@jarrodmedrano/claude-skills 1.0.1 → 1.0.3

package/.claude/skills/game-feel/references/six-metrics.md

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+# The Six Metrics of Game Feel
+
+A framework for measuring and comparing how games feel, enabling meaningful analysis across different games.
+
+## Overview
+
+| Metric | Question It Answers |
+|--------|---------------------|
+| **Input** | What signals enter the system? |
+| **Response** | How do signals change the game? |
+| **Context** | What space gives meaning to motion? |
+| **Polish** | What effects sell the interactions? |
+| **Metaphor** | What expectations does representation create? |
+| **Rules** | What game rules affect moment-to-moment feel? |
+
+---
+
+## 1. Input Metrics
+
+### Physical Device Properties
+- **Ergonomics**: How does it feel to hold?
+- **Button quality**: Springy, mushy, clicky?
+- **Build quality**: Solid, cheap, premium?
+
+### Signal Properties
+
+| Property | Description | Example |
+|----------|-------------|---------|
+| **States** | How many positions? | 2 (button), 360° (stick) |
+| **Signal type** | Boolean or continuous? | On/off vs 0.0-1.0 |
+| **Sensitivity** | How much variance detected? | Analog stick precision |
+| **Combination** | What can be pressed together? | Chords, simultaneous inputs |
+
+### Signal Interpretations
+Raw signals can be interpreted as:
+- **Instant**: Up, Down
+- **Over time**: Pressed, Held, Released
+- **Duration**: How long held
+- **Sequence**: Button combinations over time
+
+### Input Space
+The total possible inputs at any moment:
+- NES controller: 8 buttons, simple combinations
+- Modern controller: 15+ inputs, analog sticks, triggers
+- More input space = more potential expressivity
+
+---
+
+## 2. Response Metrics
+
+### Mapping Types
+
+| Type | Description | Feel |
+|------|-------------|------|
+| **Direct** | Input directly sets value | Responsive but limited |
+| **Indirect** | Input modifies simulation | Expressive but complex |
+| **State change** | Input switches behavior modes | Enables move variety |
+
+### What Gets Modulated
+
+Response can change:
+- **Position** (teleport-like, stiff)
+- **Velocity** (speed changes)
+- **Acceleration** (force applied)
+- **Simulation parameters** (gravity, friction)
+- **Character state** (walking→running→jumping)
+
+### ADSR Envelope Measurements
+
+For any response, measure:
+- **Attack**: Time to reach full response
+- **Decay**: Time to settle to sustained level
+- **Sustain**: Level maintained while input held
+- **Release**: Time to return to neutral after input stops
+
+### Expressivity
+How many different outcomes are possible from the same basic action?
+
+Low expressivity: Jump always same height
+High expressivity: Jump height varies with button hold time
+
+---
+
+## 3. Context Metrics
+
+### Spatial Relationships
+
+| Relationship | Measure |
+|--------------|---------|
+| **Density** | Objects per unit area |
+| **Spacing** | Distance between interaction points |
+| **Scale** | Object size relative to avatar |
+| **Variety** | How much spacing varies |
+
+### Context-Mechanic Fit
+
+The key question: Does the space match the avatar's capabilities?
+
+- Jump height → Platform heights
+- Run speed → Corridor widths
+- Stopping distance → Gap before hazards
+- Turn radius → Corner angles
+
+### Collision Properties
+- **Friction**: How much does contact slow movement?
+- **Bounciness**: Do objects rebound?
+- **Passability**: What can be moved through?
+
+---
+
+## 4. Polish Metrics
+
+### Effect Categories
+
+| Category | Examples |
+|----------|----------|
+| **Particles** | Dust, sparks, debris |
+| **Screen effects** | Shake, flash, zoom |
+| **Animation** | Squash/stretch, anticipation, follow-through |
+| **Sound** | Impact sounds, ambient, UI feedback |
+| **Haptics** | Controller rumble patterns |
+
+### Measuring Polish Quality
+
+**Coherence**: Do effects tell the same story?
+- Big hit = big sound + big shake + big particles
+
+**Synchronization**: Do effects align with action?
