Guided Onboarding

The entry point for a new user. It assumes no game idea, no engine and no experience: it reads the project, asks where the user is starting from, shows what it assumes about the project, and names the one next step. It never runs that step itself.

It writes these settings to project.yaml, all through helpers, and only after an explicit yes: project.stage (with its legacy mirror production/stage.txt), modes.rigor and modes.automation. It never writes modes.review_mode or production/review-mode.txt, and none of the other knobs rigor fronts (modes.workflow, docs.density, qa.level, modes.story_granularity, team.size): a written value pins that knob over the rigor expansion, and a mirror file outranks it.

Ask with the question tool. Without one, list the options numbered and end your turn to wait. The question is the last thing in the reply: no path, note or advice after it. A skipped or dismissed question is not an answer: ask again in plain text.

The questions in Phases 2, 4 and 5 shape the project, so they are asked in every automation mode. The engine is not one of them: /setup-engine chooses it. Phase 6's last question follows a modes.automation already in project.yaml, per .claude/docs/automation-modes.md; with none set, ask it.

Phase 1: Read the project

Run bash .claude/scripts/project-state.sh and keep its rows. Do not show them yet; they check the user's answer in Phase 2.

Row	Use
engine, code_root, source_files	Is an engine set, and how much code is there. source_files of unknown means the code root could not be found: say that, never "no code"
concept	design/gdd/game-concept.md or design/game-brief.md exists
gdd_files, adr	Design documents and architecture decisions on disk (they set the stage in Phase 4)
prototype, sprint, milestone, story	Other existing work
origin_url	Contains donchitos/claude-code-game-studios, matched case-insensitively: the clone still points at the template repo, so a push or pull request would go there. A fork under another owner is the user's own
stage	The stage already recorded, if any

Ignore phase_inferred: it guesses from file counts, and a project with code but no design documents is not in Production. If the helper fails, say so and read the same facts by hand (engine in project.yaml, the two concept files, the code root's files, design/gdd/).

The helper does not report rigor or automation. Read project.yaml, if it exists, and note whether modes.rigor and modes.automation are set: a set value is kept, and its question is not asked (Phases 4 and 5).

Returning user (an engine is set and concept is present): ask nothing. Say the engine, the concept or brief found, and the review mode: modes.review_mode if set, otherwise the one modes.rigor implies (minimal → solo, standard → lean, full → full). Suggest /help for the next step, add the template-remote note if it applies, and stop.

Phase 2: Ask where the user is

Ask with the question tool: "Welcome! Where are you starting from with your game?" Options:

• A) No idea yet: no game concept; explore and find what to make.
• B) Vague idea: a theme, feeling or genre ("something with space", "a cozy farming game").
• C) Clear concept: the core idea and genre are known, nothing is written down yet.
• D) Existing work: design documents, prototypes, code or plans already exist.

Wait for the answer. If it contradicts Phase 1, say what you found once and ask again: D on an empty project ("this looks like a fresh template; would A or B fit better?"), or A with code on disk ("I found code in [code_root]; did you mean D?"). If no option fits, let the user describe their situation and route from that.

Phase 3: Route

Name the immediate next step only. The full path waits for Phase 6, after the rigor is known.

• A, no idea: starting from zero is fine. /brainstorm open explores freely; /brainstorm [hint] starts from a word or theme. Next step: /brainstorm open, or a hint if one comes to mind. Describe it as "turns no idea into a written design the next step builds from"; how long that design is depends on the rigor, so leave that for Phase 6.
• B, vague idea: ask for the idea in a few words, take it as it is, and name /brainstorm [their words].
• C, clear concept: ask for the concept in one sentence (genre and core mechanic), as plain text. Then ask: "How would you like to proceed?" Options: Formalize it first (/brainstorm [concept] writes it down) / Jump straight in (/setup-engine now, write the design after). The next step is their pick.
• D, existing work: say what Phase 1 found ("N source files under [code_root], N design documents, engine [X / not set]"). Next step: /setup-engine when no engine is set and there is no more than a concept; otherwise /project-stage-detect.

Then say: "I'll lay out the full path in a moment."

Phase 4: Show what you assume, then save it

Work out two values.

Stage. Paths A, B and C: Concept. Path D, from the Phase 1 rows:

On disk	Stage
no engine, or nothing beyond a concept (gdd_files 0)	Concept
gdd_files 1 or more, adr 0	Systems Design
adr 1 or more	Technical Setup

Rigor. If modes.rigor is already set in project.yaml, keep it and say so. Otherwise infer it from what the user said in Phases 2 and 3, using the signals in .claude/docs/settings-guidance.md §3:

The user's words mention	Rigor
open world, RPG, sim, sandbox, factions, crafting, economy, MMO, multiplayer, many systems	full
release, commercial, Steam, one clear core loop	standard
jam, weekend, prototype, first game, small, just trying	minimal
nothing above, or no idea yet	minimal (the default)

A path B hint is still a description: "some kind of open-world survival sim" is full.

