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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 required categories
02Compare later uses
03Commit a combination
04Inspect remaining orders

Gathering and craftingOne rule

Recipe substitutions

Fulfil the order now with a rare ingredient, or wait for a common substitute and preserve the rare one?

Reference gamesStardew Valley · Don't Starve

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Core loop

01Find an inaccessible resource
02Read the required capability
03Gather and craft a tool
04Return to use it

Gathering and craftingOne rule

Tools unlock resources

Spend metal on an immediate need or invest in a tool that opens the next resource chain?

Reference gamesTerraria · Valheim

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Core loop

01Read the target state
02Prepare prerequisites
03Watch processing change
04Collect inside the window

Gathering and craftingOne rule

Processing and heat

Wait to serve two items together, or remove the item that is about to overcook?

Reference gamesCooking Simulator · Overcooked! 2

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Core loop

01Run a fixed interval
02Inspect queues and idle time
03Upgrade one stage
04Compare deliveries

Logistics and automationOne rule

Finding the bottleneck

Which stage deserves the only upgrade: extraction, processing or assembly?

Reference gamesFactorio · Satisfactory

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Core loop

01Inspect mixed arrivals
02Set filters
03Observe blockage and misrouting
04Adjust overflow policy

Logistics and automationOne rule

Filtered routing

Wait for the dedicated exit, or divert into shared storage and consume its future capacity?

Reference gamesFactorio · Satisfactory

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Core loop

01Account for both outputs
02Provide a byproduct outlet
03Run and inspect accumulation
04Balance fresh and recycled input

Logistics and automationLinked states

Byproduct loops

Recycle, consume elsewhere or buffer the byproduct—and when must fresh input be reduced?

Reference gamesFactorio · Satisfactory

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Core loop

01Set a trial price
02Observe sales and refusals
03Record price evidence
04Adjust to inventory needs

Trade and managementOne rule

Price discovery

Wait for a high-price buyer or lower the price to free cash and shelf space?

Reference gamesMoonlighter · Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale

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Core loop

01Forecast near-term demand
02Choose supply and storage
03Prioritize consumption
04Review remaining shelf life

Trade and managementOne rule

Perishable inventory

Use the oldest stock first or fulfil a better-paying order that requires fresher ingredients?

Reference gamesRimWorld · Project Zomboid

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Core loop

01Read waiting jobs
02Estimate finish times
03Choose the next job
04Watch other deadlines

Trade and managementOne rule

Scheduling a service queue

Finish a quick order to improve throughput, or rescue a long order near its deadline?

Reference gamesPlateUp! · Overcooked! 2

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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

01Read an opening
02Pay the attack cost
03Reserve escape capacity
04Disengage and recover

Close combatOne rule

Keeping a defensive reserve

One more hit may finish the fight, but will enough resource remain for a retreat?

Reference gamesElden Ring · Monster Hunter Generations

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Core loop

01Read the wind-up
02Wait for the window
03Parry
04Use the opening

Close combatOne rule

Timed parries

Take a small loss with a safer guard or risk a missed parry for a larger opening?

Reference gamesSekiro: Shadows Die Twice · Dead Cells

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Core loop

01Read the guard
02Choose angle or position
03Check the block result
04Switch before the response

Close combatOne rule

Directional defense

Change attack direction to draw a guard or spend time moving behind the defender?

Reference gamesFor Honor · Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

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Core loop

01Inspect draws and gaps
02Choose a removal cost
03Remove and reshuffle
04Compare key-turn access

Cards and diceOne rule

Deck thinning and draw density

Remove a weak card for consistency or retain it as insurance against a specific threat?

Reference gamesSlay the Spire · Dominion

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Core loop

01Read rolled values
02Match slot requirements
03Assign and spend dice
04Resolve and replan

Cards and diceOne rule

Assigning dice results

Use the only even die for defense or spend it on a stronger attack?

Reference gamesDicey Dungeons · Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles

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Core loop

01Read current resources
02Choose the next effect
03Resolve and inspect change
04Schedule the final spend

Cards and diceOne rule

Effect order and combinations

Add resources before doubling or double the current stock first, and when should it be spent?

Reference gamesDominion · Slay the Spire

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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.