Game Direction
Turn creator intent into a direction the creator recognizes as theirs: a short
creative brief plus one named first playable build. Direction becomes stable
through play, not through longer prose, so every route here ends with a
playable build target, never with documentation alone.
Route First
Classify the entry before doing direction work:
| Mode |
When |
First move |
direction-carry-in |
A thesis, pitch, mandate, prototype, or public promise already exists |
Preserve it. Audit what is still unproven. Do not rewrite direction because an artifact is incomplete. |
taste-to-game |
The creator has taste, references, desired feelings, or hard noes, but no stable direction |
Elicit taste, then build a small concept slate. Read references/taste-to-game.md. |
brownfield-unknown |
A repo, notes, or assets exist but authority and direction are unclear |
Audit before writing anything new: separate playable truth from claims in notes, record who owns direction, then reroute to one of the modes above. |
Two deeper tools:
- When the creator needs a real conversation — philosophy, player role,
whole-game frame, first playable build — run the interview in
references/creator-interview.md.
- When judging whether a thesis, pillars, player-experience target, or concept
slate is solid, use the checklists in
references/direction-review.md.
Authority
The human owns taste, concept selection, Direction Lock (the explicit decision
that fixes direction), and public promises. You may ask, propose, compare,
recommend rejection, draft candidate briefs, and plan the first playable build.
When the next step needs one of the human-owned calls, stop and return
USER_DECISION_NEEDED with the exact decision required — do not choose for
them, and do not present your own inference as their taste.
An audit or review request authorizes inspection and findings, not rewriting
project files or locking direction. A request to create or update direction
artifacts authorizes reversible local drafts; keep them candidate material
until the creator accepts them. Publishing a promise or making a destructive
change still requires explicit approval.
Concept Status
Track where the project is with one status:
UNROUTED, TASTE_DISCOVERY, CONCEPT_SLATE, CREATIVE_BRIEF,
FIRST_BUILD_PLANNED, DIRECTION_LOCKED, or PARKED. A concept slate or
candidate brief is not active scope until the creator selects it; parked and
rejected concepts keep their reasons. Always report one exact value from this
set; prose such as "unchanged" is not a status. Naming a build for an accepted
carry-in can produce FIRST_BUILD_PLANNED, but never implies Direction Lock.
Output
End a routing or discovery pass with:
Entry mode:
Direction source:
Authority owner:
Concept status:
Creative brief or candidate brief:
First playable build:
Safe assumptions made:
Human decision needed:
Next step:
Preserve every field; write none when one does not apply. Tag load-bearing
facts by source: user fact, repo fact, safe assumption, or blocker. Do not close
direction work while a blocker remains.
Gotchas
- Do not ask a novice creator for genre, core loop, engine, or monetization
before taste has been elicited; ask for remembered moments and desired
feelings first.
- Do not generate idea catalogs. Three to five comparable, rejectable concepts
beat twenty.
- Do not smooth away contradictions in the creator's taste too early; surface
one contradiction at a time.
- Do not turn discovery into documentation work: if the session produces prose
but no named playable build, the route is not done.
- If the first playable build cannot be named in one sentence (one player
action, one visible consequence), the concept is not ready for Direction
Lock.
1---2name: game-direction3description: Use when game work starts without a stable direction: a creator asking "what game should I make", turning taste or references into a concept and creative brief, adopting an existing direction or pitch, judging "is this idea worth building" or whether to continue or pivot or kill an existing project, reviewing whether direction artifacts are stable enough for production, or auditing an ambiguous game repo, prototype, or notes. NOT for milestone planning or implementation (use game-production) and NOT for reviewing builds or readiness claims (use game-review).4---56# Game Direction78Turn creator intent into a direction the creator recognizes as theirs: a short9creative brief plus one named first playable build. Direction becomes stable10through play, not through longer prose, so every route here ends with a11playable build target, never with documentation alone.1213## Route First1415Classify the entry before doing direction work:1617| Mode | When | First move |18| --- | --- | --- |19| `direction-carry-in` | A thesis, pitch, mandate, prototype, or public promise already exists | Preserve it. Audit what is still unproven. Do not rewrite direction because an artifact is incomplete. |20| `taste-to-game` | The creator has taste, references, desired feelings, or hard noes, but no stable direction | Elicit taste, then build a small concept slate. Read `references/taste-to-game.md`. |21| `brownfield-unknown` | A repo, notes, or assets exist but authority and direction are unclear | Audit before writing anything new: separate playable truth from claims in notes, record who owns direction, then reroute to one of the modes above. |2223Two deeper tools:2425- When the creator needs a real conversation — philosophy, player role,26 whole-game frame, first playable build — run the interview in27 `references/creator-interview.md`.28- When judging whether a thesis, pillars, player-experience target, or concept29 slate is solid, use the checklists in `references/direction-review.md`.3031## Authority3233The human owns taste, concept selection, Direction Lock (the explicit decision34that fixes direction), and public promises. You may ask, propose, compare,35recommend rejection, draft candidate briefs, and plan the first playable build.36When the next step needs one of the human-owned calls, stop and return37`USER_DECISION_NEEDED` with the exact decision required — do not choose for38them, and do not present your own inference as their taste.3940An audit or review request authorizes inspection and findings, not rewriting41project files or locking direction. A request to create or update direction42artifacts authorizes reversible local drafts; keep them candidate material43until the creator accepts them. Publishing a promise or making a destructive44change still requires explicit approval.4546## Concept Status4748Track where the project is with one status:49`UNROUTED`, `TASTE_DISCOVERY`, `CONCEPT_SLATE`, `CREATIVE_BRIEF`,50`FIRST_BUILD_PLANNED`, `DIRECTION_LOCKED`, or `PARKED`. A concept slate or51candidate brief is not active scope until the creator selects it; parked and52rejected concepts keep their reasons. Always report one exact value from this53set; prose such as "unchanged" is not a status. Naming a build for an accepted54carry-in can produce `FIRST_BUILD_PLANNED`, but never implies Direction Lock.5556## Output5758End a routing or discovery pass with:5960```text61Entry mode:62Direction source:63Authority owner:64Concept status:65Creative brief or candidate brief:66First playable build:67Safe assumptions made:68Human decision needed:69Next step:70```7172Preserve every field; write `none` when one does not apply. Tag load-bearing73facts by source: user fact, repo fact, safe assumption, or blocker. Do not close74direction work while a blocker remains.7576## Gotchas7778- Do not ask a novice creator for genre, core loop, engine, or monetization79 before taste has been elicited; ask for remembered moments and desired80 feelings first.81- Do not generate idea catalogs. Three to five comparable, rejectable concepts82 beat twenty.83- Do not smooth away contradictions in the creator's taste too early; surface84 one contradiction at a time.85- Do not turn discovery into documentation work: if the session produces prose86 but no named playable build, the route is not done.87- If the first playable build cannot be named in one sentence (one player88 action, one visible consequence), the concept is not ready for Direction89 Lock.
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