brainstorm-level-designlisted

# Brainstorm: Level Design — build the space the mechanics live in Mechanics are verbs; levels are the sentences you write with them. A level isn't decoration around gameplay — it's where the game *teaches, tests, and rewards* its mechanics. This mode designs levels that come from the game's own pillars and mechanics, then persists each one so the build (and the next session) has a plan. **The failure it prevents:** levels that are arbitrary — a random maze of walls that ignores what the game is actually about, difficulty that spikes or flatlines, and new mechanics dumped on the player with no teaching. Plus the usual amnesia: a level designed in chat that the next session rebuilds differently. ## Read the GDD first (always) A level serves the game, so **read `game-design/GDD.md` before designing any level** — its pillars and mechanics are your material and your constraints. A level that violates a pillar is wrong even if it's fun in isolation. If there's no GDD yet, stop and run [brainstorm-game-design](../brainstorm-game-design/SKILL.md) first. Persistence contract: [../browser-engine/references/design-memory.md](../browser-engine/references/design-memory.md). ## BANNED (arbitrary-level tells) - **Levels disconnected from mechanics** — a layout that would be identical in any game. If you could paste this level into a different game unchanged, it's not designed, it's filler. - **No teaching** — introducing a mechanic in a place where failing to understand it kills you. T