1) The game must flow like a river, time must exist beyond player’s action
a) Action must always happen in real time, the world’s time must never be frozen
b) Events must exist that happen independently from players’ action
c) Reject all fail states, never wait for players’ input to progress all action
2) Setting must be strictly instrumental to content and meaning
a) Player action and drama cannot be detached
b) Do not have cutscenes, story must be told within the game
c) Do not use setting primarily as a way to sell or explain the gameplay
d) The setting and the topic must be at the center of the game’s identity
3) Source material and collaborations must be found outside of games and related subcultures
a) Build story, setting and dialogue upon existing literature, excluding genre fiction
b) Respect and celebrate disciplines for their distinctive artistic contribution, not as tools
c) Avoid any infantile reference or inspiration
d) Focus on dramaturgy, photography, editing, and staging during game direction
4) No game should last more than two hours
a) Reduce the scope until it fits in two hours or break it down into multiple games
b) Two hours must be an absolute measure: no states should shorten the game or prolong it significantly
c) Even inaction should lead to full experience of a possible scenario in two hours
5) No game should take more than six months to produce
a) Allow six months for production, one year from concept to release
b) Factor time required for polish against relevancy in time and context upon release
c) Avoid focusing on innovative, distinguishing traits that are going to be standard before the game releases
6) Human condition must be the topic, genre games are not acceptable
a) Only authors’ games, drama games, and art house games are allowed
b) Employ realism, hyperrealism, and expressionism to reject fantasy
c) Freely embed cultural prerequisites, reject gaming prerequisites of all kind
d) Make games for adults, aim for 18+ audiences
e) Reject apolitical beauty, avoid cultural neutrality
7) All video game tradition in form, style, and content must be rejected
a) Not a single element must be borrowed from another game without questioning it and searching for alternatives
b) Avoid nostalgic, stereotypical, or traditional structure, grammar, and forms
c) Make no concessions, do not compromises for fans or sales
d) No previous gaming experience must ever be needed in terms of controls or mechanics
e) Do not have a gameplay loop, do not pose challenge or allow repetition unless they are the subject of the game
8) Acting and performance must be central assets and affecting gameplay
a) Reject humanless environmental storytelling
b) Employ and research different kinds of performance capture
c) Encourage improvisation and let the performance shape the gameplay
9) The results of the game’s design must be uncertain, only unanswered questions must be asked
a) Rehearse, don’t test, reject full control as a creator
b) Don’t focus on problem solving, do not try to answer questions, but to pose them through doing
c) Make emergent play possible that shapes the game structure through rehearsals
d) Be impulsive, extemporaneous, encourage the unpredictable
10) The game must be socially accessible, aim for minimum sustainable price, maximum reach
a) Do not make content that cannot be pirated
b) In every country, never charge more than the equivalent of the price of a cheap meal
c) Use generalist distribution platforms and channels that are curated
d) Reject new interfaces unless they are widespread outside of enthusiasts