Game Design

Balance game difficulty, resources, rewards, probability, progression, economies, and dominant strategies. Use when tuning combat, loot, upgrades, scoring, level curves, AI difficulty, risk-reward choices, or any system where numbers shape player decisions.

Create lightweight, living game design documents for AI-built games. Use when writing a game design brief, system spec, feature contract, content schema, implementation handoff, decision log, or when a coding agent needs durable project memory.

Design or audit game controls, HUD, menus, feedback, input mapping, transparency, juiciness, channels, modes, and metaphors. Use when implementing UI, controls, camera, tutorials, status displays, accessibility feedback, or when players are confused about what happened.

Design, inspect, or repair game mechanics, core loops, rules, goals, actions, state, chance, secrets, skills, and emergent dynamics. Use when building gameplay systems, combat, puzzles, progression, simulations, board/card mechanics, or any feature where rules create player behavior.

Plan, run, and interpret game playtests. Use when validating prototypes, onboarding, difficulty, mechanics, UI clarity, retention, or fun; when writing playtest scripts, surveys, observation plans, or telemetry requirements.

Turn a game idea into a focused design problem, risk-first prototype plan, and iteration loop. Use when starting a game, choosing what to build first, scoping an MVP, defining design questions, planning prototypes, or deciding whether an idea is ready for production.

Review a game for player impact, ethics, transformation, inclusion, monetization pressure, community risk, dark patterns, and hidden design agendas. Use before shipping manipulative loops, social systems, ads, monetization, retention mechanics, UGC, or player-generated communities.

Design or evaluate game story, world, characters, spaces, presence, aesthetics, and indirect control. Use when adding narrative, quests, levels, environments, character arcs, worldbuilding, environmental storytelling, or emotional context to gameplay.

Model target players, motivations, emotions, pleasures, needs, flow, novelty, judgment, and interest curves. Use when defining who a game is for, shaping retention, diagnosing boredom or confusion, designing progression, or aligning gameplay with a desired emotional arc.