license: public domain CC0

Designing prompts for an AI‑driven interactive game‑design engine is a fascinating challenge — and honestly, one of the most promising uses of LLMs right now. You’re essentially trying to build a system that:

Takes a high‑level game idea from a user
Expands it iteratively and interactively
Enforces structure, completeness, and consistency
Produces a robust, implementation‑ready game design document (GDD)
And can later be used as a structured model for downstream generation (e.g., content, code, assets)

To get there, you need a prompt architecture that is modular, hierarchical, and stateful. Let me walk you through a practical blueprint.

🧩 1. The Core Idea: A “Game Design Operating System” Prompt

Think of your prompt not as a single instruction, but as a system of roles and rules that the AI follows throughout the entire interaction.

Your engine needs:

A. A persistent “Design Framework”

A structured checklist of what a complete GDD must contain. For example:

High‑level concept
Genre + target audience
Core fantasy + player motivation
Game pillars
Gameplay loop
Systems design
Progression
Worldbuilding
Characters
Narrative structure
Art direction
Sound design
Technical constraints
Monetization
Accessibility
Production plan

This becomes the north star the AI always refers back to.

B. A “State Manager”

The AI must track:

What sections are complete
What sections need refinement
What assumptions have been made
What contradictions need resolution

This can be represented as a JSON‑like internal structure.

C. An “Iterative Expansion Protocol”

Each step should:

Ask the user clarifying questions
Expand the design
Update the structured model
Present the next recommended step

This keeps the process guided but flexible.

🏗️ 2. Prompt Architecture: The Three‑Layer System

Here’s a proven structure for building such an engine.

Layer 1 — System Prompt (The Brain)

This defines the AI’s identity, rules, and responsibilities.

Key components:

1. Role

“You are a senior game designer and systems architect. Your job is to help the user develop a complete, structured, implementation‑ready game design document.”

2. Responsibilities

Maintain a structured GDD model
Ask clarifying questions
Ensure completeness
Detect contradictions
Provide options, not assumptions
Keep everything consistent

3. Output Format Rules

Always update the structured model
Always show the diff or updated section
Always propose the next step

4. The GDD Schema

Embed the full schema the AI must follow.

Layer 2 — Interaction Prompt (The Conversation Engine)

This defines how each turn works.

Example:

“Each time the user provides input, follow this cycle:

Interpret the user’s message
Update the GDD model
Ask 1–3 clarifying questions
Suggest the next recommended design step
Output the updated GDD section in structured form”

This creates a predictable, iterative workflow.

Layer 3 — User Prompt (The High‑Level Idea)

This is where the user says:

“I want a cozy farming RPG on a floating island.”

Your engine then kicks into the iterative loop.

🧱 3. The Structured Game Model (Your Secret Weapon)

To make the final output “robustly turnable into a working game,” you need a machine‑readable schema.

Here’s a simplified example:

{
  "game_title": "",
  "high_concept": "",
  "genre": "",
  "pillars": [],
  "core_loop": "",
  "mechanics": {
    "movement": {},
    "combat": {},
    "crafting": {},
    "economy": {},
    "progression": {}
  },
  "world": {
    "setting": "",
    "regions": [],
    "factions": []
  },
  "characters": {
    "player": {},
    "npcs": []
  },
  "narrative": {
    "theme": "",
    "story_arc": "",
    "quests": []
  },
  "art_direction": {},
  "sound_design": {},
  "technical_spec": {},
  "monetization": {},
  "accessibility": {},
  "production_plan": {}
}

The AI updates this structure every turn.

Later, you can feed each section into specialized LLMs:

Mechanics → code generator
World → procedural content generator
Characters → dialogue generator
Art direction → image model

This is how you get a pipeline that produces a real game.

🔁 4. The Iterative Loop (How the AI Should Behave)

Here’s the loop you want the AI to follow:

Step 1 — User gives input

“I want a sci‑fi survival game on a derelict space station.”

Step 2 — AI expands + asks questions

Updates the high‑level concept
Suggests 2–3 possible directions
Asks clarifying questions
Updates the structured model

Step 3 — User answers

“More horror than action. Minimal combat.”

Step 4 — AI refines

Updates pillars
Updates core loop
Suggests next step (e.g., “Let’s define the player fantasy next.”)

This continues until the GDD is complete.

🧠 5. Prompt Template You Can Use

Here’s a starting point for your system prompt:

SYSTEM PROMPT TEMPLATE

You are the Game Design Engine (GDE).

Your purpose is to collaboratively build a complete, structured, implementation‑ready Game Design Document (GDD) based on the user’s high‑level idea.

Your responsibilities:

Maintain a structured GDD model (schema provided below).
Expand the design iteratively.
Ask clarifying questions when needed.
Ensure completeness and internal consistency.
Provide multiple options when appropriate.
Update the GDD model every turn.
Suggest the next recommended design step.

Interaction Protocol:

For every user message:

Interpret the user’s input.
Update the GDD model.
Present the updated section.
Ask 1–3 clarifying questions.
Suggest the next step.

GDD Schema:

[Insert your full schema here]

🧭 6. Why This Works

This structure gives you:

Consistency
Completeness
Machine‑readability
Iterative refinement
A pipeline‑ready design model

It transforms the LLM from a “chatbot” into a design system.

grieferz

Sunday, February 15, 2026

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