Game mechanics blueprints
113 blueprints for things that make a game feel good, explained in plain words, each with a text to paste to your AI.
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What should happen in your game?
Combat
Projectiles
Shots let the player hit what is far away, and give the enemy something to dodge. A shot you can see coming, that always hits what it touches, feels fair, and that is what this page is about.
Story
Quest Log
A quest log tells the player what they are doing and how far they are. It has to be right at every moment: the numbers count what the player did, finished quests stay finished, the tracker never points at something that is over, and a long list of tasks stays small enough to manage.
Inventory
Recipe Discovery
A recipe the player found by experimenting feels like an earned discovery, and a hint after a run of misses keeps a stuck player from giving up or opening a guide.
Story
Relationship Meters
A meter for how much a character likes the player turns many small deeds into one feeling the whole game can react to: a warmer shop, a closed door, a friend who shows up when it counts.
Movement
Room Camera
Showing one whole room at a time gives the designer full control of what the player sees, makes puzzles and ambushes fair, and removes the need for the camera to guess. The player always knows where the edges are.
Progression
Season Track
A season gives playing a clear shape: a visible ladder to climb, a deadline that makes today matter, and a reason to come back until the end.
Inventory
Set Bonuses
A set gives the player a reason to collect and plan. Chasing the last piece, or choosing between a set and a single stronger item, makes gear a real decision.
Inventory
Shop (Buy and Sell)
A shop turns coins into things the player wants and things the player no longer needs back into coins, without ever letting the player print money.
Progression
Skill Tree
A skill tree lets players decide what their character becomes, and each choice opens up later ones. That gives them something to plan for.
Movement
Sprint
A sprint lets the player choose between careful and fast movement. It adds a second gear to the same controls, so the player decides when speed is worth it.
Combat
Stagger and Poise
Poise lets a big enemy shrug off light hits and a light enemy fall over at a touch. Heavy weapons then feel heavy, attacks need a choice of when to commit, and a fight has moments where the enemy is open.
Resources
Stamina System
Stamina makes every action cost something right now, so the player paces themselves and each sprint or dodge becomes a real choice.