[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":256},["ShallowReactive",2],{"navigation_docs":3,"-game-dev-mental-model":72,"-game-dev-mental-model-surround":251},[4,26,43],{"title":5,"path":6,"stem":7,"children":8,"page":25},"Using Parallax","\u002Fusing-parallax","1.using-parallax",[9,13,17,21],{"title":10,"path":11,"stem":12},"Getting Started","\u002Fusing-parallax\u002Fgetting-started","1.using-parallax\u002F0.getting-started",{"title":14,"path":15,"stem":16},"Project Structure","\u002Fusing-parallax\u002Fproject-structure","1.using-parallax\u002F1.project-structure",{"title":18,"path":19,"stem":20},"Working with the Agent","\u002Fusing-parallax\u002Fworking-with-agent","1.using-parallax\u002F2.working-with-agent",{"title":22,"path":23,"stem":24},"Deploying Your Game","\u002Fusing-parallax\u002Fdeploying","1.using-parallax\u002F3.deploying",false,{"title":27,"path":28,"stem":29,"children":30,"page":25},"Features","\u002Ffeatures","2.features",[31,35,39],{"title":32,"path":33,"stem":34},"Feature Overview","\u002Ffeatures\u002Foverview","2.features\u002F0.overview",{"title":36,"path":37,"stem":38},"Roadmap","\u002Ffeatures\u002Froadmap","2.features\u002F1.roadmap",{"title":40,"path":41,"stem":42},"Feature Requests","\u002Ffeatures\u002Frequests","2.features\u002F2.requests",{"title":44,"path":45,"stem":46,"children":47,"page":25},"Game Dev","\u002Fgame-dev","3.game-dev",[48,52,56,60,64,68],{"title":49,"path":50,"stem":51},"The Game Developer's Mental Model","\u002Fgame-dev\u002Fmental-model","3.game-dev\u002F0.mental-model",{"title":53,"path":54,"stem":55},"A History of Games","\u002Fgame-dev\u002Fhistory-of-games","3.game-dev\u002F1.history-of-games",{"title":57,"path":58,"stem":59},"Game Categories","\u002Fgame-dev\u002Fgame-categories","3.game-dev\u002F2.game-categories",{"title":61,"path":62,"stem":63},"Theme and Visual Design","\u002Fgame-dev\u002Ftheme-and-design","3.game-dev\u002F3.theme-and-design",{"title":65,"path":66,"stem":67},"Visual Design in Games","\u002Fgame-dev\u002Fvisual-design","3.game-dev\u002F4.visual-design",{"title":69,"path":70,"stem":71},"Theme in Game Design","\u002Fgame-dev\u002Ftheme-in-games","3.game-dev\u002F5.theme-in-games",{"id":73,"title":49,"body":74,"description":244,"extension":245,"links":246,"meta":247,"navigation":248,"path":50,"seo":249,"stem":51,"__hash__":250},"docs\u002F3.game-dev\u002F0.mental-model.md",{"type":75,"value":76,"toc":235},"minimark",[77,81,85,90,93,96,99,155,158,161,165,168,171,174,177,181,184,187,190,193,197,200,203,210,216,222,225,229,232],[78,79,49],"h1",{"id":80},"the-game-developers-mental-model",[82,83,84],"p",{},"Making a game means holding four roles simultaneously: designer, developer, marketer,\nand audience. Most developers default to one and neglect the others. The game suffers\nfor it. This page maps each lens and what it asks of you.",[86,87,89],"h2",{"id":88},"the-designer-lens","The designer lens",[82,91,92],{},"The designer's job is to define what the player experiences, not what the code does.",[82,94,95],{},"Every game has a core loop: what the player does, what happens as a result, and what\nchanges for next time. A core loop that can't be stated in one sentence is not clear\nenough yet.",[82,97,98],{},"The loop operates at three layers at once:",[100,101,102,118],"table",{},[103,104,105],"thead",{},[106,107,108,112,115],"tr",{},[109,110,111],"th",{},"Layer",[109,113,114],{},"Timescale",[109,116,117],{},"The question it answers",[119,120,121,133,144],"tbody",{},[106,122,123,127,130],{},[124,125,126],"td",{},"Micro",[124,128,129],{},"Seconds",[124,131,132],{},"What is the player doing right now?",[106,134,135,138,141],{},[124,136,137],{},"Macro",[124,139,140],{},"Minutes",[124,142,143],{},"What is the player working toward this session?",[106,145,146,149,152],{},[124,147,148],{},"Meta",[124,150,151],{},"Hours, days",[124,153,154],{},"What accumulates and persists across sessions?",[82,156,157],{},"A game with only a micro loop is an arcade game. Players enjoy it once and leave.