--- key: lesson/scope-and-prototype type: lesson id: scope-and-prototype lang: en title: Scope and a testable prototype summary: >- Choose one question, limit the work, and decide what to do after evaluating a prototype. updatedAt: '2026-10-20' status: active url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/scope-and-prototype/' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/lesson/scope-and-prototype.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/lesson/scope-and-prototype.md' aliases: [] tags: - scope - prototyping - playtesting sourceIds: - source-22bf9a2b4f0b9218 sources: - id: source-22bf9a2b4f0b9218 title: 'Unity Learn: Prototyping' url: 'https://learn.unity.com/pathway/creative-core/unit/prototyping' verifiedAt: null relations: - type: requires direction: incoming label: Continue learning key: lesson/game-loop title: The game loop and time url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/game-loop/' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/lesson/game-loop.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/lesson/game-loop.md' - type: requires direction: incoming label: Continue learning key: lesson/agent-workflow title: Developing a game with an AI agent url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/agent-workflow/' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/lesson/agent-workflow.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/lesson/agent-workflow.md' - type: requires direction: incoming label: Continue learning key: lesson/level-blockout title: 'Blockout: test space before art' url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/level-blockout/' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/lesson/level-blockout.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/lesson/level-blockout.md' - type: requires direction: incoming label: Continue learning key: lesson/choice-cost title: Choice costs and situational value url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/choice-cost/' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/lesson/choice-cost.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/lesson/choice-cost.md' - type: requires direction: incoming label: Continue learning key: lesson/running-a-playtest title: Running a playtest with a concrete question url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/running-a-playtest/' jsonUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/lesson/running-a-playtest.json markdownUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/lesson/running-a-playtest.md - type: explains direction: outgoing label: Apply the principle key: mechanic/boss-fight-atlas--boss-telegraph title: Telegraph url: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/boss-fight-atlas--boss-telegraph/ jsonUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/boss-fight-atlas--boss-telegraph.json markdownUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/boss-fight-atlas--boss-telegraph.md - type: practices direction: outgoing label: Put it into practice key: practice/paper-current title: A current on paper url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/practice/paper-current/' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/practice/paper-current.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/practice/paper-current.md' - type: related direction: incoming label: Related materials key: lesson/world-to-gameplay title: From world rules to player actions url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/world-to-gameplay/' jsonUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/lesson/world-to-gameplay.json markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/lesson/world-to-gameplay.md' - type: contains direction: incoming label: Learning paths key: path/first-prototype title: Your first verifiable prototype url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/learn/first-prototype/' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/path/first-prototype.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/path/first-prototype.md' - type: requires direction: incoming label: Continue learning key: path/level-design title: Level design url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/learn/level-design/' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/path/level-design.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/path/level-design.md' - type: requires direction: incoming label: Continue learning key: path/balance title: Balance and progression url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/learn/balance/' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/path/balance.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/path/balance.md' - type: requires direction: incoming label: Continue learning key: path/game-verification title: Game verification url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/learn/game-verification/' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/path/game-verification.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/path/game-verification.md' - type: uses direction: outgoing label: Sources in the selection key: resource/unity-prototyping title: 'Unity Learn: prototyping' url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-unity-prototyping' jsonUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/resource/unity-prototyping.json markdownUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/resource/unity-prototyping.md placements: [] supersededBy: [] attributes: category: design level: beginner minutes: 6 endsAt: null provenance: >- Original gamemechanics.pro material. Check illustrative examples in your own project. license: CC-BY-4.0 codeLicense: MIT attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors --- # Scope and a testable prototype id: scope-and-prototype type: lesson key: lesson/scope-and-prototype lang: en status: active url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/scope-and-prototype/ Choose one question, limit the work, and decide what to do after evaluating a prototype. ## Prerequisites You do not