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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

01Choose a commitment
02Record who knows
03Pass intervening events
04See the later response

Events and narrativesLinked states

Delayed consequences

Make a promise for immediate help or consider whether you can fulfil it later?

Reference gamesOXENFREE · The Walking Dead

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Core loop

01Observe event times
02Record knowledge
03Reset the world
04Execute a revised plan

Events and narrativesLinked states

Planning within a time loop

Use this loop to investigate an unknown event or execute a known chain of actions?

Reference gamesOuter Wilds · Twelve Minutes

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Core loop

01Watch one event thread
02Note a gap or contradiction
03Switch perspective
04Revise the explanation

Events and narrativesOne rule

Combining perspectives

Which perspective resolves the current contradiction instead of repeating known information?

Reference gamesTacoma · 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

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Core loop

01Learn a need
02Commit and act
03Receive a specific response
04Open a new cooperation opportunity

Characters and relationshipsOne rule

Trust through actions

Take a lucrative job or keep a low-paying promise to a friend with limited time?

Reference gamesStardew Valley · My Time at Portia

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Core loop

01Learn individual values
02Face a shared conflict
03Make a public decision
04Respond to disagreement

Characters and relationshipsLinked states

Companion values

Keep your principle, favor a companion or pay more for a compromise?

Reference gamesBaldur's Gate 3 · Griftlands

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Core loop

01Hear the stated demand
02Find relevant evidence
03Choose a negotiating move
04Observe changed acceptance

Characters and relationshipsOne rule

Information in negotiation

Make an offer now or spend time discovering the real need while risking the opportunity?

Reference gamesGriftlands · Disco Elysium

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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

01Help and create a promise
02Record who owes whom
03Request an eligible action
04Fulfill and clear the debt

Characters and relationshipsOne rule

Favors and obligations

Call in a favor now or save it for a more important request?

Reference gamesBohna Nostra · Crusader Kings III

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Core loop

01Read faction needs
02Choose an action
03Update reputations separately
04Inspect changed services

Characters and relationshipsOne rule

Faction reputation conflicts

Will helping dockworkers cost access to a merchant route?

Reference gamesTyranny · Fallout: New Vegas

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Core loop

01Receive private information
02Make public claims
03Challenge and compare
04Vote and reveal

Characters and relationshipsLinked states

Hidden roles and credibility

Reveal your evidence now or hold it to test others' claims?

Reference gamesAmong Us · One Night Ultimate Werewolf

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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.