So, from your previous response I find that your “game design game” is more of a game than I had originally thought. My first notion of it was a Virtools-based game-creator, like http://www.gamemaker.nl/ or the programs at http://www.garagegames.com/, but now it looks like I’ll have to play some sort of game to earn the tools/parameters that I want to use in my own games. This could definitely be an interesting way to walk someone through tool uses before giving them the access to all of whatever mystical items of power await them, but what about the folks who want to hop right in, or have played it before and already know the steps? Will there be an “advanced” mode or some such with unlimited access to the tools (or, at least, access to the tools but not the maximum parameters available to those tools)?
Right now I’m assuming that players will earn new tools or parameters for their existing tools by completing tutorial-like mini-games while using the Tune tools that they want to unlock/improve. Is this far from the truth?
Also, when whatever goal you set for the player/designer is accomplished, can the earned Tune points be distributed over multiple tools, or will their allocation by limited to the tools that they used to earn them?
Will the player be able to choose to learn and earn points towards tools of their choices, or are you going to have the tutorial-games laid out in a linear fashion? I say this because some players might be more eager to experiment with the “Gravity Warp” tool than the “Inclined Plane” tool, and will want to hop right into the tool of their choice, fleshing out the other ones later.