Skip to main content

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

Open this entry

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

Open this entry

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

Open this entry

Core loop

01Read remaining steps
02Build or refine
03Update progress/quality
04Deliver or scrap

Gathering and craftingOne rule

Completion versus quality

Secure completion or spend another step on quality?

Reference gamesFinal Fantasy XIV · Atelier Sophie

Open this entry

Core loop

01Inspect joints/hazards
02Choose a cut
03Separate and sort
04Audit recovered/lost value

Gathering and craftingOne rule

Disassembly and salvage value

Safely isolate the core or take a quick destructive shortcut?

Reference gamesHardspace: Shipbreaker · TerraTech

Open this entry

Core loop

01Read ingredient geometry
02Preview placement/path
03Adjust the combination
04Resolve coverage effects

Gathering and craftingOne rule

Ingredient geometry

Use a powerful large ingredient or small pieces that fit key regions?

Reference gamesAtelier Sophie · Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator

Open this entry

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.