HeroTerminal Universal Protocols: The Core Pillars

Welcome to the Collective.

HeroTerminal is not just a puzzle platform. It is an interactive narrative engine designed to immerse players in grounded, noir-style investigations.

Whether your investigator is a technophobe in Lyon, a hacker in Berlin, or a journalist in Tokyo, every single Case File across the entire platform must adhere to these three core pillars.

If your idea doesn't fit these pillars, it doesn't fit HeroTerminal.

Pillar 1: The Knowledge Mandate

The primary goal of HeroTerminal is edutainment. The player must walk away from every investigation knowing something real about the world that they didn't know before.

1.1. The World is Real

Every case must be grounded in real-world geography.

• Rule: You cannot invent cities. You must use real locations, streets, buildings, and historical contexts.
• Goal: The player should feel like they have virtually visited a place. If a case is set in Hamburg, they should learn about the Speicherstadt district or the history of the port. If it's in Lyon, they learn about the traboules.

1.2. The "Hidden Fact" Requirement

Every Lead (folder) within a case should contain at least one "nugget" of real-world information woven into the narrative or flavor text.

• Good: Solving a puzzle reveals a password.
• Better (HeroTerminal Standard): Solving a puzzle reveals a password which is derived from an obscure historical fact about the building the suspect is hiding in.

Pillar 2: Narrative Immersion

We are creating interactive cinema/literature. The experience should feel like binging a high-quality crime show or reading a gripping noir novel, but the player is in the driver's seat.

2.1. Story Over Puzzles

The technical puzzles (the logs, ciphers, data crunching) exist to serve the story, not the other way around.

• Rule: Never break narrative immersion for the sake of a difficult puzzle. The puzzle must make sense within the context of the scene.
• Goal: The player should feel the tension of the investigation, not the frustration of a math test.

2.2. Atmosphere is Key

The "Flavor" files (descriptions, emails, notes) are just as important as the "Evidence" files. They set the mood, tone, and emotional stakes of the case.

Pillar 3: Grounded Investigation

HeroTerminal is about the process of investigation, respecting human limitations and reality.

3.1. No Superpowers

• Physics applies: No magic, no psychic abilities, no sci-fi tech that doesn't exist today.
• Human Limits: Investigators get tired, they make mistakes, they have biases. The player must navigate these flaws.

3.2. Learning the Process

The player is stepping into the shoes of a professional. They should learn how to think like an investigator:

• Cross-referencing conflicting data sources.
• Following a paper trail across different locations.
• Understanding that human witnesses are unreliable, but logs usually tell the truth (if you know how to read them).

Summary for New Authors: If you can create a compelling mystery that teaches the player a real fact about a real place, while making them feel like the star of a noir thriller, you belong here.