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ATLAS / IDEAS

Game design atlas

Find a mechanism, understand its tradeoffs and smallest useful scope, then build your game with a design card and sample project.

192 Mechanisms32 Mechanism domain48 Art styles12 Genre guides

Art styles My research shelf Rain Canopy Workshop · Try the complete prototype Pixel toolkit

Core loop

01Read water and weather
02Compare growth stages
03Allocate irrigation
04Resolve growth and harvest

Growing and tendingOne rule

An irrigation budget

Finish a nearly mature crop or protect a seedling that needs consecutive watering?

Reference gamesStardew Valley · Timberborn

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Core loop

01Read the seasonal deadline
02Compare maturity and regrowth
03Schedule planting and care
04Harvest before closure

Growing and tendingOne rule

Growth and seasonal windows

With five days left, plant a fast low-return crop or save land and funds for next season?

Reference gamesStardew Valley · Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town

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Core loop

01Inspect soil state
02Choose a crop
03Resolve yield and depletion
04Plan recovery

Growing and tendingLinked states

Rotation and soil recovery

Accept a lower harvest to restore the field now, or keep producing and face later soil or disease pressure?

Reference gamesFarthest Frontier · Farming Simulator

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Core loop

01Observe population trends
02Form an intervention hypothesis
03Change one resource or group
04Track delayed effects

Ecology and populationsMultiple systems

Food webs and cascades

Add predators to control herbivores or restore plants first to prevent a later food collapse?

Reference gamesEco · Rain World

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Core loop

01Read species needs
02Find compatible overlap
03Arrange terrain and borders
04Check every species

Ecology and populationsLinked states

Shared habitats

Create one mixed habitat or two smaller areas that better satisfy distinct needs?

Reference gamesTerra Nil · Planet Zoo

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Core loop

01Inspect parent traits
02Choose pairings
03Generate and record offspring
04Select for the next environment

Ecology and populationsLinked states

Traits across generations

Select one strong trait or preserve diversity for a changing environment?

Reference gamesNiche - a genetics survival game · Wobbledogs

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Core loop

01Read growth direction
02Prune or steer
03Advance growth
04Check light and bloom

Growing and tendingOne rule

Pruning and directed growth

Keep current leaves or sacrifice a branch to reach sunlight?

Reference gamesPrune · Grow Home

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Core loop

01Read interaction range
02Place flowers/hives
03Advance visits
04Compare propagation/products

Growing and tendingOne rule

Flowers, pollinators and layout

Plant a directly sellable crop or a flower supporting nearby production?

Reference gamesAPICO · Stardew Valley

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Core loop

01Compare maturity/regrowth
02Plant a plot
03Harvest and update stage
04Retain or replace

Growing and tendingOne rule

One-off crops versus regrowth

Take quick one-off yield or wait for repeated later harvests?

Reference gamesStardew Valley · Farm Together

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Core loop

01Read the frontier
02Contain or clear
03Advance spread
04Inspect protected/newly threatened cells

Ecology and populationsOne rule

Spreading terrain and containment

Rescue a threatened cell or build a barrier protecting a larger region?

Reference gamesTerraria · Creeper World 4

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Core loop

01Read connected regions
02Place a linking tile
03Recompute shapes
04Check species patterns

Ecology and populationsOne rule

Connected habitats and corridors

Expand the largest region or bridge two existing patches?

Reference gamesCascadia: Rolling Rivers · Dorfromantik

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Core loop

01Identify the phase
02Restore conditions
03Introduce the next layer
04Remove infrastructure and verify stability

Ecology and populationsLinked states

Staged ecosystem restoration

Expand greenery now or reserve space for later wetlands and cleanup access?

Reference gamesTerra Nil · Reus 2

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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.