Game Design Foundation

Purpose and ownership

Define a recurring playable experience rather than a catalogue of gear.

Player verbs, loop, interaction/state models, progression, reward, challenge, feedback, failure/recovery and accessibility. Applies to games.

Questions

What does the player repeatedly do? Which facts can be learned, changed or lost? How do actions deliver story?

Inputs and outputs

Inputs: Creative Direction, relevant Setting Rules, prototype observations and accessibility constraints.

Outputs: Verb/state contracts, loop and progression principles, feedback and recovery criteria.

Prerequisites

Creative Direction and applicable fictional limits; coordinate agency with Narrative.

Stability and evolution

Keep stable: Core loop, supported actions and state meanings assumed by content.

Can evolve: Tunable values and instances within supported systems.

Reusable rules

Define action → state change → feedback → consequence, including failure. Distinguish a verb from its item instance. Test the loop with placeholder content before multiplying assets. Narrative outcomes must map to supported behavior.

Acceptance test

Can different quests or items use the same contract with understandable consequences?