Game Development

Orchestrator skill that provides core principles and routes to specialized sub-skills.

When to Use This Skill

You are working on a game development project. This skill teaches the PRINCIPLES of game development and directs you to the right sub-skill based on context.

Sub-Skill Routing

Platform Selection

If the game targets...

Use Sub-Skill

Web browsers (HTML5, WebGL)

game-development/web-games

Mobile (iOS, Android)

game-development/mobile-games

PC (Steam, Desktop)

game-development/pc-games

VR/AR headsets

game-development/vr-ar

Dimension Selection

If the game is...

Use Sub-Skill

2D (sprites, tilemaps)

game-development/2d-games

3D (meshes, shaders)

game-development/3d-games

Specialty Areas

If you need...

Use Sub-Skill

GDD, balancing, player psychology

game-development/game-design

Multiplayer, networking

game-development/multiplayer

Visual style, asset pipeline, animation

game-development/game-art

Sound design, music, adaptive audio

game-development/game-audio

Core Principles (All Platforms)

1. The Game Loop

Every game, regardless of platform, follows this pattern:

INPUT  → Read player actions

UPDATE → Process game logic (fixed timestep)

RENDER → Draw the frame (interpolated)

Fixed Timestep Rule:

• Physics/logic: Fixed rate (e.g., 50Hz)

• Rendering: As fast as possible

• Interpolate between states for smooth visuals

2. Pattern Selection Matrix

Pattern

Use When

Example

State Machine

3-5 discrete states

Player: Idle→Walk→Jump

Object Pooling

Frequent spawn/destroy

Bullets, particles

Observer/Events

Cross-system communication

Health→UI updates

ECS

Thousands of similar entities

RTS units, particles

Command

Undo, replay, networking

Input recording

Behavior Tree

Complex AI decisions

Enemy AI

Decision Rule: Start with State Machine. Add ECS only when performance demands.

3. Input Abstraction

Abstract input into ACTIONS, not raw keys:

"jump"  → Space, Gamepad A, Touch tap

"move"  → WASD, Left stick, Virtual joystick

Why: Enables multi-platform, rebindable controls.

4. Performance Budget (60 FPS = 16.67ms)

System

Budget

Input

1ms

Physics

3ms

AI

2ms

Game Logic

4ms

Rendering

5ms

Buffer

1.67ms

Optimization Priority:

• Algorithm (O(n²) → O(n log n))

• Batching (reduce draw calls)

• Pooling (avoid GC spikes)

• LOD (detail by distance)

• Culling (skip invisible)

5. AI Selection by Complexity

AI Type

Complexity

Use When

FSM

Simple

3-5 states, predictable behavior

Behavior Tree

Medium

Modular, designer-friendly

GOAP

High

Emergent, planning-based

Utility AI

High

Scoring-based decisions

6. Collision Strategy

Type

Best For

AABB

Rectangles, fast checks

Circle

Round objects, cheap

Spatial Hash

Many similar-sized objects

Quadtree

Large worlds, varying sizes

Anti-Patterns (Universal)

Don't

Do

Update everything every frame

Use events, dirty flags

Create objects in hot loops

Object pooling

Cache nothing

Cache references

Optimize without profiling

Profile first

Mix input with logic

Abstract input layer

Routing Examples

Example 1: "I want to make a browser-based 2D platformer"

→ Start with game-development/web-games for framework selection

→ Then game-development/2d-games for sprite/tilemap patterns

→ Reference game-development/game-design for level design

Example 2: "Mobile puzzle game for iOS and Android"

→ Start with game-development/mobile-games for touch input and stores

→ Use game-development/game-design for puzzle balancing

Example 3: "Multiplayer VR shooter"

→ game-development/vr-ar for comfort and immersion

→ game-development/3d-games for rendering

→ game-development/multiplayer for networking

Remember: Great games come from iteration, not perfection. Prototype fast, then polish.