Narrative/context wrapper that establishes the fantasy in under 90 seconds;
Beat table (time | action taught | input method | fail state allowed? |
Teaching method per mechanic: guided action > contextual prompt > tooltip;
Hooks before quit points: cliffhanger/next-reward previews, push/notification
Instrumentation: funnel events per step with target completion %, skip rate,
Intent: what new verb/combination/mastery this teaches or tests; emotional
Flow map (text/ASCII): spaces, entrances/exits, one-way vs revisit, choke
Player reads: at every approach, what can the player see and learn before
Encounter table: location | enemy/composition | available tools | space shape
Rewards & secrets: visibility/attract hierarchy, optional challenge rewards,
Whitebox art pass checklist and the metrics to instrument (flow, deaths heat
Verbs list with frame data table: move | startup/active/recovery frames at
Hit model: hurtbox/hitbox pipeline, active frame shape, multiple-hit rules,
Enemy reactions: hit-stop duration by weight class, knockback vectors, stun
Game feel: input buffering window, coyote-time-equivalents, plinking/
Defense: block/parry/dodge timing windows, risk/reward (stamina/chip), punish
Test plan: training-dummy AI, frame timeline docs in-game optionally, tuning
Goals: power growth vs expressive choice split; what increases player skill
Structure: total nodes budget, branching topology, dead-node policy (every
Acquisition: XP/resource sources and rate curves, choice frequency target
