Part

Parts list

You might say: the inventory of the game system

A parts list names the entities, resources, values and rules that make the game system concrete, then records the attributes and behaviours that distinguish them.

What it does

Turns a broad game idea into a finite set of things that can be connected, tested and balanced.

Ask

Have we named every part that carries a state, rule or decision?

Parts

• Game parts: Game parts are the physical or non-physical objects represented in the game's model, such as units, cards, spaces, resources or goals.
• Part attributes: Attributes are the named values on a part; together with their current values they make that part's state.
• Part behaviours: A behaviour describes how a part responds, changes state or affects other parts over time.
• Parts register: The register records part names in rows and their common attributes in columns so the set can be inspected as it grows.

Sources

1. Daniel Cook, What are game mechanics?, game mechanics definition; tokens, causal rules and feedbackIt treats game mechanics as well defined, comprehensive atomic units.
2. Ian Schreiber, Game Design Concepts, Level 16: Game Balance, Balance Between Game Objects; More Game Balance Techniques: game objects, stats and systemsExcel makes it easy to keep lists of things and organize them. List all of your game objects and their stats.
3. Tynan Sylvester, The Simulation Dream, Drowning in Complexity; Creating Story-Richness; Eclipse Colony design case studyEach of the hundred villagers has a relationship with each of the others – father, friend, enemy, lover, or acquaintance.
4. Robert Nystrom, Game Programming Patterns, Component: entities made from independent componentsWe’ll take our monolithic Bjorn class and slice it into separate parts along domain boundaries.

Unverified: The bounded preview confirms the expanding list of parts and its attributes, but the exact printed page for the phrase 'parts list' was not fully visible; digital snippets are PT367–PT368.

Use it on your project

teardown-apply: hold "Parts list" (parts-list) 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