+- Footstep sounds sync with animation frames
+
+**Proportionality**: Do effect intensities scale appropriately?
+- Light impact → small effect
+- Heavy impact → large effect
+
+### The Three-Tier System
+Many games use light/medium/heavy impact tiers:
+- Each tier has distinct animation, sound, and visual effect
+- Creates clear hierarchy of interaction intensity
+
+---
+
+## 5. Metaphor Metrics
+
+### Representation Scale
+
+| Level | Description | Example |
+|-------|-------------|---------|
+| **Abstract** | Shapes, no real-world analog | Geometry Wars |
+| **Iconic** | Recognizable but stylized | Mario |
+| **Representational** | Realistic depiction | Uncharted |
+
+### Expectation Setting
+
+Metaphor creates expectations about:
+- **Weight**: Heavy things should feel heavy
+- **Speed**: Cars should feel faster than people
+- **Friction**: Ice should be slippery
+- **Damage**: Fire should hurt
+
+### Treatment Consistency
+Does the visual style match across elements?
+- Mario: All cartoony = unified expectations
+- Mixing realistic and cartoony = confused expectations
+
+### Exceed vs Meet Expectations
+- **Exceed**: Feels better than it looks (good)
+- **Meet**: Feels as expected (neutral)
+- **Fail**: Looks better than it feels (bad)
+
+---
+
+## 6. Rules Metrics
+
+### Rules That Affect Feel
+
+| Rule Type | Feel Impact |
+|-----------|-------------|
+| **Health/damage** | Risk perception, caution level |
+| **Lives/continues** | Tension, stakes |
+| **Scoring** | Motivation for precision |
+| **Unlocks** | Expanding capability |
+| **Time limits** | Urgency, rushing |
+
+### State-Affecting Rules
+
+Rules that change available actions:
+- Power-ups granting new moves
+- Damage reducing capabilities
+- Context-sensitive actions
+
+### Risk/Reward Rules
+
+Rules that create feel through consequence:
+- High-risk maneuvers = high reward
+- Safe play = low reward
+- Creates reason to master difficult techniques
+
+---
+
+## Using the Metrics
+
+### For Analysis
+When analyzing an existing game:
+1. Document each metric category
+2. Note how they interact
+3. Identify what creates the distinctive feel
+
+### For Design
+When designing new feel:
+1. Start with desired feel description
+2. Work backward to required metrics
+3. Tune each category to support the goal
+
+### For Comparison
+Comparing two games:
+1. Measure same metrics for both
+2. Note where they differ
+3. Correlate differences to feel differences
+
+### For Debugging
+When feel is wrong:
+1. Identify the symptom
+2. Check metrics in likely categories
+3. Adjust and test
+
+---
+
+## Metric Interactions
+
+The six metrics don't exist in isolation:
+
+- **Input + Response**: How signals become actions
+- **Response + Context**: Whether avatar fits the space
+- **Context + Polish**: Environmental feedback
+- **Polish + Metaphor**: Whether effects match representation
+- **Metaphor + Rules**: Whether game logic fits the world
+- **Rules + Input**: What actions are meaningful
+
+The best game feel comes from all six working in harmony.

package/.claude/skills/level-design/SKILL.md

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+---
+name: level-design
+description: >
+  Level design consulting based on "Level Design: Processes and Experiences"
+  (CRC Press). Use when helping with spatial game design, environment layout,
+  player guidance, pacing, open-world planning, hiding linearity, themed
+  environments, procedural vs handmade content, play-personas, or evaluating
+  level quality. Covers horror level design, indie game practices, and
+  AAA open-world techniques. NOT for coding - focused on design philosophy
+  and player spatial experience.
+---
+
+# Level Design Skill
+
+A design consulting framework based on "Level Design: Processes and Experiences" edited by Christopher W. Totten (CRC Press, 2017).
+
+## Core Philosophy
+
+Level design is the **thoughtful execution of gameplay into gamespace for players to dwell in**. It sits at the intersection of programming, design, and art—implementing the game design vision while leading players through experiences without revealing the designer's presence.
