Skill: stanestane/game-design-multiplayer-feature-audit (version 1.0.0)

--- name: game-design-multiplayer-feature-audit description: Audit a game, feature, live-ops layer, social system, or multiplayer concept for the quality and fit of its social design. Use when evaluating collaboration, competition, collaborate-to-compete structures, matchmaking, guilds/clubs, synchronous versus asynchronous play, realtime constraints, depth of social interaction, community formation, vanity/status systems, or how to add social play to a mostly single-player game. --- # Game Design Multiplayer Feature Audit Audit a design by asking what kind of social experience it is actually creating, for whom, at what coordination cost, and with what likely community effect. Use this skill when a design has multiplayer or social ambitions and you need to judge whether those ambitions are coherent, motivating, scalable, and well matched to the core fantasy of the game. ## Core principle Social design is not a checklist of features. A leaderboard, guild, chat channel, or PvP mode does not automatically create meaningful social play. Strong multiplayer design aligns player motivation, time structure, coordination demands, visibility, and community purpose. ## What to produce Generate: 1. **Audit target** - what is being reviewed and what kind of social experience it appears to aim for 2. **Social promise** - the core social fantasy or player promise 3. **Motivation map** - competition, collaboration, collaborate-to-compete, belonging, vanity/status, knowledge exchange 4. **Time and synchronization audit** - realtime, non-realtime, synchronous, asynchronous, or hybrid 5. **Social depth audit** - how deep the interaction really goes 6. **Community and status audit** - whether the system supports durable groups, identity, and readable prestige 7. **Risks / failure modes** - where the design is likely to break, flatten, or create friction 8. **Recommendations** - what to strengthen, stage, simplify, avoid, or postpone ## Process ### 1. Define the social promise State in one or two sentences what the feature is socially promising. Examples: - compete for rank and status against peers - cooperate with a small squad to solve hard encounters - contribute to a group goal while still pursuing personal goals - show off taste, city design, wealth, or mastery - let solo players feel the presence of others without hard coordination If the design appears to promise incompatible things at once, say so early. Common tension examples: - calm self-expression versus destructive PvP - casual mobile bursts versus rigid appointment play - individual authorship versus committee-driven collaboration ### 2. Map the motivation structure Audit the feature across these motivation buckets: - **Competition** - rivalry, ranking, domination, comparison - **Collaboration** - helping, supporting, coordinating, solving together - **Collaborate-to-compete** - teamwork in service of beating another team, club, faction, or cohort - **Belonging** - identity, membership, shared rituals, durable group attachment - **Vanity / status** - visible prestige, taste display, wealth display, proof of mastery - **Knowledge exchange** - teaching, strategy sharing, build discussion, optimization culture Do not just list them. Judge which ones are truly doing work and which are merely implied. ### 3. Check motivational fit Use a Self-Determination-Theory-inspired check: - **Autonomy** - does the player have choice of role, pace, route, or strategy? - **Competence** - can the player demonstrate mastery, improvement, contribution, or skill? - **Relatedness** - can the player meaningfully connect, compare, help, coordinate, or belong? Flag fake-social systems that mostly create obligation, admin work, or shallow compliance. Examples: - a guild donation button may create duty without meaningful relatedness - a giant anonymous global leaderboard may technically create comparison but fail emotionally - a cosmetic showcase may create status only if others can actually see and decode it ### 4. Audit time model and synchronization demands Classify the feature explicitly: - **Realtime synchronous** - **Non-realtime synchronous window** - **Asynchronous competitive** - **Asynchronous collaborative** - **Hybrid** Then ask: - how long does a typical social interaction last? - must players overlap in time? - what happens if one player misses the window? - does the audience/platform support this coordination burden? - is the feature mobile-friendly, session-friendly, or appointment-heavy? Call out time-model mismatch clearly. A socially appealing idea can still be wrong for the audience if it demands too much synchronization. ### 5. Audit depth of social interaction Rate the design using this depth ladder: 1. **Awareness** - others exist 2. **Comparison** - scores, rankings, visible collections, ghosts, showcases 3. **Indirect exchange** - gifting, trading, donations, borrowing 4. **Communication** - chat, pings, negotiation, requests 5. **Coordination** - timing, role division, tactical cooperation 6. **Collective strategy** - shared plans, doctrine, adaptation, team optimization 7. **Community identity** - durable groups, leadership, rituals, norms, reputation, belonging State where the feature sits now, where it wants to sit, and whether the gap is credible. Do not assume deeper is always better. More depth usually means