game-design-theory — Claude Code skill: game design theory
A skill that gives your coding agent a reference on game design theory: MDA, player psychology, rewards and balance. Useful when a game stops holding attention.
npx skills add pluginagentmarketplace/custom-plugin-game-developer --skill game-design-theory -a claude-codeWhat game-design-theory does
The skill hands the agent a reference on game design theory. The core is the MDA framework: mechanics produce dynamics, dynamics produce emotional response. Alongside it sit Csikszentmihalyi's flow channel between boredom and anxiety, Bartle's player types, and the three motivation drivers from self-determination theory.
Separate sections cover rewards and balance. Rewards split into intrinsic and extrinsic, with four scheduling patterns described. Balance is broken down by axis: mechanical, economic, difficulty, competitive. A troubleshooting block walks through common failures — players bored, players quitting, one strategy dominating everything.
The skill takes two optional parameters: framework (mda, bartle, flow, reward_systems) and game_type (action, rpg, puzzle, strategy, casual, simulation). It is bonded to the 01-game-designer subagent, so pairing the two gives tighter output. The license is proprietary, which is worth checking before you drop it into a commercial project.
What it helps with
- work out why players get bored mid-level
- line up the difficulty curve with player skill growth
- pick a reward type that fits a specific audience
- spot a dominant strategy and remove it
- state the emotional goal of a level before building it
Example prompts for the agent
- Break down my jump mechanic through MDA: what does it give at the dynamics and aesthetics level?
- Players quit at level three — check the flow channel and tell me where it breaks
- Design a reward schedule for a casual game, framework reward_systems
How to install game-design-theory
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add pluginagentmarketplace/custom-plugin-game-developer --skill game-design-theory -a claude-code2Manually: put the files in place
~/.claude/skills/game-design-theory/SKILL.mdCopy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/game-design-theory/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add pluginagentmarketplace/custom-plugin-game-developer --skill game-design-theory -a codex2Manually: put the files in place
.agents/skills/game-design-theory/SKILL.mdFor all projects use ~/.agents/skills/
1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add pluginagentmarketplace/custom-plugin-game-developer --skill game-design-theory -a cursor2Manually: put the files in place
.cursor/skills/game-design-theory/SKILL.mdCursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/
1GitHub CLI
gh skill install pluginagentmarketplace/custom-plugin-game-developer game-design-theory2Manually: put the files in place
.github/skills/game-design-theory/SKILL.md1Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add pluginagentmarketplace/custom-plugin-game-developer --skill game-design-theory -a gemini-cli2Platform CLI
gemini skills install https://github.com/pluginagentmarketplace/custom-plugin-game-developer --path skills/game-design-theoryManually: put the files in place
.devin/skills/game-design-theory/SKILL.mdThe legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works
Skills CLI (Vercel)
npx skills add pluginagentmarketplace/custom-plugin-game-developer --skill game-design-theory -a opencodeClaude.ai
Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways
Questions about game-design-theory
How do I install game-design-theory in Claude?
Run npx skills add pluginagentmarketplace/custom-plugin-game-developer --skill game-design-theory -a claude-code. The skill file then lands at ~/.claude/skills/game-design-theory/SKILL.md.
What does game-design-theory do?
It gives the agent game design theory: the MDA framework, the flow model, Bartle's player types, reward systems and balance principles. The agent leans on that when reviewing your mechanics or difficulty curve.
What parameters does the skill take?
framework (mda, bartle, flow, reward_systems) and game_type (action, rpg, puzzle, strategy, casual, simulation). Both are optional.