need an engine or an existing project. You need an idea for a player action and an uncertainty that blocks the next decision. The outcome is a small investigation with a clear stopping point, rather than a list of everything the game might eventually include. ## The principle A prototype earns its place by reducing a specific uncertainty. “Make a roguelike” does not identify what to test. “Can a player distinguish two attacks from their warning cues?” describes an observable question. [Unity Learn: Prototyping](https://learn.unity.com/pathway/creative-core/unit/prototyping) introduces choosing a prototyping approach to fit a project's question. Limit the action, environment, and outcome. One enemy, one room, and two warning cues may provide the observations you need. Inventory, progression, and story do not yet help answer this question. Put them on a separate list so that returning to them is a deliberate choice. Distinguish an idea prototype from a vertical slice. Investigation may only need placeholder graphics and a manually triggered scenario. A slice demonstrates an integrated piece of intended production quality, so it has different costs. Choose the form that supports the upcoming decision. ## Practical example ### Can players read an attack? Write an experiment card before development: ```text Question: can players distinguish two attack warnings? Material: one arena, one enemy, two attacks, quick restart. Budget: one evening to build, then a short observation session. Observation: which attack does the player predict before it starts? Continue if: 8 of 10 predictions are correct after introduction. Otherwise: change one cue and repeat the exercise. Stop: after two variants, reconsider the attack designs themselves. ``` These numbers illustrate a preselected decision criterion, not an industry standard. Ten attempts by one person do not prove that a broad audience understands the mechanic. The result can guide the next change without replacing sessions with additional players. Show each attack separately first. Then vary their order and ask the player to predict the attack before it executes. Record mistakes, when the decision was made, and comments about visibility. If the author reveals an answer through a hint or explanation, mark that attempt as influenced by assistance. ## Common mistakes Do not change color, duration, audio, and trajectory simultaneously. You will not know which change helped. Do not add rewards to improve impressions of a warning-cue experiment. A positive comment is not evidence of readability; observe the relevant player action. Avoid rebuilding the prototype into an ideal architecture before deciding whether to keep the idea. Still preserve a reliable way to launch the scene and repeat the exercise. A short launch guide and known-limitations list cost less than recovering forgotten settings. When the time budget ends, record the result even if it is inconvenient. Continue with a concrete next question, change the approach, or stop pursuing the mechanic. A negative result can also reduce uncertainty. ## Verify it - The question fits into one sentence. - Every implemented feature helps answer that question. - Deadline and effort limit were written before work started. - The criterion measures behavior instead of compliments. - Test conditions and limitations are recorded. - The evaluation ends with a concrete next decision. ## Prompt for an AI agent > Turn this mechanic idea into one testable question. Propose the cheapest prototype, explicit exclusions, a time budget, and an observable criterion. First consider a test without code. Do not present invented outcomes as a completed playtest. After implementation, provide launch instructions and a blank observation template. ## Connected materials - Continue learning: [The game loop and time](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/game-loop/) (key: lesson/game-loop) - Continue learning: [Developing a game with an AI agent](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/agent-workflow/) (key: lesson/agent-workflow) - Continue learning: [Blockout: test space before art](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/level-blockout/) (key: lesson/level-blockout) - Continue learning: [Choice costs and situational value](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/choice-cost/) (key: lesson/choice-cost) - Continue learning: [Running a playtest with a concrete question](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/running-a-playtest/) (key: lesson/running-a-playtest) - Apply the principle: [Telegraph](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/boss-fight-atlas--boss-telegraph/) (key: mechanic/boss-fight-atlas--boss-telegraph) - Put it into practice: [A current on paper](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/practice/paper-current/) (key: practice/paper-current) - Related materials: [From world rules to player actions](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/world-to-gameplay/) (key: lesson/world-to-gameplay) - Learning paths: [Your first verifiable prototype](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/learn/first-prototype/) (key: path/first-prototype) - Continue learning: [Level design](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/learn/level-design/) (key: path/level-design) - Continue learning: [Balance and progression](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/learn/balance/) (key: path/balance) - Continue learning: [Game verification](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/learn/game-verification/) (key: path/game-verification) - Sources in the selection: [Unity Learn: prototyping](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-unity-prototyping) (key: resource/unity-prototyping) ## Sources and provenance Original gamemechanics.pro material. Check illustrative examples in your own project. - [Unity Learn: Prototyping](https://learn.unity.com/pathway/creative-core/unit/prototyping) (id: source-22bf9a2b4f0b9218) CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors