# Game Development Playbook draft

Use the Game Bible template to record the project's decisions, working artifacts, and evidence. When resuming, read the current stage and identify the next decision or check.

When an idea is ready to build, fill in the [game spec template](game-spec-template.md) and use the [preset ticket list](game-tickets/README.md) to create the work in dependency order. Record evidence against the chapter’s completion checks.

1. Establish the player promise, initial scope, and rough scene roadmap. Record engine, audience, documentation, distribution, and potential update decisions at the level needed now.
2. Work through unresolved design decisions in rounds. Use the chat pop-out, lead with the recommended option and its reason, and offer realistic alternatives. Update the Bible and complete the agreed preparation between rounds.
3. Build a runnable development sandbox. Give mechanics, assets, menus, objects, and interactions repeatable scenarios with observable pass criteria. Record the results before assembling the scenes that depend on them.
4. Script, assemble, and playtest one scene at a time. Use Game Quality Control to record what players can do and to judge the release candidate.
5. Complete player help, the wiki, and release material using the actual game. Record distribution, pricing, and launch checks.
6. Show contributors how to start the game, use the sandbox, and verify changes. Run updates and DLC through the affected steps.

7. Set up intake before you need it. Decide how prospects, players, and customers can reach you, who replies, and how you’ll record what they say. Review the feedback after a playtest or release, follow up, and take the evidence that changes the next cycle back to Vision and Scope.

Use the [Game Bible guide](game-bible-guide.md) for the complete chapter instructions and examples.