| name | game-design |
| description | Comprehensive game design methodology including OGD (Organic Game Design), player psychology, mechanics, balancing, and retention strategies. |
| allowed-tools | Read, Glob, Grep |
Game Design Skill
Organic Game Design (OGD) + Practical Game Development Frameworks
Based on the indie gamedev knowledge base by Dmitrii Zaitsev (Galaxy Burger creator)
Table of Contents
- OGD Core Philosophy
- Game Types & Player States
- Five Life Spheres
- OGD Tools & Mechanics
- Core Loop Design
- Player Psychology
- Difficulty & Flow
- Progression Systems
- Retention & LTV
- Marketing & Positioning
OGD Core Philosophy
What is OGD?
Organic Game Design (OGD) is an engineering approach to game design that views games not as closed systems, but as organic parts of a player's life.
Instead of asking: "Is this mechanic fun?"
We ask: "What deficiency in the player's life does it fulfill?"
The Core Axiom
Humans are systems seeking optimal regulation (allostasis). Real life constantly disrupts this balance:
- Excessive Chaos (stress/anxiety) → too many challenges, information overload, unpredictability
- Excessive Order (boredom/stagnation) → too few challenges, routine, sterility
Players unconsciously gravitate toward experiences that compensate their current state and return them to flow.
Organic vs. Synthetic Games
| Organic Games | Synthetic Games |
|---|
| Address real psychological needs | Exploit brain vulnerabilities |
| Transparent rules, honest challenge | FOMO, manipulative loot boxes, artificial scarcity |
| Player feels restored after session | Player feels drained but wants more |
| Example: Stardew Valley, Tetris | Example: Predatory gacha, aggressive timers |
OGD Test: If a player closes your game feeling guilty ("wasted time") → synthetic.
If they feel fulfilled ("that was good") → organic.
Game Types & Player States
Games function as one of several tool types. They either reproduce reality (giving players power to overcome what they can't in life) or provide the opposite (a safe haven for recovery).
1. Shelter Game (Игра-Убежище)
Purpose: Reduce stress and anxiety, not entertain or combat boredom.
Target Player: Exhausted, low energy, constant anxiety. Needs rest, not new challenges.
Design Principles:
- 70-90% stabilizers (mechanics that calm)
- 10-30% stimulators (to prevent total boredom)
- Pleasant routine is normal and good
- Classical tension curves don't work here
Flow Curve: Like breathing — slow rise with periodic "exhales" into mild boredom, allowing players to rest and exit peacefully.
Examples: Stardew Valley, Unpacking, Tetris, LEGO, Minecraft (peaceful mode), PEAK
Scientific Basis (Active Inference): The brain is tired of life's unpredictability. It needs a zone where "Press X → Get Y" works with 100% probability. This makes "grinding" not a time-waster, but a form of digital meditation.
2. Simulator Game (Игра-Тренажёр)
Purpose: Combat boredom, shake things up, provide an outlet — not offer peace.
Target Player: Full of energy but feels powerless or incredibly bored. Needs challenge, not calm.
Design Principles:
- 70-90% stimulators (mechanics that challenge)
- 10-30% stabilizers (to provide breathing room)
- Reproduces life's pain but gives tools to overcome it
- Provides opportunity to fix what can't be fixed in reality
Examples: DOOM, Resident Evil, CS:GO, Dota, Among Us, Fallout
Scientific Basis (Eustress & Prediction Error): If Shelter minimizes prediction errors, Simulator intentionally creates them. The brain stuck in routine (excessive order) starves for novelty. Simulator provides useful stress (eustress), mobilizing the brain. Victory over this stress gives a powerful dopamine release.
3. Pendulum Game (Игра-Маятник)
Risk: ~50/50 split of stabilizers and stimulators. Can attract incompatible audiences.
Design Rules:
- Separate into clear phases/modes (day/night, raids, etc.)
- Don't mix stimulation and stabilization simultaneously if both require high focus
- Give players freedom to choose when to calm down vs. when to be challenged
💡 Pendulum games are like "2-in-1": essentially two games wrapped into one.
Examples: Dave the Diver (cozy restaurant by day, harpoons and sharks by night), Cult of the Lamb
4. Buffet Game (Игра-Буфет)
Many stabilizers and stimulators — "activities" and mini-games for every taste. Literal buffet: "choose what you want, pay only for entry."
Risk: High cognitive load ("what should I do next?")
Examples: GTA, Yakuza, Horizon Zero Dawn, Zelda series, The Witcher, most Ubisoft games
💡 Large AAA games are often like this: trying to cover maximum audiences to justify budgets and reduce risk. Indie developers often fail trying to make buffet games without resources.