+
+> "Level designers don't merely create things for players to do. They create situations that invite players to interpret who they are." — Brian Upton
+
+---
+
+## The Designer's Core Tasks
+
+1. **Guide without forcing** — Lead players through intended experiences while maintaining illusion of freedom
+2. **Teach through space** — Use environment to communicate mechanics, not tutorials
+3. **Control pacing** — Modulate intensity through spatial rhythm and stillness
+4. **Support narrative** — Align levels within overall game progression
+5. **Create consistency** — Establish and honor environmental rules players can rely on
+
+---
+
+## Quick Reference: Level Types
+
+| Type | Key Considerations |
+|------|-------------------|
+| **Linear** | Hide linearity through visual choice, narrative lures, environmental storytelling |
+| **Open-World** | POI density, anchor locations, subregions, orientation landmarks |
+| **Horror** | Anticipatory play, corners, one-way doors, visible-but-blocked escape |
+| **Procedural** | Horizontal vs vertical integration of handmade content |
+| **Indie/Focused** | Expand single core mechanic through level variation |
+
+---
+
+## Hiding Linearity
+
+Players must feel in control even when following a predetermined path.
+
+### Techniques
+
+| Technique | Description |
+|-----------|-------------|
+| **Coerced Progression** | Time pressure, pursuing enemies—no time to question the path |
+| **Environmental Signage** | In-world signs, color coding (Mirror's Edge red) |
+| **NPC Guides** | Companions who lead, escort targets who follow, enemies to chase |
+| **Narrative Lures** | Visible objectives, story hooks that pull forward |
+| **Forced Choice Illusion** | Block one path as player approaches, making "choice" feel organic |
+
+### What Breaks the Illusion
+
+- Arbitrary locked doors
+- Invisible walls
+- Flimsy barriers (yellow police tape blocking a superhero)
+- Clear artificial constraints without narrative justification
+
+**See**: `references/hiding-linearity.md`
+
+---
+
+## Anticipatory Play & Horror Design
+
+Horror isn't about jump scares—it's about **dread before the corner**.
+
+### The P.T. Framework
+
+- **Corners** — Hide what's ahead; players imagine horrors worse than you could show
+- **Ratchet Doors** — One-way progress; can't retreat, must face what's ahead
+- **Valve Doors** — Block progress temporarily; visible state reduces uncertainty about *if* blocked
+- **Visible Escape** — Show impossible exits to amplify feeling of being trapped
+
+### Key Principle
+
+> "Anticipatory play requires variety—the situation must evolve so players continually reassess. Static horrors become played out."
+
+**See**: `references/anticipatory-play.md`
+
+---
+
+## Open-World Planning (Burgess Method)
+
+Three living documents for large-scale world design:
+
+### 1. The World Map
+- Establish setting, scale, subregions
+- Plot anchor locations (story-critical, landmarks)
+- Include orienting features (visible from anywhere)
+- Plan natural boundaries (water, cliffs) over artificial walls
+
+### 2. The Master List (Excel)
+- Every location with X/Y coordinates
+- Columns for: designer, quest associations, footprint size, difficulty, encounter type
+- Scatter graph overlay on map image
+- Filter to visualize distribution patterns
+
+### 3. The Directory (Wiki)
+- Per-location pages with: status, goals, walkthrough, known issues, to-do
+- Category tags for filtering (by designer, by pass, by type)
+- Living documentation updated throughout development
+
+### POI Density
+
+The frequency of points of interest defines exploration feel:
+- **High density** = Theme park feel (GTA cities)
+- **Low density** = Vast, sparse exploration (Just Cause countryside)
+- **Non-uniform** = Urban cores dense, rural areas sparse (Fallout 4)
+
+**See**: `references/open-world-planning.md`
+
+---
+
+## Play-Personas
+
+Model player behavior before and after implementation.
