Upgrades & economy: making progression feel earned
July 22, 2025 • 7–8 min read
Sources vs. sinks
Cores come from distance, pickups, and boss clears. Sinks include permanent upgrades, one-run consumables, and cosmetic unlocks. The loop should always tempt you, never force you.
Guardrails
- No upgrade should one-shot a boss or bypass a mechanic.
- Costs scale gently (sub-exponential) to avoid dead ends.
- We cap stacking effects to protect readability.
Persistence
Unlocks and progress live in localStorage for now; cloud/leaderboards are planned with Firebase as an opt-in.