Five Life Spheres
Where is the player's real-life imbalance?
OGD introduces 5 Spheres — major life areas where imbalance commonly occurs:
1. Cognition (Mind) 🧠
Handles: Information processing, learning, understanding, decision-making, logic.
- Excessive Chaos: Information noise, forced multitasking, lack of understanding, existential crises
- Excessive Order: Monotonous work, no intellectual challenges, sensory hunger, "everything is too clear"
2. Environment (Surroundings) 🏙️
Handles: Physical, informational, systemic space around the player.
- Excessive Chaos: Environmental pressure, danger, no personal space, discomfort, chaotic bureaucracy
- Excessive Order: Golden cage, sterile office, repetitive routes, no novelty, overly strict rules
3. Power (Conflict & Hierarchy) 😡
Handles: Conflict, hierarchy, safety. Interactions with others in power coordinates: fight or flight, self-assertion, status.
- Excessive Chaos: Too many threats — direct aggression, active bullying, toxic competition
- Excessive Order: Frozen activity — life too safe (no challenges) or systematically suppressed (hyper-care, authoritarian control)
Note: Suppression is treated with challenge, not rest.
Suppressed teens go to CS and Valorant, not cozy farms. In PvP there are fair rules. Results depend on you. This returns agency that was taken in real life.
4. Resources (Assets) 💰
Handles: Resource ownership: money, material assets, physical energy (life tone).
- Excessive Chaos: "Not enough to live on," "no strength to get up" (physical exhaustion), resource drain, poverty fears
- Excessive Order: "I have everything but it means nothing," "energy overflowing but nowhere to put it" (hyperactivity)
5. Society (Connections & People) 👫
Handles: Group belonging, empathy, connections. Humans are social animals: isolation feels like physical pain, but excessive connections also cause stress.
- Excessive Chaos: "People suffocate me," social pressure, conformity demands, boundary violations, trolling, bullying
- Excessive Order: "Nobody needs me," isolation, no emotional response, social vacuum, formal communication
Special Case: Existential Crisis & Nihilism
Sometimes imbalance peaks across multiple spheres, creating a feeling of total insignificance. This is NOT a 6th sphere, but a state of Zero Agency. Players in this state seek influence (meaning), not fun.
OGD Tools & Mechanics
Every person wants Agency (from Self-Determination Theory) — the ability to influence their life so it works and produces results.
Agency in games = player's ability to influence game systems through tools ("hammers"). Each toolkit works in two modes:
- Stabilizer — reduces excessive chaos, calms, returns control (reduces stress)
- Stimulator — reduces excessive order, breaks stagnation, energizes, creates challenge (reduces boredom)
1. Boundary Tools 🗺️
Native tools for balancing Environment sphere 🏙️
Stabilizer → CLOSE OFF. Isolation, walls, shelters, barriers.
Examples: Minecraft (base building), Tower Defense
Stimulator → OPEN UP. Exploration, going beyond walls, discovering new.
Examples: Skyrim, Subnautica
2. Structure Tools 📦
Native tools for Cognition sphere 🧠
Stabilizer → ASSEMBLE. Organizing, sorting, cleaning, reducing entropy.
Examples: Unpacking, Tetris
Stimulator → DISASSEMBLE. Solve, investigate, find connections and patterns, solve puzzles.
Examples: The Witness, detective games, complex puzzles
3. Efficiency Tools 🏭
Native tools for Resources sphere 💰
Stabilizer → SIMPLIFY (Optimization). Turning routine into automation. Get same (or more) result with fewer actions.
Examples: Drones, auto-battle, idle income, "vacuum" for loot, "auto-sort" upgrade
Stimulator → COMPLICATE (Over-result). Consciously building complex, cumbersome, or risky schemes to squeeze maximum from the game (min-maxing).
Examples: Redstone engineering in Minecraft, complex builds in PoE, overclocking in simulators
4. Power Tools 💪
Native tools for Power sphere 😡
Stabilizer → SUPPRESS. Domination, threat elimination head-on, active self-defense.
Examples: DOOM, action games, military strategies
Stimulator → CHALLENGE. Competition, challenging opponent, status fight.
Examples: PvP, rankings, leaderboards
5. Society Tools 🗣️
Native tools for Society sphere 👫
Stabilizer → GET CLOSE. Support, cooperation, care, empathy.
Examples: Stardew Valley, always-happy NPCs, support role ("healer")
Stimulator → MANIPULATE. Deception, intrigue, social stealth.
