DomainsGame Development
A game, built and tested until it's ready.
Game Development in Scripveil follows a project from concept to release, and keeps mechanics, systems, characters, levels, narrative and assets connected through the loop of building, testing and iterating.
Develop games through design, mechanics, systems, characters, levels, narrative, assets, production and development workflows.
- 01
Build
Build 0.4
- 02
Test
Playtest, Level 2
- 03
Issues
2 found
- 04
Iterate
Fix and rebalance
Each pass returns a better build, until it is ready to release.
A game is a set of systems that have to work together.
A game is designed as rules, built, played and changed. In Scripveil a mechanic keeps its specification and tuning, the systems, levels, characters and assets it touches, and the builds, playtests and issues that shaped it, so a design change shows what else it affects and why it was made.
Tide clock, Mechanic. Development stage: Test. 2 open issues.
Mechanic · Core loop
Tide clock
The water rises and falls on a timer, and the timer decides what the player can reach.
- Design
- Prototype
- Implement
- Test (current)
- Iterate
Specification
Player input
None directly: the player reads the water and plans a route
Rule
The water level cycles on a fixed timer, level by level
Outcome
Low tide opens routes and surfaces salvage
Failure
Caught by the tide: back to the last bell
Tuning
- Cycle, Level 1120s
was 90s; slowed after playtest 3
- Cycle, Levels 2 to 890s
- Warning before high tide10s
System map · what it touches
Systems
- Lantern light · fades under water
- Salvage · surfaces at low tide
Levels
- The Drowned Market · introduced
- The Bell Tower · timing puzzle
Characters
- The Ferrywoman · warns the player
Assets
- Water surface · shader reads the timer
- Tide bells · audio cue
Iteration log
- 0.3
Timer prototyped; one cycle per level
- 0.4
Warning bell added before high tide
playtest: players felt rushed in Level 1
- 0.5
Level 1 slowed to 120s
playtest: rushing gone; timer resets after a fall
Issues
- #41Timer resets after the player fallsseverity: HighIn progress
- #44Bell cue inaudible over rainseverity: MediumTo do
Used in levels
Used in 6 of 8 levels
Worked on by
Theo LindqvistGame Designer
Amara NwosuComposer
Try a change. See what else in the project responds.
What a game project brings forward, stage by stage.
Concept and pre-production are about systems, mechanics and narrative. Production is about levels, assets and builds. Testing and iteration turn to tests, issues, reviews and decisions, and release to builds and milestones.
Select a stage
- Characters
- Levels
- Assets
- Tasks
- Builds
- Milestones
- Game Systems
- Mechanics
- Narrative
- Issues
- Reviews
- Decisions
- Tests
- Releases
In Production, a Game Development project brings forward Levels, Assets, Tasks, Builds, Characters, Milestones. Everything else stays in the project, just out of the way.
A game is finished by testing it, not by declaring it done.
Game production moves in loops. A build is tested, issues are found and reviewed, decisions are made, and the next build carries them forward. Milestones and releases mark the progress through those loops.
- 01 · Build
Build 0.4
The Drowned Market is playable end to end.
- 02 · Tests
Playtest of the Drowned Market
Four players, one session each.
- 03 · Issues
Two found
The tide timer resets after a fall. The lantern hides the exit.
- 04 · Review
Design review
Is the market's pacing right for a first level?
- 05 · Decision
Slow the tide
Slow it during the first level, then restore it.
- 06 · Next build
Build 0.5
Carries the change forward.
Milestones and releases
- Vertical sliceDone
- Playable alphaIn progress
- Release candidateUpcoming
- ReleaseUpcoming
Bring a game project to Scripveil.
Keep every system, level and build connected as the game takes shape.