+
+### The Process
+
+1. **Analyze mechanics** → Derive high-level behaviors from low-level actions
+2. **Create matrix** → Plot all behavioral combinations (2^n personas)
+3. **Select cast** → Choose 2-3 personas aligned with design vision
+4. **Associate affordances** → Link behaviors to spatial/ludic elements
+5. **Orchestrate** — Modulate which personas are viable throughout level
+6. **Validate** — Use telemetry to confirm players match expected personas
+
+### Example: Pac-Man
+
+High-level behaviors: Center vs periphery dwelling, early vs late pill eating, linear vs broken paths
+
+→ 8 persona combinations including "Fraidy Cat" (periphery, early pills, linear) and "Risk Taker" (center, late pills, broken)
+
+**See**: `references/play-personas.md`
+
+---
+
+## Themed Level Tropes
+
+Classic environmental themes with established mechanics and expectations:
+
+| Trope | Core Elements | Design Advantages |
+|-------|---------------|-------------------|
+| **Fire/Ice** | Environmental hazards, timing puzzles | Color variety, physics tweaks |
+| **Dungeon/Cavern** | Tileable textures, traps, treasure | Easily repeatable, expected danger |
+| **Factory** | Moving platforms, conveyers, gears | Repurposable mechanics, scalable difficulty |
+| **Jungle** | Vines, branches, water, wildlife | Fluid movement, colorful outdoor |
+| **Spooky** | Atmosphere, surprise, undead | Combines with any theme |
+| **Pirate** | Ships, treasure, melee, water | Action-ready, clear rewards |
+| **Urban** | Verticality, cover, vehicles | Real-world familiarity |
+| **Space Station** | Tech hazards, airlocks, zero-G | Sci-fi dungeon equivalent |
+| **Sewer** | Pipes, rats, rising water | Modern dungeon stand-in |
+
+**Mexican Pizza Technique**: Combine two tropes for fresh results (fire + graveyard, jungle + urban ruins)
+
+**See**: `references/themed-environments.md`
+
+---
+
+## Indie Level Design Practices
+
+When working with limited resources:
+
+| Practice | Description |
+|----------|-------------|
+| **Expand Core Mechanic** | One strong mechanic explored through level variation (VVVVVV) |
+| **Iterative Level Design** | Rapid prototyping, playtest early and often |
+| **Design Modes Not Levels** | Create systems that generate challenge (endless runners) |
+| **Embrace Emergence** | Simple rules, complex interactions |
+| **Object-Oriented Design** | Modular elements that combine predictably |
+
+### Qualities of Good Level Design
+
+- Maintain flow: challenge without anxiety or boredom
+- Balance freedom with constraints (illusion of control)
+- Enable mastery and emergent solutions
+- Balance risk and reward proportionally
+- Guide without being obvious
+
+**See**: `references/indie-practices.md`
+
+---
+
+## Procedural vs Handmade Integration
+
+Two integration models:
+
+### Vertical Integration
+Handmade thread runs through procedural content (FTL quest chains, Spelunky secrets)
+
+**Best for**: Narrative, puzzle sequences, coherent story beats
+
+### Horizontal Integration
+Procedural and handmade content interchangeable in same slot (Dungeon Crawl vaults, URR buildings)
+
+**Best for**: Ensuring specific gameplay moments, quality floors
+
+### Key Decision
+**Should players see which is which?**
+- **Yes** (DCSS): Visual variety, risk/reward clarity
+- **No** (URR): Quality perception, seamless experience
+
+**See**: `references/procedural-handmade.md`
+
+---
+
+## Level Evaluation Framework
+
+When evaluating a level design:
+
+1. **Player Guidance**: Can players find their way without obvious signposting?
+2. **Pacing**: Does intensity modulate appropriately? Are there moments of stillness?
+3. **Teaching**: Does the space teach mechanics before testing them?
+4. **Consistency**: Do environmental rules remain predictable?
+5. **Persona Fit**: Does the level support intended play styles?
+6. **Density**: Is POI distribution appropriate for the experience?
+7. **Linearity Illusion**: Do players feel in control of their path?
