- 01Identify a current limitation
- 02Choose a tradeoff upgrade
- 03Change actions and routes
- 04Test it in a new situation
Sidegrades that change play
Progress adds different strengths and constraints rather than only larger numbers. New options change responses while older ones remain useful in some situations.
The player's decision
Choose piercing attacks for lined-up enemies or keep rapid attacks for scattered targets?
Original scenario
Original setup: piercing halves fire rate; the alternative stays fast but hits one target. Two equal-budget encounters use lined-up and scattered enemies to expose the tradeoff.
Start with this prototype
Build two exclusive upgrades and two small encounters. Show benefits/costs and allow reselection for comparison. Complete both to win with similar budgets; omit rarity draws and level grinding.
Change one variable
Compare clear time and damage taken across scenarios, not only target-dummy output.
What to observe in a playtest
Does each choice have a useful scenario, and are previous effects removed on switching?
Take the full design card
Includes rules, scope, tuning questions and sources for further planning. It does not create a project automatically.
Original analysis · version 1
Common pitfall
If one option wins every scenario, the tradeoff is cosmetic. Verify crossing advantages.
Observations and sources
Cases refer to public documentation. Developers and community wikis are credited separately; document review is not a claim of hands-on testing.
- Hades
New talents and weapon aspects open different playstyles and builds.
- Hollow Knight
Chosen charm combinations provide different abilities and shape a player's approach.
Brief for the studio
Opens the AI studio with the brief below in the input. You can edit it. Nothing starts automatically.
Build two exclusive upgrades and two small encounters. Show benefits/costs and allow reselection for comparison. Complete both to win with similar budgets; omit rarity draws and level grinding.
Covers are original AI-generated style illustrations. Game names reference publicly visible design choices and remain the property of their owners. This atlas does not supply screenshots or assets from those games. Prompts and combinations are original drafts for new games.