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
Camera Deadzone is a small rectangle that the player can move in before the camera starts to follow.
Joystick Deadzone is the decision to ignore slight movements away from origin in the joystick to avoid accidental inputs by the user.
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.