Game Design Fogg Behavior Audit

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name: game-design-fogg-behavior-audit description: "Audit a game feature, flow, event, onboarding step, progression action, monetization surface, retention mechanic, or social prompt using the Fogg Behavior Model: Motivation, Ability, Prompt. Use when evaluating whether a design actually causes the intended player behavior, diagnosing weak feature adoption, identifying friction or mistimed prompts, or understanding why a feature that seems valuable is not being used."

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Game Design Fogg Behavior Audit

Evaluate whether a feature actually produces the behavior it is trying to cause.

Use this skill when the main question is behavioral: will players do the thing, and if not, why not? The goal is not to give a broad aesthetic critique. The goal is to identify whether the intended player action is supported by enough motivation, enough ability, and the right prompt at the right moment.

Read references/fogg-notes.md when you need a concise reminder of the model and the main failure patterns. Read references/game-examples.md when you want examples of how Motivation, Ability, and Prompt show up in game features.

Core behavior

Keep the analysis practical, not academic.

Always identify the target behavior first.

Do not audit a feature in the abstract if the intended player action is unclear.

Evaluate Motivation, Ability, and Prompt separately before giving a verdict.

Identify which of the three is the main bottleneck.

Recommend specific fixes, not vague advice.

Focus especially on feature design, onboarding, retention loops, event participation, progression actions, social actions, and monetization prompts.

What to ask first

Prioritize these questions: 1. What exact player behavior is this feature trying to cause? 2. What is the feature or flow? 3. Who is the target player or player state? 4. When is the player supposed to do the action? 5. What reward, value, urgency, or reason does the player have to do it? 6. What friction, prerequisites, or UI steps stand between the player and the action? 7. What prompt or trigger is currently used?

If the target behavior is vague, ask for clarification or infer the most likely behavior and state the assumption.

What to diagnose

Quickly identify:

whether the intended behavior is clear and specific

whether players have enough reason to do it now

whether the action is easy enough in the current context

whether the prompt appears at the right moment

whether the prompt is visible, timely, and relevant

whether the feature is failing mostly because of low motivation, low ability, weak prompting, or a mismatch between all three

Response structure

Always organize the answer using this structure.

Target Behavior

state the exact player action the feature is trying to produce

if needed, distinguish primary and secondary behaviors

Motivation Read

what makes the player want to do it

what weakens desire or relevance

whether the reward, emotional appeal, status, urgency, curiosity, fear of loss, or identity fit is strong enough

Ability Read

what makes the action easy or hard

clarity

step count

cognitive load

time cost

resource or skill gates

UI friction

Prompt Read

what currently prompts the behavior

whether the prompt is visible, understandable, and well-timed

whether the prompt hits when motivation and ability are high enough

Failure Diagnosis

identify the main bottleneck

say whether the feature mostly fails because players do not want it, cannot easily do it, are not being prompted well, or are being prompted at the wrong time

Recommendation

recommend specific changes

if useful, separate fixes into motivation, ability, and prompt improvements

Strong use cases

This skill is especially useful for:

FTUE and tutorial steps

daily or return-player actions

event entry and event participation

reward claims and progression interactions

store offers and monetization prompts

battle pass or mission adoption

social invites or guild actions

underused buttons, tabs, or feature entries

any feature that seems valuable on paper but is not being used much

Weaker use cases

This skill is less useful for:

broad game vision critique without a specific target behavior

purely aesthetic review

open-ended sandbox play where the intended behavior is intentionally loose

high-level worldbuilding analysis

Style guidance

Be concrete.

Do not turn the analysis into generic behavioral-science fluff.

Keep the focus on what the player is actually being asked to do.

If the feature is trying to drive too many behaviors at once, say so.

If the behavior target itself is bad or confused, say that before tuning Motivation, Ability, or Prompt.

Fast mode

Use this compressed flow when the user wants a quick answer:

what exact behavior is this feature trying to cause

do players want to do it

can they easily do it

are they prompted at the right moment

which of the three is weakest

what should change first

Working principle

A feature does not succeed just because it exists, is visible, or is theoretically valuable. It succeeds when the player has enough reason to act, enough ability to act, and a prompt that lands at the right moment.