game design failure loop audit

The problem

Players often quit games not because the challenge is too high, but because the process of failing feels unfair, tedious, or demoralizing. When the cost of failure outweighs the educational value of the attempt, you lose retention and player trust.

What it does

• Analyzes the full sequence from the moment of failure to the point of re-entry.
• Evaluates the balance between resource loss, information gain, and meta-progression retention.
• Identifies specific friction points like "dead time," tedious setup, or unclear feedback.
• Classifies the loop into archetypes like "Mastery," "Grindback," or "Shame" loops to ensure alignment with game goals.
• Provides a prioritized list of tuning changes for costs, telegraphing, and recovery pacing.

Why this beats prompting it yourself

General LLMs often suggest making games easier when they detect frustration. This skill understands that difficulty isn't the enemy, friction is. It applies specific game design frameworks to differentiate between "good" punishment that drives mastery and "bad" punishment that causes churn.

Use cases

• Tuning the run-back distance and resource loss in a Soulslike or Roguelite.
• Auditing stealth mission resets to ensure players understand why they were spotted.
• Evaluating the onboarding experience to prevent early-game bounce from simple mistakes.
• Refining puzzle reset mechanics to preserve the "aha!" moment without repetitive chores.

Known limitations

Does not perform math-heavy economy balancing or low-level code debugging. Requires a description of the game mechanics to be effective.