Gstack Game

Preamble (run first)

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_GD_VERSION="0.5.0"
_GG_BIN=""
for _p in "bin" ".claude/skills/gstack-game/bin" "$(dirname "$(readlink -f .claude/skills/game-review/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null)" 2>/dev/null)/../../bin"; do
  [ -f "$_p/gstack-config" ] && _GG_BIN="$_p" && break
done
[ -z "$_GG_BIN" ] && [ -f ".claude/skills/gstack-game/bin/gstack-config" ] && _GG_BIN=".claude/skills/gstack-game/bin"
[ -z "$_GG_BIN" ] && echo "WARN: gstack-game bin/ not found, some features disabled"
mkdir -p ~/.gstack/sessions
touch ~/.gstack/sessions/"$PPID"
_SESSIONS=$(find ~/.gstack/sessions -mmin -120 -type f 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
find ~/.gstack/sessions -mmin +120 -type f -delete 2>/dev/null || true
_PROACTIVE=$([ -n "$_GG_BIN" ] && "$_GG_BIN/gstack-config" get proactive 2>/dev/null || echo "true")
_BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
_TEL_START=$(date +%s)
_SESSION_ID="$$-$(date +%s)"
_LAKE_SEEN=$([ -f ~/.gstack/.completeness-intro-seen ] && echo "yes" || echo "no")
_TEL_PROMPTED=$([ -f ~/.gstack/.telemetry-prompted ] && echo "yes" || echo "no")
mkdir -p ~/.gstack/analytics
echo '{"skill":"gstack-game","ts":"'$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)'","repo":"'$(basename "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null)" 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")'"}'  >> ~/.gstack/analytics/skill-usage.jsonl 2>/dev/null || true
echo "BRANCH: $_BRANCH"
echo "PROACTIVE: $_PROACTIVE"
echo "GD_VERSION: $_GD_VERSION"
echo "SESSIONS: $_SESSIONS"
echo "LAKE_INTRO: $_LAKE_SEEN"
echo "TEL_PROMPTED: $_TEL_PROMPTED"

If PROACTIVE is "false", do NOT proactively suggest gstack-game skills — only invoke them when the user explicitly asks. The user opted out of proactive suggestions.

If LAKE_INTRO is no: Before continuing, introduce the Completeness Principle. Tell the user: "gstack-game follows the Boil the Lake principle — always do the complete thing when AI makes the marginal cost near-zero. In game dev: don't skip balance data ('we'll tune later'), don't skip FTUE design ('tutorial can wait'), don't skip controller support ('polish later'). These are lakes, not oceans." Then:

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touch ~/.gstack/.completeness-intro-seen

This only happens once.

If TEL_PROMPTED is no AND LAKE_INTRO is yes: Ask the user about telemetry. Use AskUserQuestion:

Help gstack-game improve! Anonymous mode tracks which skills you use and how long they take — no code, file paths, or repo names are ever recorded. Change anytime with gstack-config set telemetry off.

Options:

• A) Sure, anonymous is fine (recommended)
• B) No thanks, fully off

If A: run gstack-config set telemetry anonymous If B: run gstack-config set telemetry off

Always run:

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touch ~/.gstack/.telemetry-prompted

This only happens once.

Session Awareness

If SESSIONS is 3 or more: The user has 3+ concurrent Claude Code windows. For EVERY AskUserQuestion in this session, prepend a re-ground line:

[{repo} / {branch}] You're working on {current task}.

This prevents context confusion when switching between windows.

AskUserQuestion Format (Game Design)

ALWAYS follow this structure for every AskUserQuestion call:

1. Re-ground: Project, branch, what game/feature is being reviewed. (1-2 sentences)
2. Simplify: Plain language a smart 16-year-old gamer could follow. Use game examples they'd know (Minecraft, Genshin, Among Us, Celeste, Hades) as analogies.
3. Recommend: RECOMMENDATION: Choose [X] because [one-line reason] — include Player Impact: X/10 for each option. Calibration: 10 = fundamentally changes player experience, 7 = noticeable improvement, 3 = cosmetic/marginal.
4. Options: Lettered: A) ... B) ... C) ... with effort estimates (human: ~X / CC: ~Y).

Game-specific vocabulary — USE these terms, don't reinvent:

• Core loop, session loop, meta loop
• FTUE (First Time User Experience), aha moment, churn point
• Retention hook (D1, D7, D30)
• Economy: sink, faucet, currency, exchange rate
• Progression: skill gate, content gate, time gate
• Bartle types: Achiever, Explorer, Socializer, Killer
• Difficulty curve, flow state, friction point
• Whale, dolphin, minnow (spending tiers)

Completeness Principle — Boil the Lake

AI-assisted development makes the marginal cost of completeness near-zero.

• If Option A is complete and Option B is a shortcut — always recommend A.
• Lake: Full balance spreadsheet, complete FTUE flow, all input methods, regression tests.
• Ocean: Rewriting the engine, porting platforms from scratch, building custom MMO networking.

When estimating effort, show both scales:

Anti-patterns:

• "We'll balance it later." (Balance data is the cheapest lake.)
• "Tutorial can wait." (FTUE determines D1 retention.)
• "Skip controller support." (If target platform, input is a lake.)
• "Tests are overkill for a game." (Gameplay regression tests catch silent balance breaks.)

Search Before Building

Before building any game system, search first.

Three layers:

• Layer 1 (tried and true): ECS, A*, behavior trees, sink/faucet. Don't reinvent.
• Layer 2 (new and popular): Latest networking framework, procedural gen. Scrutinize.
• Layer 3 (first principles): "What if death IS the progression?" — prize these above all.

Eureka moment: When first-principles reasoning challenges conventional game design:

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jq -n --arg ts "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" --arg skill "SKILL_NAME" --arg branch "$(git branch --show-current 2>/dev/null)" --arg insight "ONE_LINE_SUMMARY" '{ts:$ts,skill:$skill,branch:$branch,insight:$insight}' >> ~/.gstack/analytics/eureka.jsonl 2>/dev/null || true

Completion Status Protocol

• DONE — All steps completed. Evidence provided.
• DONE_WITH_CONCERNS — Completed, with issues listed.
• BLOCKED — Cannot proceed. State what's blocking.
• NEEDS_CONTEXT — Missing information. State what you need.

Escalation: 3 failed attempts → STOP. Security/balance uncertainty → STOP. Bad work is worse than no work.

Skill Routing

Telemetry (run last)

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_TEL_END=$(date +%s)
_TEL_DUR=$(( _TEL_END - _TEL_START ))
[ -n "$_GG_BIN" ] && "$_GG_BIN/gstack-telemetry-log" \
  --skill "gstack-game" --duration "$_TEL_DUR" --outcome "OUTCOME" \
  --used-browse "false" --session-id "$_SESSION_ID" 2>/dev/null &