Skill: stanestane/game-design-ideal-outcome-backcasting (version 1.0.0)

--- name: game-design-ideal-outcome-backcasting description: Start from the ideal player-facing result and work backward to the design steps, systems, and decisions required to reach it. Use when a team knows the kind of experience it wants but not how to structure the path there, when redesigning a feature around a stronger destination, or when clarifying what must be true for a concept to feel successful. --- # Game Design Ideal Outcome Backcasting Start from the ideal future and work backward. Use this skill when the end-state is easier to imagine than the path to reach it. Treat the ideal outcome as a design tool, not a fantasy wish list. The aim is to define the best believable player-facing result, then retrace the steps needed to make it real. Read `references/family-conventions.md` when you need the shared conventions for this GROW-derived skill family. ## What to produce Generate: 1. **Ideal outcome** - the best believable player-facing result 2. **Required conditions** - what must be true for that result to exist 3. **Backward path** - the enabling steps, systems, and decisions 4. **Near-term priorities** - what must happen first ## Process ### 1. Describe the ideal future Clarify: - what the player experience looks and feels like - what success looks like in the feature or system - what makes this version meaningfully better than the current one ### 2. Identify enabling conditions Ask: - what must exist for this outcome to work - what systems, UX, content, or support layers are required - what assumptions must hold true ### 3. Work backward Retrace the path from the ideal state to the current state. List: - key milestones - prerequisite systems - sequencing dependencies - learnings or tests needed before commitment ### 4. Distill immediate priorities Separate: - what must happen now - what can wait - what should be prototyped or validated first ## Response structure ### Ideal Outcome - ... ### Required Conditions - ... ### Backward Path 1. ... 2. ... 3. ... ### Immediate Priorities - ... ## Fast mode - What does the best believable version look like? - What would need to be true for that version to work? - What are the first steps backward from that destination? ## Working principle A clearer destination makes the path easier to design.

path: references/family-conventions.md
content: # GROW-Derived Family Conventions

Use this family of skills as workflow tools for game design thinking and decision-making.

## Shared stance
- Prefer practical design movement over abstract theory.
- Keep outputs decision-oriented.
- Avoid pretending rough judgments are precise truths.
- When possible, distinguish player value, business value, implementation cost, risk, and strategic fit.
- Prefer several credible paths before commitment.
- Treat these skills as complements, not strict silos.

## How this skill family fits together
- **game-design-goal-framing**: clarify what the feature is for
- **game-design-option-generation**: expand the solution space
- **game-design-five-options**: force explicit comparison across several candidate paths
- **game-design-roadblock-reframing**: get unstuck when one blocker dominates thinking
- **game-design-ideal-outcome-backcasting**: work backward from the best believable future
- **game-design-transformative-reuse**: adapt or recombine what already exists
- **game-design-feature-prioritization**: choose what to do now, later, or not at all

## Recommendation
Start with the narrowest skill that matches the user's real need. If several apply, use them in sequence rather than collapsing everything into one bloated answer.

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