+
+---
+
+## Common Pitfalls
+
+| Pitfall | Symptom | Solution |
+|---------|---------|----------|
+| Obvious Rails | Player comments on being "on rails" | Add visual choice, narrative justification |
+| Empty Space | Players comment on emptiness | Increase POI density or justify sparseness |
+| Lost Players | Players wander aimlessly | Add orientation landmarks, environmental cues |
+| Played-Out Scares | Horror stops being scary | Keep threats evolving, limit exposure time |
+| Arbitrary Barriers | Players frustrated by blocked paths | Use narrative-justified or natural boundaries |
+| Tutorial Overload | Players skip to "real game" | Teach through safe early gameplay |
+
+---
+
+## Key Mantras
+
+- **"Hide the designer's hand."** Players should feel they're discovering, not being led.
+- **"Corners are always significant."** Transitions between visible and hidden create anticipation.
+- **"POI density defines feel."** Sparse = vast exploration; dense = action-packed.
+- **"Static threats become furniture."** Evolve dangers or limit exposure.
+- **"The illusion of choice is enough."** Players interpret forced choices as agency.
+- **"Mexican pizza your themes."** Combine familiar tropes for fresh experiences.

package/.claude/skills/level-design/anticipatory-play.md

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+# Anticipatory Play & Horror Level Design
+
+Based on Chapter 9: "P.T. and the Play of Stillness" by Brian Upton.
+
+## Core Insight
+
+Horror games are scary not because of what happens, but because of what players **imagine** will happen. The best horror level design creates **anticipatory play**—moments of stillness where players' minds race with possibilities.
+
+> "We don't win a scary game by overcoming its challenges. We win by allowing it to thwart us."
+
+---
+
+## The Five Principles of Anticipatory Play
+
+### 1. Invitation
+Create situations where players feel invited to engage with ambiguity. Visible choices with unclear outcomes.
+
+### 2. Elaboration
+Choices should have clear, elaborated consequences. If you take path A, you can imagine what might happen.
+
+### 3. Predictability
+Some outcomes should be predictable—players need anchors to build expectations from.
+
+### 4. Uncertainty
+But not everything predictable. The tension between knowing and not-knowing creates anticipation.
+
+### 5. Satisfaction
+Even in horror, players need to feel resolution is possible. "Maybe this is it!" beats "I have no idea."
+
+---
+
+## The P.T. Level Analysis
+
+### The Layout
+A simple L-shaped corridor, looped infinitely:
+- Entrance door (one-way ratchet)
+- First half: visible, safe-feeling
+- Corner: hides second half
+- Second half: where bad things happen
+- Bathroom door: sometimes open, sometimes locked
+- Exit door (valve): blocks or allows progress
+- Front door: permanently locked—visible escape that's impossible
+
+### The Corner
+
+The most important element in the entire game.
+
+**Why corners work:**
+- Binary: Can't see around them, then can
+- Analog: You can peek, retreat, approach slowly
+- Ambiguous: Anything could be waiting
+- Controllable: Player chooses when to turn
+
+> "Just walking toward the corner and making the turn is enough to fill us with dread. It doesn't matter that most of the time nothing at all is waiting."
+
+**Corner vs. Door:**
+- Doors are abrupt reveals (open/closed)
+- Corners are gradual reveals (continuous unfolding)
+- Corners allow hesitation; doors demand commitment
+
+---
+
+## The Four Doors of P.T.
+
+### 1. The Ratchet Door (Entrance/Exit)
+One-way passage. You can only go forward.
+
+**Purpose:**
+- Eliminates backtracking as possibility
+- Forces players to face what's ahead
+- Removes problem-solving distraction ("maybe there's another way")
+- Focuses attention entirely on dread
+
+> "The implacable barrier of the one-way door behind us removes the temptation to treat our situation as a puzzle to be solved."
+
+### 2. The Valve Door
+Blocks progress sometimes. Visually obvious when locked.
+
+**Why separate from ratchet:**
+- Clear visual state (locked or open) from anywhere
+- Player knows immediately if blocked
+- No wasted time checking
+- Keeps attention on *what to do*, not *whether blocked*
+
+### 3. The Bathroom Door
+Source of specific horrors. Sometimes open, sometimes locked.
