Design a Game with AI - 2K Summer Workshop

Open an AI tool to get started - pick any one you like

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Claude

Gemini

Meta AI

Copilot

Step 1 · Phase 1

Warm Up: First Contact

⏱ 5 minutes

Let's wake up the AI - and ourselves. This step is about getting comfortable with AI as a conversational partner, not just an answer machine. Start a fresh chat and jump in.

Direct Command Prompt

Please generate 10 ideas for all-camp games that a summer camp could run for a mixed-age group of 7 to 15 year olds. The games should be active and novel. Budget is under $100 per game - lean heavily on things already at camp, items from thrift stores, and cheap materials from the hardware store (spray paint, rope, PVC pipe, lumber scraps, etc.).

Pick one idea from the list that sparks something and ask a follow-up:

Follow-Up Follow-Up Prompt

I really like idea #[X]. Can you expand on it - give me more detail about the setup, the staff roles, and what makes it exciting for campers?

🟡 Lesson: Direct Command Prompts

The most basic prompt is a clear instruction. But the real power comes from what happens next - AI rewards follow-up. Every response is a springboard, not a destination. Interrogate, push back, and ask for more. Resist the urge to get one answer and move on.

🟡 Lesson: Follow-Up Prompts

A follow-up prompt uses AI's previous response as raw material. You can zoom in on one idea, ask for a different angle, or push AI to go deeper. Think of it as a conversation, not a transaction - each exchange builds on the last. "I liked #3 - now make it weirder" is a completely valid and effective prompt.

💬

Start a New Chat

We don't want this chat polluted with the superficial content from the warm-up. A fresh chat gives us a clean slate for the real work ahead.

Step 2 · Phase 1

Meta-Prompting: Ask AI to Write Your Prompts ✦ Enhancer

⏱ 5 minutes

Here's a move that changes everything: you can ask AI to write better prompts for you. Instead of guessing how to phrase something, describe your goal and let AI design the ideal prompt to get there - then run it. You'll reach for this trick again in Phase Two whenever you feel stuck on how to ask for something.

Meta-Prompt Setup Prompt

Our ultimate goal is to design a memorable all-camp game for a summer camp - but let's chat first. The game should work for mixed ages (7–15), cost under $100 using thrift store finds, hardware store materials (spray paint, rope, PVC pipe, lumber), and things already at camp. It should have a strong theme with staff playing characters. I'm not sure exactly how to ask you for help with this. Could you please write me the best possible prompt I could use to get you to generate three creative, detailed game concepts? The prompt you design should be specific and structured to get the richest possible response from an AI.

Once AI hands you the prompt it designed, copy it and run it as your next message. Notice how much richer the result is compared to asking directly.

↩ Action Run the Generated Prompt

[Paste the prompt AI just wrote for you here, then send it]

🟡 Lesson: Meta-Prompting

Meta-prompting means asking AI to write the best prompt for AI - then using that prompt. Think of it as asking an expert chef for their best recipe before you start cooking. It's especially powerful when you know what you want but aren't sure how to ask for it. You'll use this again in Phase Two to punch up your world-building and mechanics prompts.

Step 3 · Phase 2

Load the 2K Summer Vocabulary

⏱ 7 minutes

Now we prime the AI with the 2K Summer game design framework. This "seasons" the chat - everything AI generates from here will be shaped by this context. Stay in the same chat as Steps 1 and 2. The context from your warm-up is already an asset.

Contextualized Chat Priming Prompt

Hi! I'm a camp professional attending a workshop on designing all-camp games. I'm learning about a framework called 2K Summer, which is built around the idea that an entire summer of novel, immersive, memorable games can be designed for around $2,000. I'd love your help thinking through game design today. For now, just confirm you understand the context - we'll dig in shortly.

Now introduce the 2K Summer game taxonomy:

Contextualized Chat Taxonomy Prompt

2K Summer organizes all-camp games into six categories: Building (teams construct something over time), Escape (sneak-and-evade through staged checkpoints), Epic (open-world quest with subgames and characters), Carnival (counselor-run booths, campers roam freely), Rush (campers scramble for a resource with characters and chaos), and Performance (talent shows, staff shows). Please confirm you understand these six categories and give me a one-sentence description of each.

🟡 Lesson: Contextualized Chats

For best results, create a fresh chat for each new project and prime it with relevant context upfront. Think of it as briefing a new collaborator before a meeting. Everything you share now shapes every response that follows.

🟢 2K Summer Design Principle

2K Summer games are organized into six categories. Knowing the category helps you design with intent. The same theme can be applied to different categories - and the same mechanics can be resurfaced with a completely new skin.

