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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

01Build a structure
02Apply a load
03Inspect deformation and breaks
04Reallocate material

Building and layoutsOne rule

Loads and supports

Reinforce the weakest connection or shorten the unsupported span?

Reference gamesPoly Bridge 3 · Besiege

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Core loop

01Inspect demand
02Preview reach
03Place a facility
04Inspect unmet needs

Building and layoutsOne rule

Service coverage

Cover the dense center or reach an isolated group that otherwise remains unserved?

Reference gamesCities: Skylines II · Anno 1800

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Core loop

01Read origin-destination demand
02Connect routes
03Observe traffic
04Reroute congestion

Building and layoutsOne rule

Roads and access

Spend limited road pieces on a new connection or improve the junction used by every route?

Reference gamesMini Motorways · Anno 1800

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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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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.