game-design-unknown-unknowns-prototyping

Name: game-design-unknown-unknowns-prototyping
Author: Stanestane

34stars3forks

How to install game-design-unknown-unknowns-prototyping?

stanestane/game-design-skills-bundle/game-design-unknown-unknowns-prototyping

$npx -y skills add Stanestane/game-design-skills-bundle --skill game-design-unknown-unknowns-prototyping

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Detect unknown unknowns in game design and decide what to prototype before committing to production. Use when a feature concept feels promising but underdefined, when the team disagrees about the real design problem, when a mechanic seems interesting but the source of interest is

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SKILL.md

1	# Game Design Unknown Unknowns Prototyping
2
3	Use prototyping to discover what actually needs to be learned.
4
5	This skill helps map uncertainty, identify likely blind spots, frame prototype questions, choose the cheapest useful prototype type, sequence tests, and define stop criteria. Keep the work practical and decision-oriented. Do not prototype to mimic production. Prototype to expose uncertainty.
6
7	## Core principle
8
9	Preproduction handles known unknowns. Prototyping explores unknown unknowns.
10
11	That distinction matters.
12	- Known unknowns are questions the team already knows to ask.
13	- Unknown unknowns are hidden design problems, emergent opportunities, and unexpected interactions that only become visible through testing.
14
15	Therefore:
16	- do not prototype to mimic production
17	- prototype to expose uncertainty
18	- prototype to discover what the game might actually be
19
20	## Knowledge quadrants
21
22	Use these four buckets to classify the state of understanding around a concept.
23
24	### 1. Known knowns
25	Things the team is already confident about.
26
27	### 2. Known unknowns
28	Things the team already knows it needs to answer.
29
30	### 3. Unknown knowns
31	Things the team implicitly knows but has not surfaced.
32
33	### 4. Unknown unknowns suspects
34	Things the team cannot yet name directly, but can infer are likely hiding in the concept.
35
36	Read `references/quadrants-and-hiding-places.md` when you need examples of each quadrant or a list of common hiding places for unknown unknowns.
37
38	## What to produce
39
40	Generate a prototyping plan with these outputs:
41
42	1. Concept framing - what the team thinks the idea is, and where it is still foggy
43	2. Uncertainty map - what is known, suspected, and unexplored
44	3. Prototype questions - what must be learned through making and testing
45	4. Prototype sequence - what order to test things in, and how each test informs the next
46	5. Stop criteria - when to stop exploring and move toward preproduction or production framing
47	6. Decision record - what was learned, what died, and what stronger direction emerged
48
49	## Process
50
51	### 1. Frame the design space
52
53	Clarify the current idea and its uncertainty surface.
54
55	Ask:
56	- What is the idea as currently understood?
57	- What part is conceptually exciting?
58	- What part is still vague?
59	- Which part is likely illusion rather than substance?
60	- Which assumptions are carrying the concept?
61	- What are we calling the feature today, and is that label prematurely narrowing thinking?
62
63	Write:
64	- Current concept
65	- Why it seems promising
66	- Why it is still unclear
67	- Assumptions carrying the concept
68
69	### 2. Build an uncertainty map
70
71	Map the concept using the four quadrants.
72
73	Use this format:
74
75	\| Quadrant \| Items \|
76	\|---\|---\|
77	\| Known knowns \| ... \|
78	\| Known unknowns \| ... \|
79	\| Unknown knowns \| ... \|
80	\| Unknown unknowns suspects \| ... \|
81
82	Important note: the last row is deliberately phrased as unknown unknowns suspects. True unknown unknowns cannot be listed directly. They can only be inferred from where hidden uncertainty is likely to live.
83
84	### 3. Convert fog into prototype questions
85
86	Turn uncertainty into learning objectives.
87
88	Rule: a prototype question should describe what must be learned, not what must be built.
89
90	Good prototype questions often sound like:
91	- Can players understand X without explanation?
92	- Does X create a stronger feeling of Y?
93	- What breaks first when X is layered with Z?
94	- Does X reduce friction or merely relocate it?
95	- Is the fun in A, or in the choice around A?
96	- What emergent behavior appears when players optimize X?
97	- What new problem appears after the obvious problem is removed?
98
99	Read `references/prototype-question-patterns.md` when you want more examples of strong versus weak prototype questions.
100
101	Write:
102	- Prototype questions
103
104	### 4. Identify the right prototype type
105
106	Choose the cheapest artifact that can expose the uncertainty.
107
108	Do not default to a playable digital prototype. Choose the medium based on the unknown.
109
110	Prototype types:
111	- Experience prototype - for feel, rhythm, pacing, emotional response
112	- Interaction prototype - for UI comprehension, decision speed, readability, input behavior
113	- Systems prototype - for simulation, economy, balance, loop interaction
114	- Content pipeline prototype - for production feasibility
115	- Wizard-of-Oz or fake-backend prototype - for testing behavior before full implementation
116
117	Use this format:
118
119	\| Prototype Question \| Best Prototype Type \| Fidelity Needed \| Why \|
120	\|---\|---\|---\|---\|
121
122	Read `referen

