Systems and mechanics

Here’s an arbitrary list of game systems, mechanics, tropes, and things to consider.
For those days where no ideas are flowing, one of these might be fun to implement.
Please feel free to add more recommendations.

Player and enemy health Real time battle Turn based battle Jump mechanics and physics Item pickups Hidden Items
NPC Dialogue Breakable objects Don’t kick chickens Pet the dog Score system Battle rewards (drops)
Parallax Bkg Pickpocket NPC Save the Puppy Mirror Dimensions Farming Pets
Usable items vs key items Player dash/sprint Player upgrades Enemy AI Animations State machines
NPC/enemy patrol paths Double jump Mouse and Keyboard inputs Gamepad Inputs Combo actions Day and night cycles
Resource from environment (mines, trees, plants, etc) Character customization Fall damage Quest log Fast-travel and world map Earthquake and other effects
Weapon/tool degradation Mounts or vehicles NPC Allies Temporary road blocks Mana/magic Health bar
Banking and item storage Gold and merchants selling items Music On-click interactions Pathing to mouse-clicks Scrolling world
Camera follows player Camera follows mouse controlls Bosses Story/plot Traps (spikes, pitfalls, lava, etc.) Water and swimming
Saving and loading zones Character growth (power ups) Player growth, add challenge: (git gud) Mini games Collectable items Player houses/forts
Projectiles (enemy/player) particle effects Weather Time distortion line of sight enemies Environmental hazards
Add humor Add some Adds [“Steven’s Rib-house, best ribs in the world”] Add Drama [“Bobby’s house of ribs, Still the best ribs in town”] Add the 5 senses … [and beyond] Ad hoc ergo propter hoc Fantasy law
Fantasy Technology Idle Animation Timed events Bad and good endings Meta puzzles Cooldowns
Ice Puzzles Sokuban Puzzles Enemy aggro Game ballancing The Grind What is fun?
Camera Deadzone *1 Joystick Deadzone *2 Karma or Reputation Item fusion and crafting Allow player to leave their mark. Hunger or Thirst
Hidden attributes [Identify] Hard and Easy modes Consideration for the disabled Intuitive design Stealth Teleport or Grapple
Fog of war Randomness Reward Exploration Throw-able enemies Parry: back to sender Charge move for stronger atk
Shoot 'em up Procedural animation Graphical design User Interface Quality of life improvements Lore
Cinematics or cut-scenes Coyote Time Wall Slides Permadeath or no? Victory Conditions Identify your Core Mechanic
Scene staging Setting Character Goals Telegraphing Attack cues Signal Interact-ability Squash and Stretch
Knock back Fighting Shopkeeper Enemy Fall Damage Enemy Triggers Traps See Enemy reset traps over time Enemy has pets
Better Quests *3 Political Quests Economic Quests Character Quests Personal Quests Chained Quests
Menus and Prompts:
Main Menu Game settings menu Character upgrades menu Held Item menu Inventory Character Info menu
Pause Menu controller setup menu Character selection Party arrangement Achievements list Buy/Sell Menu
Quick tutorials Item Info
  1. Camera Deadzone is a small rectangle that the player can move in before the camera starts to follow.
  2. Joystick Deadzone is the decision to ignore slight movements away from origin in the joystick to avoid accidental inputs by the user.
  3. Quests can say something about the game world and plot. A Lore Quest can include world building. A Character Quest can be an NPC chef trying to expand their Menu. Political quest involves a suspicious politician who needs proof that their opponent is an alien. A Personal Quest may mean the player is about to find something out about their own character. Quest Chaining should also be considered.
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I’m writing this comment so that I can continue adding to the above post without causing it to “bump”.
I think that’s how it works.

hahahahaha my monkey brain can only think about lewd mechanics

very very good table btw

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I suppose lewdness is a tool/mechanic that could be overlooked supposing the game is intended for a appropriate audience.