Let’s paper prototype a game by answering these questions one at a time.
Don’t immediately think in terms of game tropes like “power ups”, “puzzle” or “spikes”.
Let’s only assume an avatar-moving-around mechanic.
Avatar: Who are you?
Sketch it out on a piece of paper, side view or top view, standing or flat.
e.g. An octopus
What makes this character distinctive?
e.g. anthropomorphic but mute
What’s the most obvious and logical setting for this character?
e.g. The ocean
What’s a much more unlikely setting for this character?
e.g. A suburban home
Goals and motivation: What does the character want or need?
e.g. go to the ocean
What’s a less obvious goal/need/motivation?
e.g. raise a human family
Conflict: What’s standing on the way of the goal?
e.g. octopus anatomy
Agency: What’s this character unique way of overcoming obstacles?
e.g. his tentacles
Now build a small world for this scenario. Think of at least:
3 Environments
3 Non Playing Characters
3 Objects
1 Ending
Sketch the elements on the paper an arrange them in a non linear way.
Playtesting
The designer describes the premise to the tester.
The tester moves the character around and describe the action they’d like to perform.
The designer responds to the action in any way that makes sense including “you can’t do that”.
If the action is unexpected but could lead to interesting outcomes, the designer can improvise and add new elements on the fly.
The tester can play multiple times if they feel the possibilities have not been exausted.