Skill: stanestane/game-design-creative-unblocker (version 1.0.0)

--- name: game-design-creative-unblocker description: Break game design creative block with oblique prompts, sideways reframing, and deliberately non-linear workflow moves. Use when a feature, mechanic, live-ops idea, UX flow, FTUE, economy layer, or prototype feels stale, overthought, equally uninspired in every direction, or trapped in circular discussion. Best when the team needs jolts, detours, provocations, and weird-but-useful next directions rather than another sensible framework. --- # Game Design Creative Unblocker Go sideways on purpose. Use this skill when normal rational design thinking has turned into sludge. The aim is not to produce the cleanest answer immediately. The aim is to disrupt stale thinking, challenge bias, and generate weird but salvageable directions. This skill is inspired by oblique strategies: prompts that do not solve the problem directly, but knock it loose. ## Working stance Be playful, mischievous, and slightly disruptive, but stay useful. Treat prompts as nudges, not commandments. Not every prompt will fit. That is part of the point. A non sequitur can still expose a better path. ## What to produce Generate: 1. **Stuck point** - what feels blocked, muddy, stale, or overworked 2. **Oblique prompts** - 1 to 3 chosen prompts 3. **Prompt interpretations** - what each prompt suggests in this context 4. **Sideways directions** - surprising design directions, edits, cuts, or experiments 5. **Salvageable next step** - the most useful thing to test, discuss, or prototype next ## Process ### 1. Name the stuck point Clarify: - what the team is stuck on - what has already been tried - what feels dead, circular, or overcomplicated - whether the problem is lack of ideas, too many half-formed ideas, or inability to choose ### 2. Draw 1 to 3 oblique prompts Choose prompts that create contrast, discomfort, or a new angle. Use the prompt list in `references/oblique-prompts.md`. If one prompt feels flat, draw another. If a prompt feels absurd but energizing, keep it. ### 3. Force interpretation For each prompt, ask: - if this were annoyingly true, what would it imply? - what would we do differently if we took it seriously for ten minutes? - what hidden assumption does it challenge? - what part of the feature becomes suspect, stronger, or newly interesting? Do not dismiss a prompt too fast just because it sounds stupid. ### 4. Generate sideways directions Turn the prompt into possible actions such as: - cut something - exaggerate something - invert something - randomize one decision - simplify aggressively - reuse an older idea - make the emotional truth more obvious - make the player reaction sharper, stranger, or clearer ### 5. Extract the salvageable move End with something practical: - one experiment to run - one option to expand - one darling to kill - one question to ask players - one awkward or embarrassing detail worth leaning into ## Response structure ### Stuck Point - ... ### Oblique Prompts 1. ... 2. ... 3. ... ### Interpretations - Prompt 1 means: ... - Prompt 2 means: ... - Prompt 3 means: ... ### Sideways Directions - ... ### Salvageable Next Step - ... ## Fast mode - What feels stale or blocked? - Draw 1-2 prompts. - What do they force us to notice? - What weird direction is actually worth testing? ## References Read these when useful: - `references/oblique-prompts.md` for the prompt deck derived from the PDF text and adjacent oblique-style moves - `references/usage-notes.md` for tone, facilitation guidance, and anti-patterns ## Working principle When a design problem refuses to move forward, stop pushing harder in the same direction. Draw a strange card. Disturb the pattern. Then steal the useful part.

path: references/oblique-prompts.md
content: # Oblique Prompts for Game Design

Use these prompts to disrupt stale thinking. They are not commandments. They are creative detours.