Quick Reference: The 2K Summer Game Taxonomy

Category	Essence	Example
Building	Teams construct something over time; the build IS the program	Drag Racers
Escape	Sneak, evade, and advance through staged checkpoints with lore	Doughboys
Epic	Open-world quest with subgames, casting, and a big finale	TERG 3000
Carnival	Counselor-run booths; campers roam freely and earn rewards	Renaissance Festival
Rush	Campers scramble for a resource; coopetition + characters + chaos	Gold Rush
Performance	Talent, staff shows, or competitive performances as the main event	Staff Show / TERG Finale

Step 4 · Phase 2

Analyze the Blueprint: What Makes a Game Great?

⏱ 7 minutes

Now let's get AI to do some analytical heavy lifting. We'll look at a real 2K Summer game - Doughboys, a WWI-themed Escape game - and ask AI to explain the design principles that make it memorable. Stay in the same chat as Step 3.

Optional: Download the Doughboys game files to upload into your AI chat for a deeper analysis - or visit 2ksummer.com to choose a different game.

⬇ Doughboys - Game Description (PDF) ⬇ Doughboys - Assets & Props (PDF)

Chain-of-Thought Analysis Prompt

I want to share a description of a real 2K Summer game called Doughboys. It's a WWI-themed Escape game where campers start in the 'American trenches' and must advance through six checkpoints - sneaking past stationary guards, avoiding patrols, and finally dashing across a battlefield (complete with a golf-cart tank, smoke machines, and a mortally wounded soldier yelling 'Tell Maggie I love her!'). Staff play characters like Allied Commanders and German Stormtroopers in full costume. The atmosphere shifts from cheerful and patriotic at the start to increasingly distressed and war-torn by the end. Please explain - step by step - why this game is likely memorable and effective for campers aged 7–15. What design principles does it embody?

🟡 Lesson: Chain-of-Thought Prompts

Asking AI to "explain step by step" or "show your reasoning" produces richer, more analytical responses. It also helps you validate whether AI's logic holds up - and spot assumptions you might want to challenge.

🟢 2K Summer Design Principle: The Magic Circle

The Magic Circle is the shared imaginative agreement that "this is real right now." Lore, characters, costumes, and atmosphere all serve to deepen it. When staff commit fully to their roles, campers go all-in too. Protect the Magic Circle fiercely - it's the most important thing you're building.

💬

Start a New Chat

We're starting fresh - but not from zero. You now have context about the 2K Summer framework and what makes great games work. A clean chat lets you apply all of that deliberately, without the clutter of earlier exploration.

Step 5 · Phase 3

Starting the Design: Expand Your Toolkit

⏱ 10 minutes - try each technique, then carry them into Steps 6–8

You've built a strong prompting foundation in Phases 1 and 2. Before you start designing your game, here are four more techniques that will make your game design - and everything after this workshop - sharper and more powerful.

Socratic Let AI Interview You

I want to design an all-camp game from scratch but I'm not sure exactly what I want yet. Please ask me five questions - one at a time - to help me figure out what kind of game would be the best fit for my camp and for the theme of the week. Ask the first question now and wait for my answer before asking the next one.

🟡 Lesson: Socratic / Question-Only Prompts

You can ask AI to interview you instead of just answering you. This is powerful when you're not sure what you want - AI's questions help you articulate your own thinking. Always specify "one at a time" so you don't get bombarded with five questions at once.

Role-Based Tell AI Who You Are

I'm a camp director with 12 years of experience running programs for kids aged 7–15. I have a staff of 20 counselors, most of whom are 18–22 years old and enthusiastic but not experienced game designers. My camp runs for 6 weeks each summer and we do one all-camp game per week. Given this context, what are the most important things I should keep in mind when designing a new all-camp game?

🟡 Lesson: Role-Based Prompts (Tell AI Who YOU Are)

Role-based prompts tell AI who it should be. Persona prompts tell AI who you are. The more context AI has about your experience, your constraints, and your audience, the more tailored the response. "I have 20 counselors" produces a very different answer than "I have 3 staff members."

Negative Constraint Tell AI What NOT to Do

Can you please give me a list of 10 game mechanics (and one sentence description of what each one is) so I can start thinking about building a game? The game mechanics should relate to general game design, not necessarily what we are talking about. Do NOT suggest anything involving: elimination (players sitting out), trivia questions, teams standing in lines waiting for a turn, or anything that requires expensive equipment. Every mechanic should keep all campers active and moving simultaneously.

🟡 Lesson: Negative Constraint Prompts

Telling AI what not to do is just as powerful as telling it what to do. AI defaults to the most common answers - negative constraints push it past the obvious and into more creative territory. Great for avoiding game design anti-patterns like elimination, snowballing, or kingmaking.

