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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

01Read deficits
02Choose food combinations
03Spend actions/stock
04Check remaining needs

Survival and environmentsOne rule

Multiple nutrition needs

Gather easy fruit or detour for the missing food category?

Reference gamesEco · Green Hell

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Core loop

01Estimate the route
02Travel or rest
03Advance time/supplies
04Reassess a safe return

Survival and environmentsOne rule

Fatigue and rest scheduling

Travel while light remains or rest before an exhausting night return?

Reference gamesThe Long Dark · Don't Starve

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Core loop

01Read provisional loot
02Continue or extract
03Reach and hold an exit
04Settle secured/lost rewards

Survival and environmentsOne rule

Extracting to secure rewards

Return with current gains or push deeper for more?

Reference gamesHunt: Showdown 1896 · Deep Rock Galactic

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Core loop

01Read the frontier
02Contain or clear
03Advance spread
04Inspect protected/newly threatened cells

Ecology and populationsOne rule

Spreading terrain and containment

Rescue a threatened cell or build a barrier protecting a larger region?

Reference gamesTerraria · Creeper World 4

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Core loop

01Read connected regions
02Place a linking tile
03Recompute shapes
04Check species patterns

Ecology and populationsOne rule

Connected habitats and corridors

Expand the largest region or bridge two existing patches?

Reference gamesCascadia: Rolling Rivers · Dorfromantik

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Core loop

01Identify the phase
02Restore conditions
03Introduce the next layer
04Remove infrastructure and verify stability

Ecology and populationsLinked states

Staged ecosystem restoration

Expand greenery now or reserve space for later wetlands and cleanup access?

Reference gamesTerra Nil · Reus 2

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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.