davidbirchall/squad-skills-game
Engine-agnostic game design skills: game idea, game design, mechanic design, systems design, progression design, level design, and balance, with playtesting guidance.
Tune a game to be fair and engaging - define balance goals, identify tuning knobs, compare options with spreadsheets and simulation, run structured playtests, read data and feedback, and iterate with controlled changes. Covers dominant strategies, difficulty and economy tuning, and PvP versus PvE balance. Load when tuning numbers, fixing an overpowered or useless option, adjusting difficulty or economy, or planning and analysing playtests.
Define the overall design of a game from an approved concept - target player experience using the MDA framework (mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics), core loop and meta loops, player goals, structure, and an early playtest plan. Produces a lightweight game design document. Load when turning a concept into a design, writing or reviewing a design doc, defining the core loop, or planning first playtests.
Turn a vague game concept into a testable concept - player fantasy, hook, genre and audience, game pillars, scope, and a one-page concept. Covers ideation prompts, comparing candidate ideas, and cutting scope before design starts. Load when starting a new game, brainstorming concepts, writing a one-page concept, choosing between ideas, or defining pillars.
Design levels, maps, encounters, and puzzles that deliver the intended pacing - layout flow, teaching moments, landmarks and guidance, encounter composition, set pieces, and greybox (blockout) iteration. Load when planning a level or map, building a blockout, designing an encounter or puzzle, teaching a mechanic in space, or reviewing level readability.
Specify individual game mechanics - player verbs, rules, inputs, feedback, risk/reward, meaningful choices, and edge cases - so each action in the core loop is clear, testable, and fun. Covers verb lists, rule statements, feedback (juice) and failure states. Load when designing an action, ability, combat or movement rule, puzzle rule, or reviewing whether a mechanic creates interesting decisions.
Design how players advance over time - power curve, skill and knowledge progression, unlock pacing, rewards and motivation, onboarding to endgame, and retention loops. Covers flow, difficulty curve shape, and reward schedules. Load when planning levels or XP, unlocks, skill trees, rewards, tutorial flow, pacing across a session or campaign, or the endgame.
Design how game mechanics connect into systems - resources, economy sinks and faucets, feedback loops (positive and negative), crafting, inventory, combat and AI interactions, and emergent behaviour. Covers system maps and economy flow. Load when designing an economy, resource model, crafting or loot system, or checking whether systems reinforce or break each other.