The Story Engine

A match played on the clock

The engine does not roll a result. It plays the match: 22 players on a 21×9 field, pressure measured from the distance to the ball, moves judged by quality, and a story written from the moves — not from a sentence table.

The match — the story, lineups, statistics

What happens in one minute

Every minute is a series of moves. Most are quiet. The ones that aren't get a line in the stream, and the words they deserve.

Momentum: the tide of the match. A run of good moves tilts the field; a shout from the bench can break it.
Quality: every move is graded. A goal from a "gift" move and one from an "unplayable" move are not the same goal — and the stream says so.
The edges: real added time with reasons, treatment, time-wasting, cramp, an emergency keeper, free kicks against the wall, loose balls, deflections and own goals.
The words: chosen by what happened — the opener, the equaliser, the extension, the late goal — with the players' and clubs' names. They never change the football.

The bench

Five actions. All of them land at the next minute boundary, because a move that has started is not stopped midway.

Action	When	The cost
Substitution	Up to 5 subs in 3 windows	A window opened is a window spent
Mentality	Every 5 minutes	A shape change costs 3 minutes at ×0.97
Shout	Every 10 minutes	Breaks momentum; too many — they tire
Personal orders	Any time	"Take him on", "shoot on sight", "stay back" — costs focus elsewhere
Takers	Any time	Penalty, free kick, corner — whoever is named, takes it

The field — four views

Not a drawing. What is happening.

Shape

Where each side is actually set: the mentality pushes the block, the line and width shape it. A faded player — beaten this move; grey — the legs are gone.

Hot zones

Where the ball has been, and where the match is really being played.

Chances

Every shot on the pitch, sized by its quality.

Duels

Who beat whom, where, and how many times.

Several matches at once

On matchday you are not only your own match. A follow strip above the scoreboard, up to eight matches.

Every tab: score, minute, event counters by type, and a "new since you looked" count.
The auto-broadcaster: dwells 15 seconds on a match, moves to the next, and jumps at once to the match where a goal, a red or a penalty just happened.
One heavy match (the one you watch), everything else — one light digest for all. Eight matches cost about as much as one.

While the ball is rolling the story keeps its secrets: ratings and condition unlock at full time.