# Building Game: game blueprint

Version 0.2 · 28 September 2026 · Working design, not a validated construction manual

## The experience

Build a cabin in a convincing wooded landscape, beginning with a decision about whether land is suitable and ending with a tested, finished home. Learn what must happen, why it matters, who can help, and what the project demands in money, time, and personal effort. The ultimate learning outcome is an informed answer to: “Is building my own cabin for me?”

The atmosphere should preserve the appeal of the dream: exploring the woods, choosing a view, watching the structure emerge, hearing rain on a completed roof, and turning on the lights for the first evening. Learning and project management should strengthen that experience.

## Confirmed requirements

- Guided Build takes approximately 45–60 minutes, offers limited meaningful choices, and guarantees a viable route to completion.
- Your Own Build is a longer, saveable project with greater freedom and responsibility.
- Fundamental components and processes must be represented. Repetitive work may be accelerated after its purpose and method are demonstrated.
- Invented experts have different experience, prices, availability, and approaches to working with an owner-builder.
- Budget, schedule, weather, and external pressures interact.
- Sources support the educational content; references remain traceable.
- Visual ambition is a polished 3D experience at least comparable to the user's PlayStation 3 benchmark. This is a target to demonstrate in a playable sample, not a delivered quality claim.

- Desktop web browsers and mobile play on iPhone and Android are confirmed targets. The working delivery approach is browser-first, with native app-store distribution undecided.
- The setting is the North Cascades; the cabin includes permanent stairs to a loft. These supersede the earlier generic setting and single-story-only proposal.

## Working first scenario

These are proposed production boundaries, not user-approved building specifications.

| Decision | Working assumption | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Fictional private parcel in the North Cascades of Washington, Pacific Northwest | User-selected home-region setting; elevation and jurisdiction still to be chosen |
| Regulatory basis | One actual jurisdiction, selected before technical rules are finalized | Keeps permissions and requirements internally consistent |
| Cabin | Roughly 600-square-foot main floor, one bathroom, and a loft reached by permanent stairs; simple rectangular footprint | User-requested loft adds stairs, guards, headroom, floor-opening coordination, and structural lessons; total area and loft use remain open |
| Structure | Platform wood framing with a structurally designed loft and a gable roof that accommodates its headroom | Roof and loft support must be designed together; do not assume standard trusses leave usable loft space |
| Foundation | One reviewed concrete stem-wall/crawlspace assembly with a wood floor | Makes foundation-to-floor connections visible; climate and site suitability still require review |
| Enclosure | One complete, climate-appropriate wall/roof/foundation assembly | Avoids mixing incompatible details from different references |
| Services | Grid electricity, a private well, permitted onsite wastewater, electric heating and hot water, mechanical ventilation | Teaches rural infrastructure; equipment and sizing are unresolved |
| Time pressure | Begin in early summer; target weather-tightness before winter | Separates weather protection from final occupancy |
| Land | Three fictional parcels within a larger explorable map | Creates useful comparison without generating an unbounded world |

The map should communicate a large region while concentrating detailed ground-level work in the three candidate sites and the chosen construction area. Foundation alternatives, log construction, off-grid power, fireplaces, and other climates are future scenarios. They may be explained in the guide without suggesting the first scenario teaches their complete construction.

## Modes

| System | Guided Build | Your Own Build |
|---|---|---|
| Land | Three candidates; investigations reveal issues before purchase | More uncertainty; player chooses investigations and purchase timing |
| Design | Curated alternatives that fit a viable plan | Broader choices within supported assemblies |
| Experts | Vetted offers and guided comparison | Player evaluates scope, suitability, timing, and coordination |
| Money | Balanced allowance; previews prevent unrecoverable commitments | Estimates, quotes, commitments, payments, and contingency |
| Mistakes | Explain and redirect; optional reversible consequence previews | Plausible rework, delay, substitutions, or protected pause |
| Calendar | Accelerated work; a few authored disruptions | Dependency and resource scheduling over multiple sessions |
| Help | Proactive mentor | Selectable proactive advice, warnings, or help on request |
| Completion | Everyone reaches a viable finished cabin | Complete, revise scope, seek funds, or preserve and pause the project |

Guided protection must still teach judgment. An unsuitable location triggers a runoff visualization and an explanation, followed by viable choices. It does not silently snap the cabin into the right position. Advanced mode never requires deliberate hazardous tool operation; commissioning qualified work is a valid player action.

## Core interaction

Each work package follows: observe → investigate → choose → commit → see work occur → inspect → understand the result.

An interaction should combine a decision with a visible change. Examples include marking retained trees, comparing quotes, arranging a foundation cutaway, routing service zones without conflicting with structural members, or identifying an incomplete water-control detail. Short optional explanation cards replace mandatory long reading sessions.

Use three camera contexts: regional map, walkable site, and inspectable cutaway. Selecting an element highlights its name, purpose, dependencies, interfaces, responsible trade, and sources. Camera transitions preserve the player's sense of where the element sits in the actual cabin.