Examples: Among Us, mafia-like games, political simulators
6. Chance Tools (Joker) 🎲
Stabilizer → EVADE. Adapt, minimize risks, develop reactions to threats.
Examples: Roguelikes, survival games
Stimulator → RISK. Excitement, voluntary risk, high stakes.
Examples: Poker, loot, gacha/loot boxes
Tool Selection Rules
Main Rule for Non-RPG Games
DO NOT add both stabilizer and stimulator from the same category.
Example: Don't mix friendship/closeness mechanics with manipulation/deception mechanics in the same game.
Exception for RPG/Role-playing Games: Actively add both stabilizer and stimulator from the same sphere, as roles involve character changeability and complexity.
Tool Applicability Table
| Sphere | Native Tool | Compensating Tool | Synthetic Tool |
|---|
| COGNITION | Structure (Assemble/Disassemble) | Efficiency (stab), Chance (stim), Power (stim) | Power (stab) - Suppress: "less thinking, more shooting" |
| ENVIRONMENT | Boundaries (Close/Open) | Chance (stab), Efficiency (stab) | Structure (stab) - Assemble: turning nature into factory |
| RESOURCES | Efficiency (Simplify/Complicate) | Chance (stim), Society (stab) | Chance (stim) - Risk: gacha, monetizing friendship |
| POWER | Power (Suppress/Challenge) | Boundaries (stab), Structure (stab) | Structure (stim) - Disassemble: war as chess |
| SOCIETY | Society (Get Close/Manipulate) | Power (stab), Efficiency (stab) | Efficiency (stab) - Simplify: gamified relationships |
Core Loop Design
The 30-Second Test
Every game needs a fun 30-second loop:
- ACTION → Player does something
- FEEDBACK → Game responds
- REWARD → Player feels good
- REPEAT
Loop Examples by Genre
| Genre | Core Loop |
|---|
| Platformer | Run → Jump → Land → Collect |
| Shooter | Aim → Shoot → Kill → Loot |
| Puzzle | Observe → Think → Solve → Advance |
| RPG | Explore → Fight → Level → Gear |
| Shelter | Gather → Build → Admire → Relax |
Player Psychology
Motivation Types (Bartle Taxonomy)
| Type | Driven By |
|---|
| Achiever | Goals, completion |
| Explorer | Discovery, secrets |
| Socializer | Interaction, community |
| Killer | Competition, dominance |
Reward Schedules
| Schedule | Effect | Use |
|---|
| Fixed | Predictable | Milestone rewards |
| Variable | Addictive | Loot drops |
| Ratio | Effort-based | Grind games |
Cognitive Load & Retention
Why do players leave after 15 minutes?
Players have limited cognitive budget. New game = high load:
- Learn new rules
- Parse UI
- Build mental models
Solutions:
- Tutorial pacing: Introduce mechanics gradually
- Familiar patterns: Use genre conventions
- Clarity over novelty: Simple > clever in early game
- Dopamine vs. Serotonin fat:
- Dopamine fat = excessive stimulation without meaning (synthetic)
- Serotonin fat = comfortable routine that restores (organic)
Difficulty & Flow
Flow State
Too Hard → Frustration → Quit
Too Easy → Boredom → Quit
Just Right → Flow → Engagement
The Toxic Flow Phenomenon
Problem: Players can get stuck in a loop that's "engaging" but harmful.
Signs:
- Player can't stop but feels bad
- Compulsive behavior without satisfaction
- FOMO-driven engagement
OGD Solution: Design "soft landings" — moments where players can exit gracefully without feeling punished.
Entry Barrier & Inertia
Innovators (high cognitive resource) = Try new, complex games
Early/Late Majority (high entry barrier) = Stick to familiar patterns
Two Business Strategies:
- Deep niche (innovators) — Complex, hardcore, small loyal audience
- Mass market (majority) — Familiar patterns, low barrier, needs marketing push
Progression Systems
Progression Types
| Type | Example |
|---|
| Skill | Player gets better (Dark Souls) |
| Power | Character gets stronger (RPG stats) |
| Content | New areas unlock (Metroidvania) |
| Story | Narrative advances (visual novels) |
Pacing Principles
- Early wins (hook quickly)
- Gradually increase challenge
- Rest beats between intensity
- Meaningful choices
Retention & LTV
The LTV Paradox: Let Go to Retain
Traditional thinking: Keep player engaged at all costs
OGD thinking: Let players leave satisfied, they'll return
Soft Landing Protocol:
- Natural stopping points (chapter ends, day/night cycles)
- No punishment for leaving
- Easy re-entry (quick recap, no tedious loading)
Last Screen Test: What does the player see before closing the game?
