Development Roadmap

Titan Survivors

An Attack on Titan inspired bullet-heaven game built in Swift and SpriteKit. Designed for completion in 8 weeks.

View 8-Week Plan

Project Constraints & Scope

Scope Limit

Strictly 2D top-down/isometric. No multiplayer, no complex physics simulations, no multi-level worlds.

Input Paradigm

Single-finger gameplay. Player dictates movement while attacks fire 100% automatically on cooldowns.

Flexible Sessions

Scalable run lengths to respect player time: 1–3 min quick runs, 5–15 min standard survival, and up to 15–30 min endurance modes.

Core Systems Breakdown

Player Actions

  • Fluid Movement: Drag-to-move or virtual joystick on a 2D plane.
  • Zero-Button Combat: Attacks fire 100% automatically based on cooldowns.
  • Tactical Pauses: Game freezes during level-ups to allow strategic decision-making.

Progression System

  • In-Run Scaling: Collect crystals to level up, drafting 1 of 3 random power-ups.
  • Stat Boosts: Refined, simple upgrades (+Speed, +Damage, +Radius).
  • Meta-Progression: Coins collected can be spent between runs for permanent global stat increases.

Required UI Screens

  • Title/Menu: Clean start screen with Character Selection.
  • HUD: Minimalist. XP Bar (top), Timer, and HP Bar.
  • Overlays: Level-Up (drafting cards), Game Over (run stats & survival time).

World & Entities Definition

Cast & Horde

The Players (Characters)

  • The Recruit: Balanced stats. Starts with standard Dual Blades.
  • The Vanguard: +20% Move Speed, -20% Max HP. Starts with ODM Hooks.
  • The Veteran: +10% Damage, larger pickup radius. Starts with Gas Canisters.

The Enemies

  • Pure Titans (Grunts): High HP, slow movement. Walk in straight lines towards the player.
  • Abnormals (Swarmers): Low HP, high speed. Use erratic, wave-like movement paths to dodge attacks.
  • Crawlers (Rushers): Spawn at screen edges and dash rapidly in a straight line, forcing player repositioning.

Map & Progression

The Infinite Battlefield

The map is a seamless, infinite 2D plane. Instead of the player moving through a massive world, the camera follows the player centrally, and the ground tiles seamlessly reposition themselves around the viewport to create the illusion of endless terrain.

The Wave Director (Difficulty Curve)

Spawn rates and enemy types are tied directly to the run timer, creating a smooth difficulty ramp:

  • Min 0-5 (The Setup): Slow trickle of Pure Titans. Allows player to safely pick first upgrades.
  • Min 5-10 (The Swarm): Spawn rate doubles. Abnormals are introduced, forcing the player to move actively.
  • Min 10-14 (The Chaos): Screen fills entirely. Crawlers dash through the horde. Gear synergies must be online to survive.
  • Min 14-15 (The Climax): Massive density spawn. Pure survival check until the timer hits 15:00 for victory.

Master Plan Blueprint

plan.md (Preview)

Titan Survivors: Project Plan

Game Concept

Titan Survivors is a 2D action-survival "bullet heaven" game inspired by Attack on Titan and Vampire Survivors. The player controls a solitary Scout facing an endless, escalating horde of Titans on an infinite tiling map. Weapons fire automatically; the player's only input is movement.

World & Entities

  • Characters: Multiple scouts with varying base stats (Speed vs HP vs Damage).
  • Enemies: Pure Titans (Tanks), Abnormals (Erratic Swarmers), Crawlers (Linear Rushers).
  • Wave Director: Difficulty and spawn density scale strictly with the run timer, culminating in a massive 15-minute swarm.

Gameplay Loop

  1. Survive: Move to dodge incoming enemies using simple 1-finger input.
  2. Slay: Equipped ODM gear and weapons auto-fire on cooldowns.
  3. Scale: Defeated enemies drop crystals. Collect these to trigger a level-up, choosing from randomized upgrades.

Technical Approach (SpriteKit)

  • Engine: Native iOS Swift and SpriteKit.
  • Performance: Object Pooling is mandatory. Entities are recycled, not destroyed, to maintain a strict 60 FPS.
  • Physics: Kinematic physics only (isDynamic = false). Avoid complex dynamic collision calculations.

MVP Scope (14-Day Baseline)

  • Visuals: Primitive geometric shapes (squares, circles). No art assets.
  • Combat: 1 auto-attack (Slash), 1 enemy type tracking the player.
  • Progression: Auto-leveling stats upon picking up XP (no pause menu UI yet).

8-Week Production Schedule

Weeks 1-2: Micro MVP Sprint

Phase 1

Build the core engine. Squares and circles only. Focus entirely on Movement, Infinite Map Logic, Object Pooling, and maintaining 60 FPS.

Weeks 3-5: Progression & Assets

Phase 2

Implement UI Canvas, XP bar, pause menu with 3 random upgrades. Add Wave Director logic. Add real SpriteKit textures.

Weeks 6-8: Arsenal & Polish

Phase 3

Introduce new weapons (Thunder Spears, ODM Hooks) and new characters. Add damage numbers, screen shake, audio, and test on physical iOS device.