Game Design Failure Loop Audit

Audit what the game does after the player fails, and whether that loop produces learning, motivation, and retry energy instead of confusion, resentment, or collapse.

Use this skill when a design includes repeated failure states and the real question is not merely "is failure possible" but "what does failure do to the player over time?" The goal is to evaluate what the player loses, what they understand, what they retain, how fast they re-enter, and whether the failure loop makes them want another attempt.

Read references/family-conventions.md when you want the shared style, prioritization, and diagnosis rules for this game-design skill family. Read references/output-patterns.md when you want the preferred recommendation and minimal-fix structure.

Core principle

A good failure loop does not just punish. It converts defeat into renewed intention.

A strong failure loop usually provides:

• readable cause of failure
• meaningful lesson or hypothesis for next attempt
• tolerable cost relative to clarity
• manageable re-entry friction
• emotional permission to try again