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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 deficits
02Choose food combinations
03Spend actions/stock
04Check remaining needs

Survival and environmentsOne rule

Multiple nutrition needs

Gather easy fruit or detour for the missing food category?

Reference gamesEco · Green Hell

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Core loop

01Estimate the route
02Travel or rest
03Advance time/supplies
04Reassess a safe return

Survival and environmentsOne rule

Fatigue and rest scheduling

Travel while light remains or rest before an exhausting night return?

Reference gamesThe Long Dark · Don't Starve

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Core loop

01Read provisional loot
02Continue or extract
03Reach and hold an exit
04Settle secured/lost rewards

Survival and environmentsOne rule

Extracting to secure rewards

Return with current gains or push deeper for more?

Reference gamesHunt: Showdown 1896 · Deep Rock Galactic

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Core loop

01Hear the line
02See the reply window
03Respond or stay silent
04Read the reaction

Events and narrativesOne rule

Timed replies and deliberate silence

Interrupt now or listen and risk losing the reply window?

Reference gamesOXENFREE · The Walking Dead

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Core loop

01Discover a fragment
02Extract time clues
03Place it on a timeline
04Revise from contradictions

Events and narrativesOne rule

Reconstructing fragmented chronology

Fit a new testimony into the current account or reorder the whole hypothesis?

Reference gamesHer Story · Tacoma

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Core loop

01Filter available storylets
02Choose an event
03Apply conditions/effects
04Refresh the next pool

Events and narrativesLinked states

State-gated storylets

Acquire a clue that opens another event or resolve the current relationship event?

Reference gamesFallen London (Echo Bazaar) · 80 Days

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Core loop

01Read remaining steps
02Build or refine
03Update progress/quality
04Deliver or scrap

Gathering and craftingOne rule

Completion versus quality

Secure completion or spend another step on quality?

Reference gamesFinal Fantasy XIV · Atelier Sophie

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Core loop

01Inspect joints/hazards
02Choose a cut
03Separate and sort
04Audit recovered/lost value

Gathering and craftingOne rule

Disassembly and salvage value

Safely isolate the core or take a quick destructive shortcut?

Reference gamesHardspace: Shipbreaker · TerraTech

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Core loop

01Read ingredient geometry
02Preview placement/path
03Adjust the combination
04Resolve coverage effects

Gathering and craftingOne rule

Ingredient geometry

Use a powerful large ingredient or small pieces that fit key regions?

Reference gamesAtelier Sophie · Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator

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Core loop

01Read height/water
02Preview earthworks
03Apply terrain changes
04Check buildings and access

Building and layoutsOne rule

Cut-and-fill terrain

Flatten a hill to save a bridge or preserve it against floods?

Reference gamesTimberborn · Cities: Skylines II

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Core loop

01Plan floor use
02Connect vertical access
03Trace people/cargo
04Fix bottleneck floors

Building and layoutsOne rule

Vertical access in layered buildings

Move production upstairs or keep hauling short and avoid stair congestion?

Reference gamesTimberborn · SimAirport

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Core loop

01Define space
02Place doors/fixtures
03Validate requirements
04Have agents use the room

Building and layoutsOne rule

Room recognition and requirements

Share a hall to save space or partition it for specialized requirements?

Reference gamesRimWorld · Two Point Hospital

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Core loop

01Inspect commitments
02Estimate new capacity use
03Accept or decline
04Deliver and settle penalties

Trade and managementOne rule

Contracts and capacity commitments

Take a high-margin two-day job or preserve flexibility for existing deliveries?

Reference gamesMy Time at Portia · SimAirport

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Core loop

01Read customer mix
02Choose facilities
03Track fulfilled needs
04Address unmet service

Trade and managementOne rule

Customer needs and service mix

Cover common needs or add specialized service for a smaller group?

Reference gamesSimAirport · Two Point Hospital

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Core loop

01Preview cash calendar
02Choose borrowing
03Pay build/operating costs
04Repay and review

Trade and managementOne rule

Borrowing and operating cash

Expand for future income or preserve cash through slow days?

Reference gamesTwo Point Hospital · Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale

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Core loop

01Inspect prerequisites
02Allocate points
03Try the combination
04Revise the route

Growth and inheritanceOne rule

Skill prerequisites and routes

Buy an immediately useful skill or invest in a route toward a later combination?

Reference gamesPath of Exile · Grim Dawn

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Core loop

01Choose a condition
02Play the familiar rules
03Check evidence
04Attempt another skill

Growth and inheritanceOne rule

Mastery challenges

Secure a consistent clear or attempt a timed/low-resource mastery condition?

Reference gamesHades · Neon White

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Core loop

01Assess current abilities
02Preview refund/fee
03Confirm reassignment
04Compare on the same challenge

Growth and inheritanceOne rule

Respecialization and experimentation cost

Repair the current combination or pay to rebuild for a new challenge?

Reference gamesGrim Dawn · Hades

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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.