AlterLab GameForge -- Project Onboarding Workflow

Every game project has a beginning, but not every beginning looks the same. You might be standing in front of an empty folder with nothing but ambition. You might have a thick design document but zero lines of code. You might be stepping into a codebase someone else started six months ago. This workflow detects where you are and gets you moving without wasting time on steps you have already completed.

The core philosophy: meet the project where it lives. Diagnose the current state, fill in the gaps, point toward the next meaningful action. Hollow Knight started as a game jam sketch. Stardew Valley started as a learning exercise. Undertale started as an EarthBound-inspired demo. None followed a textbook "correct" beginning -- but each had a moment where scattered ambition became structured execution. This workflow is that moment.

Purpose & Triggers

Use this workflow when:

• A developer says "I want to start a new game" or "help me set up my project"
• Someone joins an existing project and needs to get oriented
• A team wants a health check on their current project structure
• A solo dev has scattered files and wants to organize into a production-ready layout
• Anyone asks "where do I even begin?" in a game development context