Complete one representative assembly at a useful scale, then show the rest being completed in a labeled time-lapse. Components remain selectable afterward. A time-lapse must show the intermediate states; it cannot turn bare framing into a finished wall in a single unexplained jump.

## Guided pacing

| Phase | Minutes | Main experience |
|---|---:|---|
| Land and feasibility | 9 | Compare sites; commission investigations; establish a viable building area |
| Design, team, and budget | 7 | Select a plan; compare expert scope; reserve infrastructure and contingency funds |
| Site preparation | 6 | Access, protection, clearing, debris, topsoil, and erosion planning |
| Earthworks and foundation | 7 | Layout, ground conditions, assembly, review gates, drainage, and backfill readiness |
| Framing and dry-in | 10 | Floor, wall, roof, connections, openings, and weather protection |
| Services and rough inspections | 8 | Follow water, wastewater, electricity, heating, and ventilation through the home |
| Insulation and finishes | 7 | Verify hidden work; complete thermal layers, surfaces, fixtures, and exterior details |
| Commissioning and first night | 4 | Test, resolve defects, review effort and costs, occupy after required approvals |
| **Core route** | **58** | Optional deep dives pause the pacing target |

These are initial design budgets, not measured playtest results. Aim for roughly 24–30 primary interactions plus short visual demonstrations. The curriculum contains more topics than primary interactions: related topics appear together in a coherent work package. If novices cannot explain the important concepts after a one-hour run, simplify controls and repeated actions before removing fundamentals.

## Experts and supporting characters

Names and biographies are fictional. Numerical prices are intentionally unset until the scenario's cost model exists.

| Character | Role and teaching purpose | Proposed tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| Rowan | Mentor and project coordinator; explains dependencies and referrals | Guided narrator; optional paid planning support in advanced mode |
| Lena | Surveyor; separates boundaries and legal records from visible landscape | Careful documentation; limited appointment availability |
| Dev | Soil/wastewater specialist; explains investigation and feasible service areas | Early consultation can change placement decisions |
| Mara | Excavation contractor with substantial wooded-slope experience | Higher quote and longer wait; broader planning scope |
| Eli | Established excavation contractor experienced on straightforward sites | Midrange quote; useful near-term availability |
| Sam | Newly independent excavation contractor with prior crew experience | Lower overhead; less experience on difficult ground |
| June | Carpenter with owner-builder teaching experience | Instruction takes time; helps player undertake suitable work |
| Tomas | Structural engineer | Reviews unusual conditions and structural changes; not a universal advisor |
| Nia | Electrician | Coordinates service, circuits, equipment needs, and testing |
| Luis | Plumber | Coordinates supply, drainage, venting, fixtures, and service access |
| Asha | Heating/ventilation specialist | Connects enclosure performance with comfort and fresh air |
| Inspector role | Independent authority performing scenario-specific checks | Scheduling constraint; cannot be purchased for easier approval |

The initial playable sample needs only Rowan, Lena/Dev in report form, and the three excavation offers. Later roles can begin as portraits and short conversations; unique fully animated characters for every specialty are not required to demonstrate the concept.

Experts sell distinct services: consultation, investigation, design, execution, or review. Quote cards show scope, exclusions, estimated duration, availability, relevant experience, and required preparation. Do not use price or years of experience as a universal quality score. A qualified newcomer can be right for a straightforward job; a costly specialist can be unnecessary.

Technical dialogue comes from reviewed lesson records. Characters can express uncertainty, disagree about tradeoffs, or refer a question to another specialty. They cannot generate unreviewed construction specifications merely to sound knowledgeable.

## Money and time

Track cash available, committed spending, paid spending, forecast remaining cost, and unallocated contingency separately. A signed commitment reduces available funds before an invoice is paid. Forecasts identify uncertainty rather than presenting every initial estimate as a fixed price.

Include land and transaction expenses, investigations, design and approvals, access, infrastructure, materials, delivery, equipment, labor, site facilities, waste handling, testing, correction, and closeout. Land ownership expenses and financing can be summarized in a carrying-cost category initially. Include applicable tax in the eventual regional model.

Material estimates derive from the selected design and assembly quantities. Show purchasing units, waste allowances, delivery, and quote validity. Display economic data's region and date. Any initial fictional values must be labeled simulation values, not market quotations.

The calendar records elapsed days, owner labor hours, booked trades, deliveries, equipment hire, review gates, and weather-sensitive tasks. Work advances after player confirmation; reading the guide does not consume construction days. Waiting for curing, an inspection, or a delivery can be accelerated but remains visible and cannot be bypassed by faster clicking.

Weather-tight and ready-to-occupy are separate milestones. Missing the first may require temporary protection and a revised plan. Missing final occupancy may mean extending accommodation costs. Deadline consequences must be explained in the scenario brief.

