Plan and test game mechanics

A mechanic needs an observable rule: an action, a change in state and feedback to the player. Before adding more systems, test whether the first action, win condition and restart work together. The existing guides below provide the starting workflow and debugging checks.

Open Mechanics collection ↗

Prepare a game for publishing

Publishing starts with a game that can be tested, understood and maintained. Check the available creator controls, audience settings and safety requirements before a release. Use the publishing guide for the sequence, and the troubleshooting guide for an actual blocked step.

Open Publish collection ↗

BC-0248 · TROUBLESHOOTING

Editorial review 2026-09-27 · Official sources conflict

Playtest Opens an Old Build Version

If a test appears to show an old version, compare an already visible, specific change in the intended project and the recipient's destination. First rule out a different project, context or uncompleted change. Appearance alone does not establish a cache delay, live-update behavior or a propagation interval.

Symptom

The recipient's observed game appears to lack a change the creator believes is present.

Immediate action

Identify an existing visible change and verify that it actually appears in the creator's intended project.

Diagnostic branches

The change is not visible to the creator either.: Investigate the actual revision result rather than recipient freshness.
Project, destination type or relevant game state differs.: Reconcile that mismatch before comparing the marker.
Matched contexts still show different markers.: Preserve both observations and leave the synchronization cause unconfirmed.

Least-destructive change

Use an existing visible marker; do not generate a new revision or erase application data solely to probe freshness.

Retest

The expected marker is observed, not merely requested.
Project and relevant gameplay state match.
No cache lifetime, update deadline or synchronization guarantee is invented.

Escalation

Provide the paired marker observations, entry contexts and relevant change timing through official assistance if unresolved. Keep private destinations out of public reports.

Working notes

Choose a change that can be observed without creating another revision merely for diagnosis. A revised objective phrase or a relocated existing landmark is easier to compare than a general impression that the game feels older. Record what the creator actually sees now, not only what a prompt requested.

Confirm that the observation comes after the relevant work completed and in the intended project. If the requested change never appeared to the creator, the recipient is not evidence of stale sharing. If different projects or a published destination are being compared, reconcile those contexts before investigating version freshness.

Ask the recipient to describe the same marker and the route used to enter. A screenshot of a different game state may hide a marker that appears only later. Compare the same relevant state before declaring an older version. Do not ask them to modify account settings or clear unrelated application data as a speculative fix.

If identity, context and observable state match but the marker differs, preserve the paired observation. It is evidence of a discrepancy, not proof of a particular caching system. A synchronization interval or refresh procedure is not established here. Use current official guidance for any actual update controls rather than inventing them.

Examples

Marker comparison: the creator actually sees the revised 'Return the lantern' objective, while the recipient sees the earlier objective at the equivalent opening state. Record both observations and entry contexts.
False stale-version case: the prompt requested a new depot, but the creator's own result still shows the previous depot. Investigate the missing revision before blaming a recipient's version.
State distinction: the changed instruction appears only after pickup; a recipient screenshot before pickup cannot test that revision. Compare the relevant state without coaching an unrelated route.