game-design
A guide for designing game mechanics and player progression systems.
Install
mkdir -p .claude/skills/game-design && curl -L -o skill.zip "https://agentskills.codes/api/skills/download/794" && unzip -o skill.zip -d .claude/skills/game-design && rm skill.zipInstalls to .claude/skills/game-design
Activation
This is the description your AI agent reads to decide when to run this skill — the better it matches your request, the more reliably it fires.
Game design principles. GDD structure, balancing, player psychology, progression.Key capabilities
- →Define a game's core loop using the 30-second test
- →Structure a Game Design Document (GDD) with essential sections
- →Identify player motivation types for game design
- →Select appropriate reward schedules for player engagement
- →Implement strategies for balancing game difficulty
- →Design player progression using different types
How it works
The skill outlines principles for core loop design, GDD structure, player psychology, difficulty balancing, and progression design. It provides frameworks like the 30-second test for core loops and categorizes player motivations and reward schedules.
Inputs & outputs
When to use game-design
- →Define a 30-second gameplay loop
- →Draft a new game design document (GDD)
- →Balance game difficulty based on flow state
- →Choose reward schedules for player retention
About this skill
Game Design Principles
Design thinking for engaging games.
1. Core Loop Design
The 30-Second Test
Every game needs a fun 30-second loop:
1. ACTION → Player does something
2. FEEDBACK → Game responds
3. REWARD → Player feels good
4. REPEAT
Loop Examples
| Genre | Core Loop |
|---|---|
| Platformer | Run → Jump → Land → Collect |
| Shooter | Aim → Shoot → Kill → Loot |
| Puzzle | Observe → Think → Solve → Advance |
| RPG | Explore → Fight → Level → Gear |
2. Game Design Document (GDD)
Essential Sections
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Pitch | One-sentence description |
| Core Loop | 30-second gameplay |
| Mechanics | How systems work |
| Progression | How player advances |
| Art Style | Visual direction |
| Audio | Sound direction |
Principles
- Keep it living (update regularly)
- Visuals help communicate
- Less is more (start small)
3. Player Psychology
Motivation Types
| Type | Driven By |
|---|---|
| Achiever | Goals, completion |
| Explorer | Discovery, secrets |
| Socializer | Interaction, community |
| Killer | Competition, dominance |
Reward Schedules
| Schedule | Effect | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed | Predictable | Milestone rewards |
| Variable | Addictive | Loot drops |
| Ratio | Effort-based | Grind games |
4. Difficulty Balancing
Flow State
Too Hard → Frustration → Quit
Too Easy → Boredom → Quit
Just Right → Flow → Engagement
Balancing Strategies
| Strategy | How |
|---|---|
| Dynamic | Adjust to player skill |
| Selection | Let player choose |
| Accessibility | Options for all |
5. Progression Design
Progression Types
| Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Skill | Player gets better |
| Power | Character gets stronger |
| Content | New areas unlock |
| Story | Narrative advances |
Pacing Principles
- Early wins (hook quickly)
- Gradually increase challenge
- Rest beats between intensity
- Meaningful choices
6. Anti-Patterns
| ❌ Don't | ✅ Do |
|---|---|
| Design in isolation | Playtest constantly |
| Polish before fun | Prototype first |
| Force one way to play | Allow player expression |
| Punish excessively | Reward progress |
Remember: Fun is discovered through iteration, not designed on paper.
When not to use it
- →When designing in isolation without playtesting
- →When polishing a game before prototyping for fun
- →When forcing a single way to play a game
Limitations
- →The skill does not cover designing in isolation
- →The skill does not cover polishing before prototyping
- →The skill does not cover forcing one way to play
How it compares
This skill provides specific frameworks and categories for game design elements, offering a structured approach compared to general creative brainstorming.
Compared to similar skills
game-design side by side with the closest alternatives in the catalog.
| Skill | Installs | Updated | Safety | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| game-design (this skill) | 15 | 6mo | No flags | Beginner |
| game-audio | 13 | 6mo | No flags | Intermediate |
| critic-judge-design | 0 | 4mo | No flags | Advanced |
| sequential-thinking | 136 | 9mo | No flags | Intermediate |
Try saying
Example prompts that trigger this skill in your AI assistant.
More by davila7
View all by davila7 →You might also like
game-audio
davila7
Game audio principles. Sound design, music integration, adaptive audio systems.
critic-judge-design
Victoriakaey
Use when designing any LLM-as-Judge, Critic, or Evaluator node. Covers input structure, output schema, chain-of-thought ordering, single-pass vs multi-stage tradeoffs, and known failure modes. Prevents the most common design mistakes that cause Critic nodes to be unreliable.
sequential-thinking
mrgoonie
Use when complex problems require systematic step-by-step reasoning with ability to revise thoughts, branch into alternative approaches, or dynamically adjust scope. Ideal for multi-stage analysis, design planning, problem decomposition, or tasks with initially unclear scope.
llama-cpp
zechenzhangAGI
Runs LLM inference on CPU, Apple Silicon, and consumer GPUs without NVIDIA hardware. Use for edge deployment, M1/M2/M3 Macs, AMD/Intel GPUs, or when CUDA is unavailable. Supports GGUF quantization (1.5-8 bit) for reduced memory and 4-10× speedup vs PyTorch on CPU.
mcp-builder
anthropics
Guide for creating high-quality MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers that enable LLMs to interact with external services through well-designed tools. Use when building MCP servers to integrate external APIs or services, whether in Python (FastMCP) or Node/TypeScript (MCP SDK).
planning-with-files
davila7
Implements Manus-style file-based planning for complex tasks. Creates task_plan.md, findings.md, and progress.md. Use when starting complex multi-step tasks, research projects, or any task requiring >5 tool calls.