## External pressures and fairness

| Event | Advance evidence | Response | Learning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rain during preparation | Forecast and exposed-ground map | Stabilize/protect work or reschedule | Site protection is real work |
| Unexpected difficult ground | Investigation uncertainty and survey notes | Obtain revised advice/quote; change supported layout if feasible | Early investigation reduces, rather than eliminates, uncertainty |
| Contractor opening changes | Booking status and prerequisite list | Reserve, reschedule, or choose another suitable provider | Availability and readiness must align |
| Material delay | Supplier lead-time range | Order early, evaluate equivalent approved substitution, or wait | Design decisions affect procurement |
| Winter milestone approaches | Calendar and remaining-work forecast | Prioritize enclosure, add suitable help, or plan protected pause | Realistic recovery beats rushing concealed work |

Use authored events in Guided Build. Advanced scenarios may vary timing and conditions within documented bounds, with a reproducible event seed for testing. Avoid arbitrary catastrophes without evidence or plausible responses. Never reward avoiding inspections, concealing defects, or skipping required work to meet a deadline.

## Visual and audio direction

Naturalistic woodland, readable terrain, convincing scale, restrained interface, strong material textures, changing light, weather, and purposeful construction animation. Provide weather and lighting options that preserve visibility. Large text, captions, keyboard/controller-friendly selection, reduced camera motion, and non-color-only overlays should be designed from the start.

The cabin requires separately visible construction states: earthwork, footing, foundation, floor, framed walls, framed roof, sheathing, water-control layers, openings, roofing, services, insulation, lining, and finishes. This state coverage is as important as the finished model. Show representative fasteners and connections; permit repeated small hardware to share geometry or be explained through an enlarged detail.

Environmental sound and work sounds should communicate progress. The final night returns to a quiet atmosphere and offers a before/after view plus an optional winter/rain performance preview.

## Completion and learning checks

The closing report explains final versus initial cost, owner hours, major delays, professional contributions, unresolved maintenance obligations, and the decisions that most affected the outcome. Avoid a single score that implies “cheapest is best.”

Embed short transfer checks: choose a feasible site on a new parcel; identify a missing connection or water-control transition; explain why a trade cannot start; recognize that a quote excludes disposal; find the specialist needed for an unresolved condition. Allow guide use. Measure understanding, not terminology memorization.

## First playable sample

A proposed 12–15 minute sample covers two contrasted sites, one placement decision, an investigation result, three excavation quotes, clearing and access, a rain event, foundation assembly, and a final inspection view. It ends with a protected, inspected foundation ready for the floor stage; it must not imply the house is ready to occupy.

Required assets: one convincing woodland area, terrain overlays, marked access and staging zones, retained and removed vegetation states, topsoil/debris stockpiles, excavation and foundation states, representative equipment activity, cutaways, quote UI, budget ledger, and calendar.

Success criteria:

- A new player can explain three site-selection considerations and why the lowest land price is not the whole project cost.
- Every preparation/foundation curriculum topic is represented or explicitly identified as outside the sample; no missing topic is labeled complete.
- Expert choice changes at least scope, availability, or cost in an understandable way.
- Rain creates a recoverable scheduling decision.
- Money and elapsed time reconcile before and after every commitment.
- The scene demonstrates the intended visual standard in motion on an agreed target device.
- Independent technical review finds no unresolved critical instructional errors in released lessons.

## Decisions and production order

The user selected the North Cascades and desktop/mobile browser play. Resolve the specific jurisdiction, elevation, target device baseline, touch controls, loft use, cabin assembly, and reference artwork before committing to an engine and asset pipeline. Current files make no engine recommendation and no development cost or delivery-time promise.

Next: review this blueprint → select scenario anchors → validate sample curriculum → create visual target and interactive sample → playtest comprehension and pacing → expand to the complete guided build → add advanced responsibility and scenario variations.

This blueprint specifies proposed game behavior; technical claims must pass the source process before becoming released instruction.

## Platform and loft implications

Desktop mouse/keyboard and mobile touch must both be designed into the first playable sample. Test actual iPhone and Android hardware early for load time, memory, sustained frame rate, text legibility, touch targets, camera control, and resuming a saved project. Establish device tiers and graphics scaling before promising a uniform visual level. A desktop-quality screenshot is not proof of mobile performance. Native wrappers or store releases are separate decisions; no engine is selected yet.

The North Cascades scenario needs a specific elevation and side of the range before climate assumptions are fixed. Research local snow, water, wind, wildfire, access, and site hazards for the selected fictional parcel profile. Do not imply that land inside a protected area is freely available for development. The starting parcel is privately owned in the broader region.

The loft requires an integrated layout: stair run/landing, usable headroom, opening and edge protection, handrails/guards, structural load path, light, ventilation, and any occupancy/escape requirements. Whether it is a sleeping loft is unresolved. Exact geometry and legal classification require jurisdiction-specific review. The first visual concept must show the stairs and loft; the foundation sample must explain how those later loads influence planning. Add explicit inspection and construction states for the stair opening and loft framing rather than treating them as furniture. Guided pacing remains a 58-minute target pending playtest with the added topics.