkable's timeline, or an independent story?
Decision: Independent divergence. The Omega War brand is an anthology of almost-wars — each title is its own break from real history. In Vittles, real history holds (1945 stays cold, the Airlift happens) until June 1948, when the blockade turns into a shooting war. It is explicitly NOT a sequel to Unthinkable's 1945 conflict.
Q2 — What is the core fantasy and campaign structure?
Decision: Two-act. The game opens as a besieged-enclave siege-and-relief scenario: hold the encircled West Berlin garrison and keep a lifeline / air corridor open against the odds. It then escalates into open-front war as the conflict spreads. Siege first, wider war later.
Q3 — Build fresh, or reuse Unthinkable's engine and constraints?
Decision: Reuse Unthinkable's engine and brand constraints (browser Three.js, deck+base hybrid, tactical+strategic layers, CC0 stand-in art/audio, single-player first, no netcode v1, Europe-only). The exact depth of stack reuse is deferred to a design pass — recorded as open; do not assume the full stack carries over.
Q4 — What about the "airlift as gameplay" idea?
Decision: Parked. The non-combat "airlift sim" (win the airlift without firing a shot) is recorded
as a deferred sibling in research/.progress.yaml (slug airlift, path reserved, not
created). Vittles takes the hot-war path; the airlift-sim concept is preserved, not lost. If activated later, reconcile
the "Vittles" naming (Vittles is the real airlift codename).
Notes / standing hypotheses surfaced
- Value wedge: untouched 1948 flashpoint + besieged-enclave/lifeline spine + 1945→1948 arsenal shift.
- Beneficiary: dev first; Cold War / alt-history players second, possibly a different slice than Unthinkable's.
- Riskiest unknowns: siege fun/distinctness, the 1948 spark, two-phase scope, stack-reuse depth, arsenal delta.
- Provenance: Unthinkable's fantasy doc already anticipated this premise — "Vienna as the besieged-enclave drama (the Berlin of this war)."
7. Artifact Destinations & Proposed File Changes
On final approval I will write/update exactly these (and nothing else):
| Path | Action | What |
|---|---|---|
research/vittles/idea-brief.md | create | The full idea brief rendered in §3. |
research/vittles/idea-brief-interview.md | create | The interview log rendered in §6. |
research/.progress.yaml | update | Touch the vittles entry: last_touched: 2026-06-14, keep pipeline_stage: idea-scope-brief until /game-audience advances it. No other entries change. |
alignment/idea-scope-brief-vittles.html | convert | This page: review → confirmed (archive-before-replace). |
alignment/index.html | update | Add this page under Product Design & Spec. |
Left untouched: research/vittles/_working/fork-seed.md (preserved as provenance),
research/unthinkable/**, tasks/*.
Gate — artifact-changes required
Approve the output paths and the change set?
8. Post-Approval Route
After the briefs are written, the natural next step mirrors Unthinkable's research pipeline. Your call:
- game-audience —
/game-audience vittles(recommended; same first step Unthinkable took). - game-fantasy — lock the emotional promise of the siege act first.
- stop — write the briefs and stop; you'll route later.
Gate — route required
After the briefs are written, how should I proceed?
9. Compile Responses
Answer the six required gates above, add optional section feedback, then compile and copy the YAML into your next message. Partial responses are fine — they're treated as revision requests, not approval.