more friction, moderation burden, onboarding cost, and design risk. ### 6. Audit competition design If the feature includes competition, evaluate: - leaderboard scale - intimacy of comparison group - freshness of score movement - reward brackets and goal density - fairness and matchmaking logic - anti-exploit / anti-smurf / anti-boost concerns - visibility of rivals and stakes - whether losing still feels legible and motivating Prefer emotionally legible comparison over giant anonymous ranking walls. Small groups, leagues, seasons, and visible rivals are often stronger than one global list. ### 7. Audit collaboration design If the feature includes cooperation, evaluate: - clarity of shared goal - role differentiation - visibility of contribution - whether casual or weaker players can still help - whether personal goals can also feed the group goal - dependency risk if one player flakes or churns - communication need versus communication tools provided Strong collaborative systems often let players pursue personal goals that still contribute to a shared outcome. ### 8. Audit community formation Ask whether the design supports durable social structure: - clubs, clans, guilds, alliances, squads - friend discovery and invitations - reasons to stay in a group - recurring cadence and rituals - visible contribution and group memory - discoverability of healthy groups - lightweight leadership roles or responsibilities Ask the blunt question: **Why would a player bother joining or maintaining this group?** If the answer is only chat access, habit, or raw rewards, call that out as thin. ### 9. Audit vanity and status Evaluate the status layer through four checks: 1. **Visibility** - can other players see the signal? 2. **Legibility** - can they understand what it means? 3. **Desirability** - is it aspirational? 4. **Fairness** - what exactly is being signaled: skill, taste, effort, money, tenure, luck? Common status surfaces: - ranks and leagues - trophies and seasonal records - rare cosmetics - city/base/avatar/profile display - titles and badges - featured placements and judged showcases Vanity systems are weak when they are private, unreadable, or disconnected from any real social surface. ### 10. Audit fit for mostly single-player games When the design adds social play to a mostly solo experience, ask: - what player behaviors already suggest social demand? - what social fantasy naturally fits the core loop? - what part of the fantasy should remain personal and unshared? - should the first social layer be comparison, exchange, clubs, judged showcases, or direct PvP? - is the design trying to force deep collaboration onto a fantasy built around individual authorship or control? Be skeptical of bolted-on realtime multiplayer when the core fantasy is solitary mastery, self-expression, or authorship. A safer migration path often goes: 1. observe others 2. compare with others 3. exchange with others 4. group with others 5. collaborate to compete 6. only then add tightly synchronized modes if the audience proves it wants them ### 11. Diagnose failure patterns Common failure shapes: - **social wallpaper** - many social features, little actual social meaning - **coordination overkill** - audience asked for more synchronization than it can sustain - **status fog** - prestige exists but players cannot read or value it - **guild shell** - groups exist but have no real purpose - **comparison numbness** - ranks exist but movement feels emotionally meaningless - **solo fantasy violation** - the social layer damages the core fantasy instead of extending it - **high-friction collaboration** - teamwork exists but the cost of organizing it is too high - **shallow relatedness** - players are adjacent, not meaningfully connected ### 12. Convert findings into actions For each major issue, specify: - **Issue** - **Why it hurts** - **What kind of player it hurts most** - **Suggested change** - **Expected effect** ## Response structure ### Audit Target - ... ### Social Promise - ... ### Motivation Map - Competition: ... - Collaboration: ... - Collaborate-to-compete: ... - Belonging: ... - Vanity / status: ... - Knowledge exchange: ... ### Time and Synchronization Audit - ... ### Social Depth Audit - Current depth: ... - Intended depth: ... - Gap: ... ### Community and Status Audit - ... ### Risks / Failure Modes 1. ... 2. ... 3. ... ### Recommendations - Do now: ... - Do later: ... - Avoid: ... ## Fast mode Use this quick pass when speed matters: - what social fantasy is this actually selling? - is it mostly competition, collaboration, or collaborate-to-compete? - does the time model fit the audience? - how deep is the social interaction really? - why would players stay in a group? - what visible status or prestige does the system create? - what is the single biggest mismatch or risk? ## References Read these when useful: - `references/social-design-dimensions.md` for the deeper multiplayer audit checklist and sharper prompts ## Working principle Strong multiplayer design does not merely place players near each other. It creates meaningful comparison, contribution, coordination, recognition, or belonging at a coordination cost the audience is actually willing to pay.

path: references/social-design-dimensions.md
content: # Social design dimensions

Use this file when the user wants a denser rubric, sharper prompts, or a more systematic multiplayer audit.