\nBuild all three layers before adding polish.",[82,159,160],{},"The designer also sets player experience goals before writing any code. Three sentences\nin the form \"ten minutes in, the player should feel X\" are more useful than a feature\nlist. Every mechanic decision that follows should serve those sentences.",[86,162,164],{"id":163},"the-developer-lens","The developer lens",[82,166,167],{},"The developer's job is to build systems that serve the design, not systems that are\ntechnically interesting for their own sake.",[82,169,170],{},"The key habit is systems thinking: treating each mechanic as a system with inputs,\noutputs, and interactions with other systems. When two systems interact unexpectedly,\nthat is either a bug or an emergent mechanic. Knowing which one it is requires\nunderstanding the design intent.",[82,172,173],{},"Scope is a technical constraint, not just a creative one. Every system added to a game\nmultiplies the surface area for bugs, balance problems, and cross-system edge cases.\nThe developer lens asks \"what is the minimum system that delivers this experience\" before\nasking \"how do I build it.\"",[82,175,176],{},"The other developer discipline is resisting premature abstraction. A game prototype\nneeds to validate a feel, not demonstrate good software architecture. Clean up the\narchitecture once the design is proven.",[86,178,180],{"id":179},"the-marketing-lens","The marketing lens",[82,182,183],{},"The marketing lens asks one question from day one: why would a stranger care?",[82,185,186],{},"The answer lives in the 30-second clip. If the most compelling moment of your game\ncan be shown in a 30-second video and makes a stranger want to play, you have a\nmarketable game. If it can't, that is a design signal, not just a marketing problem.",[82,188,189],{},"Target audience shapes design decisions downstream. A game aimed at casual players\nneeds a different difficulty curve, session length, and onboarding than one aimed at\ngenre veterans. Deciding the audience late means those decisions have already been made\ninconsistently.",[82,191,192],{},"Discoverability starts during development. Players who follow a game's development\nare more likely to buy, more likely to review, and more likely to tell others. Treating\nvisibility as a launch problem is too late.",[86,194,196],{"id":195},"the-audience-lens","The audience lens",[82,198,199],{},"The audience lens is the habit of asking \"how does this feel to someone playing it for\nthe first time\" while building it.",[82,201,202],{},"Players have three psychological needs that well-made games satisfy:",[82,204,205,209],{},[206,207,208],"strong",{},"Autonomy."," The player needs to feel their decisions matter. This is not the same as\nhaving many options. One meaningful choice is worth ten inconsequential ones.",[82,211,212,215],{},[206,213,214],{},"Competence."," The player needs to feel capable but challenged. The flow channel is\nthe narrow band between boredom (challenge too low) and frustration (challenge too\nhigh). Difficulty should ramp gradually; spikes without telegraphing are a design fault.",[82,217,218,221],{},[206,219,220],{},"Relatedness."," The player needs to feel connected: to characters, to other players,\nor to a world that feels alive. Even a solo game satisfies this if the world reacts\nto the player's presence.",[82,223,224],{},"Breaking any of these needs ends the session. The audience lens checks each feature\nagainst all three.",[86,226,228],{"id":227},"holding-all-four-at-once","Holding all four at once",[82,230,231],{},"Most development failures are lens failures. A technically clean game that ignores\nthe designer lens has no reason to exist. A game with clear design that ignores the\ndeveloper lens ships broken or never ships. A game that ignores the marketing lens\nships to no audience. A game that ignores the audience lens ships to an audience\nthat quits.",[82,233,234],{},"The practical habit: before starting any feature, state which lens is driving it.\n\"I am building this because the designer lens says the player needs a feedback loop\nhere\" is a complete justification. \"I am building this because it would be cool\" is\nnot.",{"title":236,"searchDepth":237,"depth":237,"links":238},"",2,[239,240,241,242,243],{"id":88,"depth":237,"text":89},{"id":163,"depth":237,"text":164},{"id":179,"depth":237,"text":180},{"id":195,"depth":237,"text":196},{"id":227,"depth":237,"text":228},"Four lenses every game developer needs to hold simultaneously — designer, developer, marketer, and audience.","md",null,{"sync":248},true,{"title":49,"description":244},"vVyGNgIGi9qU2D0TIDOjW5grsdntZxsb43VWpnE6fYs",[252,254],{"title":40,"path":41,"stem":42,"description":253,"children":-1},"Community-submitted feature requests for Parallax — vote, discuss, and submit your own.",{"title":53,"path":54,"stem":55,"description":255,"children":-1},"Five thousand years of play, from the temples of ancient Egypt to the bedroom studios of the indie era.",1781007575201]