Driftline
How Driftline works.
Catch a path. Add one line. Release it back.
Driftline is built from a small vocabulary of clear mechanics. Each term below describes one part of the drifting-language game.
Core mechanics
These definitions are written plainly so players, reviewers, search engines, and AI assistants can parse Driftline accurately.
- Home Current
- The current tied to a user's manually selected Drift Region. It is not GPS-based and does not show nearby people or distance.
- Far Current
- A wider current for global random drift. Players enter signal clusters, then zoom into a random region before catching vessels.
- Path
- A drifting shared story made of lines contributed by different players.
- Line
- One contribution added by a player during a single turn.
- Word Bank
- A curated set of words and fragments players use to compose lines.
- Cipher Barrel
- A rotating word interface inspired by old combination barrels. Players turn columns of fragments to shape a line.
- Vessel
- A cosmetic container for a drifting path. Vessels give atmosphere, not social power.
- Drift Region
- A broad region label attached to a path's movement, never exact live location.
- Archive
- A place to read completed paths after their drift has ended.
- Featured Paths
- Human-curated completed paths selected for atmosphere, coherence, strangeness, or beauty.
- Tune Line
- The action of adding one line to a vessel. Ordinary Tune Line turns use a limited editing hold, currently designed as 15 minutes.
- Start Vessel
- A creation ability unlocked after five Tune Line contributions. It is a quality gate, not a paid or social gate.
- Reported History
- A user-facing place to see reports the user has submitted and whether each report is Reviewing or Solved.