## 1. Motivation matrix

For each feature, score low / medium / high and justify briefly.

- **Competition** - compare, beat, rank above, dominate
- **Collaboration** - help, support, solve together
- **Collaborate-to-compete** - coordinate within a group to defeat another group or cohort
- **Belonging** - identity, attachment, membership, shared ritual
- **Status** - prestige others can read
- **Vanity** - taste, wealth, authorship, or style on display
- **Knowledge exchange** - guides, strategy sharing, doctrine, teaching

Ask:
- which motivation is actually carrying the feature?
- which is merely cosmetic?
- which player segment is most likely to care?

## 2. Time and coordination rubric

Check:
- minimum players needed
- overlap in time required or not required
- session length expectation
- latency sensitivity
- whether the feature is burst-friendly or appointment-heavy
- what happens when one participant misses a step
- whether the feature supports 2-minute, 10-minute, and 30-minute participation bands

Warning signs:
- mobile audience asked to coordinate like a raid team
- one absent player collapses the whole structure
- feature marketed as casual but behaves like shift work
- social reward requires too much scheduling overhead

## 3. Social depth prompts

Ask:
- are players merely visible to each other, or meaningfully affecting each other?
- can they exchange value?
- can they express intent?
- can they negotiate or request help?
- can they divide labor?
- can they build trust, reputation, or norms over time?
- can they admire, envy, or learn from each other?

## 4. Competition prompts

Evaluate:
- scale of comparison group
- freshness of movement on the board
- fairness of matchmaking or seeding
- reward ladder and aspiration structure
- whether top-end status is reachable, reset, or permanently locked away
- whether the format creates meaningful rivals
- whether failure teaches or only humiliates

Typical fixes:
- shrink comparison groups
- add leagues or brackets
- shorten round cadence
- increase score feedback frequency
- make immediate rivals more visible

## 5. Collaboration prompts

Evaluate:
- clarity of shared goal
- role differentiation
- contribution visibility
- tolerance for absences or churn
- whether weak/casual players can still help
- whether veterans can mentor newer players
- whether communication tools match the coordination problem

Typical fixes:
- let personal progress also feed group progress
- reduce exact coordination requirements
- show contribution clearly
- remove single points of failure

## 6. Community prompts

Check:
- onboarding into groups
- reasons to remain in a group
- rituals, cadence, recurring events
- group history, memory, or identity
- discoverability of good groups
- leadership roles, social hierarchy, governance
- moderation, abuse handling, conflict risk

Strong signs:
- players return because of the people, not only the reward
- groups produce stories, traditions, doctrine, or shared identity
- contribution is visible and socially acknowledged

## 7. Vanity and status prompts

Check whether the design supports:
- **taste display** - decoration, city/base layout, loadout curation, composition
- **mastery display** - difficult cosmetics, titles, ratings, trophies
- **tenure display** - season history, legacy badges, old-event proof
- **wealth display** - rare items, premium cosmetics, abundance signals
- **social proof** - likes, endorsements, featured placement, group rank

Failure modes:
- players cannot see the signal
- players see it but cannot decode it
- everything is monetized, so nothing means much
- status loops humiliate the majority without offering reachable aspiration

## 8. Single-player-to-social migration prompts

Use when a game is adding social layers after launch or onto a mostly solo concept.

Ask:
- what emergent social behavior already exists outside the game?
- what are players already comparing, sharing, trading, or showing off?
- what part of the fantasy is too personal to turn into committee play?
- is direct PvP actually needed?
- would judged showcases, leagues, exchange, or club goals fit better first?

Safer migration pattern:
1. awareness and visitation
2. comparison and judged display
3. exchange and trade
4. groups and identity
5. collaborate-to-compete
6. tightly synchronized modes only if proven necessary


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