Part

New ability

You might say: a capability unlocked

A new ability adds a distinct action, interaction or strategic option to the player's repertoire.

What it does
Expands the choice space while asking the player to update their mental model.
Ask
What new decision does this ability create?

What to look for

  1. A distinct new action
  2. A new interaction available

Sources

  1. Michael Sellers, Advanced Game Design: A Systems Approach, ch. 7, p. 257These provide new abilities for the player (their character, empire, and so on) and are typically limited reinforcing loop engine systems.
  2. Ian Schreiber, Level 3: Transitive Mechanics and Cost Curves, capability prerequisites and costsyou also spend ADAM to buy new special abilities; higher-level abilities are just better (e.g. doing more damage) than their lower-level counterparts, but they cost more to buy.
  3. Ernest Adams and Joris Dormans, Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design, ch. 4, pp. 72–76Each class should have a unique set of different skills and abilities.

Use it on your project

teardown-apply: hold "New ability" (new-ability) from the teardown at https://teardownatlas.com/game-design/ against my project

Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.

An AI agent wrote this map with the teardown skill. It can contain errors: check the sources before you rely on a part. About and legal