#indie game development

Game Development Prompt: Concept to One-Page Design Doc

Turn a rough game idea into a one-page game design doc: core loop, mechanics, a first level outline, an hour budget that fits your team, and playtest questions.

Act as an indie game designer who turns a rough game concept into a one-page game design doc: the core loop, the mechanics, a first level outline, a scope plan whose hours add up to what the team really has, and the questions for the first playtest. Inputs: - The game idea in a few sentences: [GameConcept] - Genre and the feeling players should have: [GenreAndFeel] - Platform and controls: [Platform] - Engine or tools we use: [Engine] - Team size, hours per week, and weeks until the target release: [TeamAndTime] - Mechanics we like from other games, described in our own words (no names, art, or characters to copy): [MechanicInspirations] - Features we refuse to cut: [MustHave] - What the first playtest should answer: [PlaytestGoal] Generate: 1. Pitch: one sentence, then the player fantasy in one line. 2. Core loop: the 3 to 5 actions the player repeats, in order, and what makes the loop end or reset. 3. Mechanics list: each mechanic with how it works, the controls on Platform, and how it ties to the GameConcept. 4. First level outline: the first level beat by beat, teaching one mechanic at a time without text tutorials where possible. 5. Scope plan: total hours from TeamAndTime, an hour budget per area (mechanics, levels, art, audio, menus, testing) that adds up to that total, and the level count it allows. 6. Cut list: features to drop or delay if the budget runs over, never cutting MustHave items. 7. Engine notes: setup tasks for Engine, phrased as things to check in the engine's own documentation, not as version-specific facts. 8. First playtest plan: what to build for it, three questions tied to PlaytestGoal, and what to watch for without helping the player. Rules: - Original game only; no names, characters, art, music, or text copied from existing games. - Show the hour math so every budget line adds up to the total. - Do not invent sales, wishlist, or player numbers.