+
+**The Bathroom as Intensified Corner:**
+- Everything bad comes from here
+- Opening it requires crossing threshold into darkness
+- Game trains players to fear it through early jump scares
+- When forced inside, door closes—player feels they're *hiding*, not *trapped*
+
+### 4. The Front Door (Impossible Escape)
+Never opens. Permanently locked. But always visible.
+
+**Purpose:**
+- Reminder that escape *exists* as a concept
+- Tantalizingly close, never achievable
+- Amplifies horror by showing what you can't have
+- Without it, players might forget escape is even possible
+
+> "If you want players to feel trapped, you need to tantalize them with escape routes."
+
+---
+
+## Repetition and Training
+
+### The Loop Mechanism
+P.T. sends players through the same corridor repeatedly. At first, this is boring. Then:
+
+1. Something changes (jump scare)
+2. Players learn: changes happen in second half
+3. Future loops: anticipation builds before corner
+4. The corridor itself becomes the scare
+
+### Training Dread
+Early loops establish expectations:
+- First half = safe
+- Corner = transition
+- Second half = danger
+- Bathroom = source of danger
+
+Once trained, the game can scare without doing anything. The player's imagination does the work.
+
+---
+
+## The "Played Out" Problem
+
+### Static Threats Lose Power
+
+The fetus in the sink:
+- First glimpse: genuinely horrifying
+- After 30 seconds: unsettling
+- After 2 minutes: just furniture
+
+> "The longer we're trapped in the bathroom with it, the less scary the fetus becomes—it's played out as a locus of interpretive play."
+
+### Preventing Play-Out
+
+1. **Evolve the threat** — Movement, change, escalation
+2. **Limit exposure** — Brief glimpses, then gone
+3. **Keep it ambiguous** — Never fully explained
+4. **Multiple encounters** — Same threat in different contexts
+
+### The Lisa Ghost (Done Right)
+- Appears in multiple places
+- Always brief encounters
+- Retreats into darkness before becoming familiar
+- On balcony: visible only if you look up at right moment
+
+---
+
+## Architectural Horror Techniques
+
+### Visible/Invisible Balance
+- Balcony: Not in normal sightline, but visible if you look
+- Creates paranoia about unseen spaces
+- When something appears there, retroactive fear ("it was there all along")
+
+### Darkness as Canvas
+- Black windows in corridor
+- Dark back of balcony
+- These are blank spaces for imagination to fill
+
+### Misdirection Objects
+- Coat rack positioned to look human from corner of eye
+- Cluttered surfaces invite close inspection (reducing peripheral awareness)
+- Environmental details that distract from actual threats
+
+---
+
+## The Metaphysical Claustrophobia
+
+Horror games thwart agency deliberately:
+- Movement is slow
+- Aiming is inaccurate
+- Weapons are ineffective
+- Escape is impossible
+
+**This creates "possibility space claustrophobia":**
+- Not just trapped in space
+- Trapped in *options*
+- All choices feel bad
+- No good move exists
+
+> "You feel trapped in a too-small possibility space. Your options for action all feel dangerous and uncertain."
+
+---
+
+## Design Framework for Horror Levels
+
+### 1. Create Stillness
+Reduce interactive demands. Let players think, imagine, dread.
+
+### 2. Hide What's Ahead
+Corners, darkness, closed doors. The unknown is scarier than the known.
+
+### 3. Establish Then Subvert
+Train expectations, then break them. But not too often.
+
+### 4. Limit Exposure
+Brief glimpses of horror, not extended encounters.
+
+### 5. Show Impossible Escape
+Tantalize with exits that can't be used.
+
+### 6. Use One-Way Progress
+Eliminate backtracking as an option.
+
+### 7. Make Blocking Visible
+If players can't progress, make that clear—don't waste dread on uncertainty about state.
+
+### 8. Interpret Actions for Players
+When players can't act, design so their inaction *feels* like a choice.
+
+---
+
+## Key Principle
+
+> "Level design is not merely a matter of arranging things for players to do. It's also a matter of constructing situations that encourage players to hold still while they plan or interpret."
+
+The scariest moments in horror games aren't jump scares. They're the seconds before the jump scare that never comes.