Design Journal and Idea Bank
Key habits, structures, and prompts for capturing game design ideas each week.
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Questions Covered in This Set
10 cards to master
How many artifacts should your capture practice use, and what are they?
Two: the Journal (chronological, dated, messy thinking) and the Idea Bank (flat list of atomic, reusable, tagged ideas).
What is the weekly habit that links journal and bank?
Once a week, skim the journal (~10 minutes) and promote anything reusable into the Idea Bank.
What are the four lines of a journal entry skeleton?
Header (date + what you played), WHAT HAPPENED, WHY IT WORKED/DIDN'T, DESIGN HUNCH (with tags).
Which journal line do beginners skip, and why does it matter most?
The 'why it worked/didn't' line — causal guessing is where your theory of games gets built.
What three qualities must an Idea Bank entry have?
Atomic (one idea), portable (not tied to one game), and tagged.
Name the four rough Idea Bank categories.
Mechanics, Themes/fictions, Problems to solve, and Inspirations.
Why phrase mechanics as rules rather than vibes?
Rules can be put on a card and tested tomorrow, and they already contain players, actions, and constraints — the basis of a formal game model.
Is 'more tension' a valid bank entry?
No — it's a vibe. Rewrite it as a followable rule, e.g. 'each turn spend one of three tokens; spent tokens return only at round end.'
What is the 'steal one verb' prompt?
Extract a single player action (draft, bluff, bid, push your luck, place a worker) from a known game and write two ways it could work in a different context.
Why should a journal be honest about bad experiences?
A journal full of praise teaches you nothing; friction and failures are where design lessons live.