- ✅ Achievement summary, "See you tomorrow"
- ❌ "Continue playing for bonus!" "You'll lose your streak!"
Age & Retention Trends
Data (Quantic Foundry):
- Competition motivation peaks before age 20 (men), then drops sharply
- Strategy motivation stays relatively stable with age
- Cozy games market grows with aging audience (money + no energy for stress)
OGD is the philosophy of adult gaming.
Marketing & Positioning
Genre & Setting Expectations
Genre = promise of mechanics
Setting = promise of atmosphere & theme
Dissonance Algorithm
- List genre expectations (e.g., FPS = fast action, competition)
- List setting expectations (e.g., cozy café = calm, safe)
- Check for conflicts (cozy café FPS = dissonance)
Dissonance can work IF:
- It's your creative intent
- You communicate it clearly in marketing
- You target the niche that wants this mix
Marketing Homeostasis
Don't ask: "What features does my game have?"
Ask: "What state does the player want to reach, and how does my game help?"
Examples:
- Stardew Valley → "Escape the office grind"
- DOOM → "Feel powerful again"
- Among Us → "Outsmart your friends"
Steam Localization Strategy
Key insight: Localization isn't just translation.
Priority languages (by ROI for indie):
- English (global reach)
- Chinese (massive market, different cultural context)
- Russian (high gaming culture, lower prices)
- Spanish (large audience, growing market)
- German (high purchasing power)
Cultural adaptation matters more than perfect translation.
OGD Application Protocols
Mode A: From Game to Audience
You have a game, want to find who plays it.
- List core mechanics
- Map to OGD tools (Assemble, Suppress, etc.)
- Identify which sphere each tool addresses
- Determine if stabilizers (Shelter) or stimulators (Simulator)
- Build audience profile based on life context
Mode B: From Audience to Game
You have an audience, want to create a game for them.
- Define audience life context (age, occupation, stressors)
- Identify sphere imbalances (Cognition chaos? Society order?)
- Choose appropriate OGD tools
- Design mechanics that implement those tools
- Validate with playtesting
Mode C: Diagnostics
Your game isn't working, need to find why.
- Check for tool conflicts (e.g., Simplify + Manipulate in same core loop)
- Verify Shelter vs. Simulator consistency
- Test for marketing/gameplay dissonance
- Measure cognitive load at entry
- Look for toxic flow patterns
Mode D: Marketing Without Gameplay Access
You need to market but can't show gameplay yet.
- Define core promise (Shelter or Simulator?)
- Identify target sphere (Cognition? Society?)
- Choose visual/narrative markers for that sphere
- Test messaging with target audience
- Iterate based on resonance
Anti-Patterns
| ❌ Don't | ✅ Do |
|---|
| Design in isolation | Playtest constantly |
| Polish before fun | Prototype first |
| Punish excessively | Reward progress |
| Add features randomly | Design with purpose (which sphere?) |
| Mix incompatible tools | Check tool compatibility table |
| Copy mechanics blindly | Understand underlying need |
| Ignore cognitive load | Reduce friction at entry |
OGD Limitations
Where OGD Struggles
- Pure narrative games (story-driven, minimal mechanics)
- Art games (expression over compensation)
- Highly experimental (breaking all rules intentionally)
- Compulsion-based retention (whale-hunting F2P)
OGD is descriptive and predictive, not prescriptive. It helps you understand why something works, not dictate what you must do.
Quick Reference
Diagnostic Checklist
OGD Mantras
"Fun is not designed on paper, it's discovered through iteration."
"Players don't want your game. They want a solution to their imbalance."
"The best retention is letting players leave happy."
"Organic games feel like food. Synthetic games feel like drugs."
Further Reading
For deeper exploration, examine these specific topics from the knowledge base:
- OGD Full Guide: Core methodology (2249 lines of depth)
- Safe Space Mechanic: Why Dark Souls feels cozy
- Cognitive Load & Retention: The 15-minute problem
- Balatro vs Durak Case Study: How to adapt cultural games
- Galaxy Burger Memory Trap: Postmortem of a mechanic
Credits: This skill synthesizes knowledge from the Indie Gamedev Knowledge Base by Dmitrii Zaitsev (Galaxy Burger creator), released under CC BY 4.0 license.
Remember: OGD is not about manipulation or dark patterns. It's about honest design that genuinely helps players regulate their state and return to balance.
