Building in Stages
A whole game in one request is hard to check and hard to undo. Build it in stages instead: one system per request, each play-tested and saved before the next.
Why stages work
- Each stage gets its own checks. Roflow's reviewer writes checks for one system, and they mean something.
- Each stage is a checkpoint. If a stage goes wrong, restore the checkpoint from before it and try again; earlier stages stay intact.
- Later systems build on working ones. A shop only makes sense once there is a currency that saves.
A good stage
- Does one thing a player can see ("add a shop", not "improve the economy").
- Can be checked by playing.
- Says what must keep working from earlier stages.
Example: a coin simulator
Stage 0: a playable base. Start from a Baseplate:
"Build a coin simulator: click to earn Coins, with upgrades and a HUD showing my Coins."
Stage 1: progress that sticks.
"Save each player's Coins and upgrades when they leave and load them when they come back."
Roflow cannot check rejoining in an unpublished place, so publish a private version and test leaving and rejoining yourself.
Stage 2: a shop and a game pass.
"Add a shop screen where players spend Coins on upgrades, plus a game pass that doubles Coin earnings. Keep clicking and upgrades working."
Stage 3: something to chase.
"Add a leaderboard that ranks players by total Coins."
Stage 4: a reason to come back.
"Add a daily reward that gives 100 Coins once per day."
Stage 5: polish. Only once the systems work:
"Dress up the spawn area and lobby, and tidy the shop and HUD so they fit phones."
Each stage is one message, one set of checks and one checkpoint.
Between stages
- Read the report in Progress before moving on. Fix anything that failed or stayed unverified.
- Start a new chat for an unrelated stage if a chat gets long. Roflow still knows the game: it reads it from Studio.
- Restore a checkpoint if a stage went the wrong way. See Games You Already Have.