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game-design-unknown-unknowns-prototyping

34stars3forks

View on GitHub

How to install game-design-unknown-unknowns-prototyping?

stanestane/game-design-skills-bundle/game-design-unknown-unknowns-prototyping

$npx -y skills add Stanestane/game-design-skills-bundle --skill game-design-unknown-unknowns-prototyping

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	# Game Design Unknown Unknowns Prototyping
2
3	Use prototyping to discover what actually needs to be learned.
4
5	This skill helps map uncertainty, identify likely blind spots, frame prototype questions, choose the cheapest useful prototype type, sequence tests, and define stop criteria. Keep the work practical and decision-oriented. Do not prototype to mimic production. Prototype to expose uncertainty.
6
7	## Core principle
8
9	Preproduction handles known unknowns. Prototyping explores unknown unknowns.
10
11	That distinction matters.
12	- Known unknowns are questions the team already knows to ask.
13	- Unknown unknowns are hidden design problems, emergent opportunities, and unexpected interactions that only become visible through testing.
14
15	Therefore:
16	- do not prototype to mimic production
17	- prototype to expose uncertainty
18	- prototype to discover what the game might actually be
19
20	## Knowledge quadrants
21
22	Use these four buckets to classify the state of understanding around a concept.
23
24	### 1. Known knowns
25	Things the team is already confident about.
26
27	### 2. Known unknowns
28	Things the team already knows it needs to answer.
29
30	### 3. Unknown knowns
31	Things the team implicitly knows but has not surfaced.
32
33	### 4. Unknown unknowns suspects
34	Things the team cannot yet name directly, but can infer are likely hiding in the concept.
35
36	Read `references/quadrants-and-hiding-places.md` when you need examples of each quadrant or a list of common hiding places for unknown unknowns.
37
38	## What to produce
39
40	Generate a prototyping plan with these outputs:
41
42	1. Concept framing - what the team thinks the idea is, and where it is still foggy
43	2. Uncertainty map - what is known, suspected, and unexplored
44	3. Prototype questions - what must be learned through making and testing
45	4. Prototype sequence - what order to test things in, and how each test informs the next
46	5. Stop criteria - when to stop exploring and move toward preproduction or production framing
47	6. Decision record - what was learned, what died, and what stronger direction emerged
48
49	## Process
50
51	### 1. Frame the design space
52
53	Clarify the current idea and its uncertainty surface.
54
55	Ask:
56	- What is the idea as currently understood?
57	- What part is conceptually exciting?
58	- What part is still vague?
59	- Which part is likely illusion rather than substance?
60	- Which assumptions are carrying the concept?
61	- What are we calling the feature today, and is that label prematurely narrowing thinking?
62
63	Write:
64	- Current concept
65	- Why it seems promising
66	- Why it is still unclear
67	- Assumptions carrying the concept
68
69	### 2. Build an uncertainty map
70
71	Map the concept using the four quadrants.
72
73	Use this format:
74
75	\| Quadrant \| Items \|
76	\|---\|---\|
77	\| Known knowns \| ... \|
78	\| Known unknowns \| ... \|
79	\| Unknown knowns \| ... \|
80	\| Unknown unknowns suspects \| ... \|
81
82	Important note: the last row is deliberately phrased as unknown unknowns suspects. True unknown unknowns cannot be listed directly. They can only be inferred from where hidden uncertainty is likely to live.
83
84	### 3. Convert fog into prototype questions
85
86	Turn uncertainty into learning objectives.
87
88	Rule: a prototype question should describe what must be learned, not what must be built.
89
90	Good prototype questions often sound like:
91	- Can players understand X without explanation?
92	- Does X create a stronger feeling of Y?
93	- What breaks first when X is layered with Z?
94	- Does X reduce friction or merely relocate it?
95	- Is the fun in A, or in the choice around A?
96	- What emergent behavior appears when players optimize X?
97	- What new problem appears after the obvious problem is removed?
98
99	Read `references/prototype-question-patterns.md` when you want more examples of strong versus weak prototype questions.
100
101	Write:
102	- Prototype questions
103
104	### 4. Identify the right prototype type
105
106	Choose the cheapest artifact that can expose the uncertainty.
107
108	Do not default to a playable digital prototype. Choose the medium based on the unknown.
109
110	Prototype types:
111	- Experience prototype - for feel, rhythm, pacing, emotional response
112	- Interaction prototype - for UI comprehension, decision speed, readability, input behavior
113	- Systems prototype - for simulation, economy, balance, loop interaction
114	- Content pipeline prototype - for production feasibility
115	- Wizard-of-Oz or fake-backend prototype - for testing behavior before full implementation
116
117	Use this format:
118
119	\| Prototype Question \| Best Prototype Type \| Fidelity Needed \| Why \|
120	\|---\|---\|---\|---\|
121
122	Read `referen

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Type