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6 to 8 weeks · 4 milestones · 17 tasks

Vertical Slice

Ten minutes of the final game at final quality, to find out if it's fun and if you can afford to finish it.

A slice answers two questions: is the loop fun without art, and what does one polished chunk actually cost. The milestones separate those questions so you don't paint a loop that isn't working.

Best when: After the prototype proved the idea, before committing a year to production or pitching a publisher.

Use this template in Questlog

M1Define the slice

Week 1 · 3 tasks
  1. Write what ten minutes of the final game feels likeDesignurgent

    Moment to moment. Where the player is, what they do, what they feel.

  2. List every system the slice needs, mark each final or fakedDesignhigh

    Faking is allowed. Pretending it's final is not.

  3. Set the quality bar: one reference game per disciplineDesignhigh

    Art, audio, feel. Pick something you can actually hit.

M2Core loop to fun

Weeks 2 to 3 · 4 tasks
  1. Core mechanic in greybox until it's funCodeurgent

    No art budget until this task is done.

  2. Greybox the slice levelDesignhigh

    Blockout with correct scale and pacing. Doors, sightlines, beats.

  3. One encounter or puzzle tuned end to endDesignhigh

    The thing a player will remember from the slice.

  4. Internal playtest: is the loop fun without art?Designurgent

    If no, stop here and fix it. Art hides problems for exactly one playtest.

M3Final quality

Weeks 4 to 6 · 6 tasks
  1. Player character at ship qualityArthigh

    Model, animation set, VFX. This is the asset that gets screenshotted.

  2. One environment set at ship qualityArthigh

    Only what the slice level needs. Nothing speculative.

  3. HUD and menus at ship qualityArthigh

    Health, objective, pause. Final font, final layout.

  4. Music and full sound pass for the sliceAudiohigh

    Ambience, combat layer, UI sounds, one track.

  5. Save or checkpoint systemCodehigh

    Testers who lose progress stop testing.

  6. Hit the performance target on minimum specCodehigh

    Pick the number now. 60 fps on the weakest machine you'll support.

M4Slice build

Weeks 7 to 8 · 4 tasks
  1. External playtest with five people, log findings as bugsDesignurgent

    Strangers, not friends. Severity on every bug.

  2. Fix the top ten issuesCodeurgent

    Ranked by how many testers hit them, not by how annoying they are to you.

  3. Record a 60-second gameplay captureOtherhigh

    No title cards. Gameplay from frame one.

  4. Password-protected build and one-page pitchOtherhigh

    What it is, who it's for, what's left to build, what it costs.

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