## Full prompt list

- REMEMBER THE PRINCESS IS IN ANOTHER CASTLE
- IT IS A HERO'S JOURNEY
- KILL YOUR DARLINGS
- MAKE A DECISION, EVEN A BAD ONE
- CHANGE ONE RULE
- SIMPLIFY
- CUT SOMETHING OUT
- GO BIG OR GO HOME
- SCOPE DOWN
- MAKE YOUR PLAYERS ANGRY
- IS IT VISCERAL?
- WHAT IS YOUR IMMEDIATE GOAL?
- MULTIPLY EVERYTHING BY TWO; DIVIDE EVERYTHING BY TWO
- GO CRAZY
- USE AN OLD IDEA
- STEAL SOMETHING FROM THE COMPETITION
- REMEMBER YOUR FAVOURITE GAME
- THINK ABOUT GARDENING
- ASK THE QUESTION YOU DON'T WANT TO ANSWER
- DO, DON'T THINK
- DO NOT USE YOUR FIRST IDEA
- ORDER YOUR OPTIONS ALPHABETICALLY
- PICK ONE OPTION AT RANDOM AND DEVELOP IT FURTHER
- USE A CLICHE
- CHALLENGE YOUR ASSUMPTIONS
- RECONSIDER THE IDEA YOU REJECTED
- TEAR IT ALL DOWN AND START ALL OVER
- WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THE PREVIOUS ATTEMPT?
- WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE?
- CAN THE GAME WORK WITHOUT IT?
- WHAT DO PLAYERS SAY?
- WHAT IS THE VALUE OF THE THING YOU ARE SELLING?
- WHERE DO YOU WANT TO BE IN SEVEN DAYS?
- HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE GOOD AT THIS GAME?
- BRAINSTORM
- ASK A RANDOM TEAMMATE
- DO IT BACKWARDS
- REJECT THE OBVIOUS CHOICE
- GO AROUND THE OBSTACLE
- MAKE IT HARDER
- DO A SANITY CHECK
- ARE YOU MISSING SOMETHING OBVIOUS?
- MAKE IT MULTIPLAYER
- MAKE IT SINGLE PLAYER
- MAKE IT TURN-BASED
- WOULD IT WORK AS A CARD GAME?
- CONTEXT IS THE KING
- DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS
- HOW CAN YOU MITIGATE THE RISKS
- DO NOT FEAR LARGE NUMBERS
- DO NOT FEAR COMPLEXITY
- ADD ANOTHER CURRENCY
- CAN YOU EXPLOIT THIS
- EMBRACE YOUR ERROR AS A HIDDEN INTENT
- ROLL WITH THE THING THAT WORRIES YOU THE MOST
- ITERATE
- CHANGE ONE THING AT A TIME
- SAY IT IN THREE SENTENCES
- SAY IT IN TWENTY FIVE WORDS OR LESS
- FIND THE MOST EMBARRASSING DETAIL AND AMPLIFY IT

## How to use the prompts

- Pick 1 to 3 prompts at a time.
- Prefer contrast over perfect relevance.
- If a prompt feels useless, ask what assumption makes it feel useless.
- Translate each prompt into a design move, not just a slogan.
- End by extracting one testable or discussable next step.

## Facilitation note

Some prompts are contradictory on purpose.
That is part of the method.
The point is not to obey the deck consistently.
The point is to disturb stale thinking until something alive appears.

path: references/usage-notes.md
content: # Usage Notes

## When to use this skill

Use it when:
- every option feels equally dead
- the team is circling the same arguments
- the prototype is technically functional but creatively flat
- the feature has become spreadsheet sludge
- the design is overthought, overexplained, or overprotected
- you need energy and movement more than neatness

## When not to use it

Do not use it when:
- the problem is simple and already well understood
- precise production planning is needed right now
- a clear audit or prioritization workflow would solve the issue better
- the team is too fragile to tolerate playful provocation

## Facilitation stance

- Stay playful, but do not become random for its own sake.
- Treat absurd prompts seriously for a few minutes before rejecting them.
- Use the prompt to expose assumptions, not to win arguments.
- If a prompt generates energy, follow it.
- If a prompt generates only fog, drop it and draw another.

## Common anti-patterns

- Turning the prompts into fake wisdom quotes
- Using weirdness to avoid making a decision
- Mistaking chaos for creativity
- Pulling too many prompts at once
- Keeping only the joke and not the usable insight

## Best ending move

Always end with one salvageable next step:
- a prototype
- a rewrite
- a cut
- a player question
- a stronger variant to explore
- a worse variant worth testing because it reveals the truth faster

Security scan verdicts — ClawScan: clean | static analysis: clean | VirusTotal: clean | SkillSpector: clean (LOW)