chemo-sim/docs/DEVELOPMENT_ROADMAP.md

# Development Roadmap

Chemo-Sim

**Shipping to Steam Early Access Q3 2026**

Timeline assumes 2 devs + heavy AI tool usage. Be realistic about velocity.

## Phase 1: MVP (4–6 weeks)

_Just Make It Playable_

**Goal:** First-person movement, one chemo treatment, one symptom system, one minigame.

### Deliverables

- [ ] **Core gameplay loop**
  - First-person character controller (movement, look around)
  - Hospital room scene (basic geometry)
  - Sit-down animation, IV insertion sequence
- [ ] **First symptom system: Nausea**
  - Screen tilt + color desaturation
  - Vomit minigame: hit keys in sequence (like Guitar Hero but gross)
- [ ] **UI skeleton**
  - Treatment timer
  - Symptom tracker (simple text readout)
  - Main menu
- [ ] **Audio placeholder**
  - Hospital ambient sound
  - UI beeps
- [ ] **Builds for Windows + Linux** (automated via GitHub Actions)

**Success criteria:** You can play start-to-finish in 5 minutes. It's janky. That's fine.

## Phase 2: Core Loop (6–8 weeks)

_Add Depth & Polish_

**Goal:** 2–3 complete treatment sessions, 4–5 symptom systems, minigame variety.

### Deliverables

- [ ] **Multiple symptom systems**
  - Nausea ✓ (from Phase 1)
  - Hair loss (visual degradation)
  - Taste distortion (food looks/sounds wrong)
  - Chemo brain (UI glitches, text corruption)
  - Fatigue (movement slows)
- [ ] **Expanded minigames**
  - Vomit accuracy challenge ✓
  - "Eat this food" (taste it wrong)
  - Conversation memory test
  - Hospital navigation while dizzy
- [ ] **Treatment variety**
  - Infusion pump (timed, interactive)
  - Different drug regimens (affect symptom severity)
  - Radiation room (if you want it)
- [ ] **Progression system**
  - Day counter (Week 1 → Week 6+)
  - Cumulative effects (symptoms get worse over time)
- [ ] **Audio overhaul**
  - Licensed or royalty-free indie soundtrack
  - Realistic hospital ambience
  - Minigame SFX
- [ ] **Automated testing**
  - GUT (Godot Unit Testing) for symptom system interactions
  - Prevent regression when multiple symptoms overlap (nausea + chemo brain + fatigue)
  - CI runs tests on every push
- [ ] **Art pass**
  - Hospital environment refinement
  - Character appearance (hair loss progression)
  - UI polish

**Success criteria:** 20–30 minute playthrough. Feels like a _game_, not a tech demo.

## Phase 3: Dark Humor & Absurdity (4–6 weeks)

_The Soul of the Game_

**Goal:** Add the comedic/edgy elements that make this _your_ game, not a medical sim.

### Deliverables

- [ ] **Absurd hospital scenarios**
  - TV plays surreal content (AI-generated English/gibberish meme-format text)
  - NPC dialogue with dark one-liners
  - Environmental storytelling (notes from other patients)
- [ ] **Unlockable content**
  - Easter eggs (hidden minigames, joke treatments)
  - Achievement system (Steam achievements)
  - Dark humor unlocks (internal monologues, sarcastic commentary)
- [ ] **Minigame variations**
  - "Eat bad food" becomes increasingly absurd
  - Conversation minigame gets funnier/sadder
- [ ] **Soundtrack expansion**
  - Menu music (ironic, upbeat cancer music)
  - Treatment room ambience (hospital + dark humor)

**Success criteria:** Playtester feedback: "I laughed and felt uncomfortable simultaneously."

## Phase 4: Polish & Optimization (2–3 weeks)

_Make It Shippable_

**Goal:** Stability, performance, accessibility.

### Deliverables

- [ ] **Cross-platform testing**
  - Windows: test on 2–3 configs
  - Linux: Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch
- [ ] **Performance optimization**
  - Target 60 FPS on mid-range hardware
  - Memory profiling
  - Load time optimization
- [ ] **Accessibility**
  - Colorblind modes
  - Subtitle options
  - Control remapping
  - Difficulty settings (if applicable)
- [ ] **Bug fixes & stability**
  - Playtester feedback implementation
  - Crash fixing
  - Save/load robustness
- [ ] **Steam setup**
  - Steamworks account configured
  - App ID reserved
  - Build depots set up
  - Store page content drafted (see STEAM_RELEASE_CHECKLIST.md)

**Success criteria:** No crashes in 1-hour playthroughs. Runs on a 5-year-old laptop.

## Phase 5: Early Access Launch (1–2 weeks)

_Go Public_

**Goal:** Get it on Steam, gather feedback, iterate.

### Deliverables

- [ ] **Final build verification**
  - Download from Steam, play start-to-finish
  - Test all platforms
- [ ] **Store page live**
  - Screenshots, trailer uploaded
  - Description, tags, content warnings finalized
- [ ] **Community channels live**
  - Discord server
  - Twitter/social presence
- [ ] **Day-1 support plan**
  - Hotfix process for critical bugs
  - Feedback monitoring

**Success criteria:** Launch day without game-breaking bugs. Early feedback positive.

## Post-Launch (Ongoing)

### Updates (Bi-weekly to monthly)

- [ ] New minigames
- [ ] Additional symptom systems
- [ ] More absurd scenarios
- [ ] Community-requested features
- [ ] Cosmetics (patient gown styles, room decorations)

### Long-term (6–12 months post-launch)

- [ ] Full release candidate build
- [ ] Content expansion (survivors' stories, alternative treatments)
- [ ] Mod support (if community demands it)
- [ ] Console ports (if budget allows—Switch would be dark comedy gold)

## Total Timeline

**MVP → Full Early Access Launch: ~16–19 weeks (~4 months)**

Budget for slippage. You'll hit roadblocks. That's normal. Ship what's fun, not what's perfect.

## Team Velocity Notes

With 2 people + heavy AI tools:

- **Art/Animation:** AI image gen + Godot animation nodes = faster
- **Sound:** AI text-to-speech + royalty-free libraries = minimal cost
- **Code:** AI pair programming (Copilot, Claude) = faster iteration
- **Bottleneck:** Creative decisions and playtesting (can't be automated)

**Protect creative time.** The dark humor is the game. Don't let optimization timelines kill your weird ideas.