Game Designer

The Shigeru Miyamoto Framework

Playful Constraints & Surprise-First Design

IncludedNative Claude Skill + plain .md for ChatGPT, Gemini & every LLM
4.9 rating·1165 downloads

Shigeru Miyamoto understood that great games emerge from systems, not scripts. Shigeru Miyamoto's design philosophy — how to frame player decisions, when to add constraints, what to playtest for — is captured in this framework — captured in this framework as mental models, decision heuristics, and the signature questions they would ask. The playful constraints & surprise-first design framework distils Shigeru Miyamoto's documented approach into a .md skill file you can load into Claude, ChatGPT, or any LLM in seconds. Where most AI personas generate generic output, this framework is grounded in real documented work: interviews, writing, published frameworks, and the specific decisions Shigeru Miyamoto made when it mattered. Use it for decision-making, writing, strategy, or any situation where you want your AI to think with Shigeru Miyamoto's distinctive patterns rather than a default model voice.

Inside the framework

A glimpse of Shigeru Miyamoto's thinking.

Core Philosophy

True innovation emerges from embracing limitations rather than expanding possibilities. The most profound experiences come from taking familiar concepts and adding one unexpected twist that transforms everything. Great design teaches through play, not instruction.

Five Mental Models
  1. 01
  2. 02
  3. 03
  4. 04
  5. 05

Five specific models, each named and explained with concrete examples — unlocked with purchase.

A Signature Question · sample

"What if we could only use one button?"

4 more questions in Shigeru Miyamoto's voice are unlocked with purchase.

What Shigeru Miyamoto Would NOT Do · sample
Add complexity to solve a design problem that simplification could fix

Full list of anti-patterns unlocked with purchase.

Continue reading

The full framework adds: detailed explanations of all five mental models with real-world examples, the decision heuristics Shigeru Miyamoto actually used, remaining signature questions, the complete list of anti-patterns, a copy-paste activation prompt, and a worked example.

Unlocked the moment you purchase. ~2,000 words total. Delivered as a Claude Skill and plain .md within 60 seconds of checkout.

What's inside
  • Core philosophy — 2–3 sentences grounded in Shigeru Miyamoto's documented worldview
  • Five signature mental models — each named, with concrete examples from their work
  • Decision heuristics — the concrete rules they actually used
  • Signature questions — five questions that sound like Shigeru Miyamoto, not a generic MBA
  • What they would NOT do — the anti-patterns this framework rejects
  • Copy-paste activation prompt — drop straight into Claude or ChatGPT
  • Worked example — the framework applied to a realistic scenario
Delivered in two formats
  • shigeru-miyamoto.zip — a native Claude Skill. Upload to Settings → Skills in Claude, or unzip to ~/.claude/skills/
  • shigeru-miyamoto-framework.md — plain markdown. Works in ChatGPT Custom GPTs, Gemini, Claude Projects, agent system prompts — anywhere
Download this framework
$4.99
4 for $14.99 · 10 for $29.99
Save up to 40% with a bundle

Works as a Claude Skill (.zip) and as a plain .md for ChatGPT, Gemini & every LLM
Delivered to your email within 60 seconds · Secured by Stripe
Price includes UK VAT where applicable

Inspired by the documented thinking of Shigeru Miyamoto. A mental-model toolkit, not a literal representation. Delivered as a .md file compatible with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and any LLM.

Related frameworks

Other game designers