Show the card:

What I'll set up
  Stage:  [stage]  ([why, from what was found or picked])
  Rigor:  [value]  ([why, in the user's words] | already set)
          minimal: short brief, coarse stories, tests optional; about 4 steps to code
          standard: about 8 design documents before code; standard QA evidence
          full: everything in standard plus validation builds; evidence everywhere
  /settings changes either of these any time.

Then ask with the question tool: "Save these to project.yaml (and the stage to production/stage.txt)?" Options: Save them / Don't save. Ask no question about the rigor itself: the card shows it, and /settings changes it.

• Save them: run bash .claude/scripts/set-stage.sh "[stage]", then, only when rigor was not already set, bash .claude/scripts/config-set.sh modes.rigor [value]. Check the read-back rows match. Say: "Saved. Rigor [value] sets six other settings; /settings shows them and changes any of them."
• Don't save, or anything other than an explicit yes: write nothing, keep the values for this run, and say they were not saved.

If a helper exits non-zero, show its output, say which setting was not written, and go on with the value for this run.

Phase 5: Ask how much to confirm

If modes.automation is already set, say "Automation is [value]" and go on. Otherwise ask: "Last one: how much should I confirm with you as we work?" Options:

• Guided (Recommended): I decide small things and still stop for big ones (scope changes, deletions, schema changes).
• Collaborative: I ask before each significant step and show drafts before writing.
• Autonomous: I proceed and log decisions, stopping only for the always-ask categories. Fastest, most tokens.

Mapping: Guided → guided, Collaborative → collaborative, Autonomous → autonomous. The pick is the consent to write it: run bash .claude/scripts/config-set.sh modes.automation [value], unless the Phase 4 save was declined (then say it was not saved).

Phase 6: Show the path

Say: "Here's your path at rigor [value]. Every skill still runs at any rigor; rigor changes what's required, not what's allowed."

The path starts with the step Phase 3 named. When that was /brainstorm (paths A and B, and C's Formalize it first), list /brainstorm first and /setup-engine second: each runs without the other.

minimal: 4 steps to running code

1. /setup-engine: choose and configure the engine
2. /brainstorm: write the one-page design/game-brief.md
3. /create-stories: turn the brief's MVP list into stories (no epics or sprint plan needed)
4. /dev-story: the first line of game code

standard

• Concept: /setup-engine → /brainstorm → /prototype → /art-bible → /gate-check
• Systems Design: /map-systems → /design-system (once per system) → /review-all-gdds → /gate-check
• Architecture: /create-architecture → /architecture-decision (once per decision) → /create-control-manifest → /architecture-review → /test-setup → /ux-design (accessibility and interaction patterns) → /gate-check
• Pre-Production: /ux-design (HUD and key screens) → /create-epics → /create-stories → /sprint-plan → /gate-check
• Production: /dev-story

Each /gate-check moves the project one stage, and only when it passes.

full: everything in standard, plus /vertical-slice and /playtest-report in Pre-Production and /design-review after each GDD.

Path D with existing work (stage Systems Design or later, or code on disk) gets this instead. Print only the steps that apply, and for the brief only the one source that applies. At minimal:

1. /project-stage-detect: what stage the project is at and what is missing
2. /adopt: whether the existing files are in the format the skills read
3. /setup-engine: only when no engine is set; leave it out when engine names one
4. The brief, only if concept is absent: /reverse-document design [code_root] when the code root holds 10 or more source files (it writes the brief from the game), and then do not mention /brainstorm at all; /brainstorm only when it holds fewer

At standard and full, steps 1 to 3, then /design-system retrofit [path], /architecture-decision retrofit [path], /architecture-review and /gate-check.

Present minimal as the documented floor, not a lesser mode, and name its trade once: no GDDs, so design problems show up in code.

If origin_url pointed at the template repo, add: "Your clone's origin still points at the CCGS template repo, so a push or pull request would go there. When you're ready, run git remote rename origin template, then git remote add origin <your repo URL>. UPGRADING.md pulls updates from template; skip its own git remote add template step, since that remote now exists." Suggest it; do not run it.

Ask: "Would you like to start with [first step]?" Options: Yes, start with [first step] / Something else first. Either answer leads to Phase 7, never to running the step.

Phase 7: Hand off

Respond with exactly one line: "Type [skill] to begin." Do not start that skill or call the skill tool for it, even after a yes: the user types it. If they picked something else, name the skill for that instead, the same way.

Verdict: COMPLETE, the user is oriented and handed off. If the user stopped before Phase 7, say which settings were saved and which were not.