Ranking Ask AI to Rank and Score Options

Here are three game mechanics I'm considering for my all-camp game: A) [MECHANIC A] B) [MECHANIC B] C) [MECHANIC C] Please rank these from best to worst for a mixed-age group of 7–15 year olds. For each, give it a score out of 10 for: (1) accessibility for younger campers, (2) excitement for older campers, (3) ease of running for staff, and (4) overall memorability. Show your reasoning for each score.

🟡 Lesson: Ranking Prompts

You can ask AI to rank and score your options across any dimensions you choose. This is especially useful when you're stuck deciding between ideas that are all good in different ways. Scoring makes the trade-offs visible. Combine with chain-of-thought by asking AI to "show your reasoning" for each score.

Memory Anchor Lock In the Mechanics

Great - I want to make sure we don't lose these ideas. We're going to need them when we start designing our game in the next phase - so treat this as your reference list.

🟡 Lesson: Memory Anchoring

AI doesn't automatically "remember" things for later - but you can ask it to. Explicitly telling AI to hold onto a list, a decision, or a set of constraints means you can reference it again in the same chat without re-explaining everything. Think of it as pinning a note to the top of the conversation.

Step 6 · Phase 3

Build the World: Lore, Characters & Atmosphere

⏱ 10 minutes

The lore is the story that wraps the game. It's why a simple sneak-and-evade becomes Doughboys instead of "Tag, But With Guards." Give AI your category and theme and ask it to build a world. Replace the brackets with your team's choices.

Reminder - the six 2K Summer categories: Escape Epic Performance Building Rush Carnival

Comparative World-Building Prompt

OK! I'm ready to make a game! I'm designing a [CATEGORY]-type all-camp game with a [THEME] theme. Please help me build the world of this game. I need: 1. A compelling 2–3 sentence backstory (the lore) that explains why campers are doing what they're doing 2. 3–5 staff character roles with names and a one-sentence description of each character's personality and job in the game 3. A suggestion for how the lore could 'bleed out' of the game - a moment before or after the game that extends the fiction Give me two different versions so I can choose.

Pick your favorite version and push it further:

Iterative Refinement Refinement Prompt

I love version [X]. Let's develop it further. Can you name the game, write a short dramatic introduction that a Game Master could read aloud to the campers before the game starts, and suggest one absurd or funny element that would make campers laugh while staying in the fiction?

🟡 Lesson: Comparative Prompting

Asking AI for multiple versions of the same thing lets you compare and choose - rather than accepting the first thing it generates. Always ask for at least two versions of anything creative. Then use Iterative Refinement: take the best output and ask AI to improve it. Draft → Compare → Push → Draft again.

Now try a few-shot prompt - give AI examples of the style you want, then ask it to match them:

Few-Shot Name Generator Prompt

I need a name for my all-camp game. Here are some examples of great 2K Summer game names and why they work: - "Doughboys" - one evocative word, WWI slang, implies character and era - "TERG 3000" - absurd, robotic, memorable, sounds like a machine name - "Drag Racers" - immediately descriptive, active verb + noun, no ambiguity - "Consortium!" - slightly formal word made playful with an exclamation mark - "The Earth Day Game" - earnest, direct, surprisingly funny in its plainness Using these as your style guide, please generate 8 names for this game. Match the energy - each name should be short, memorable, and slightly unexpected.

🟡 Lesson: Few-Shot Prompts

A few-shot prompt provides 2–5 examples inside the prompt itself to teach AI the pattern or style you want - then asks for more in that same vein. The examples are the instruction. This is especially powerful for creative tasks where it's easier to show than tell: naming things, writing in a specific voice, or matching a tone.

🟢 2K Summer Design Principle: Dramatis Personae

Staff characters are the soul of the experience. Campers should be able to interact with them - ask questions, receive missions, even be fooled by them. The more invested staff are in their roles, the deeper campers go into the Magic Circle. Absurdity is a feature, not a bug.

Step 7 · Phase 3

Design the Mechanics: What Do Campers Actually Do?

⏱ 10 minutes

Lore without mechanics is a story, not a game. Now we design what campers physically do - the rules, the flow, and the roles. For camps with mixed ages (7–15), mechanics must be accessible to beginners but interesting enough for veterans.

Role-Based Mechanics Prompt

Now let's design the mechanics for our game. Remember that campers range from age 7 to 15, so the game needs to be explainable quickly ('It's like Capture the Flag, but...') while still rewarding strategic thinking. Please refer back to the numbered list of game mechanics you saved earlier. I'd like to build on some of those ideas - please incorporate the ones that feel like the best fit for our game's lore and category. Please design: 1. The core mechanic (the one thing every camper does to advance or score) - draw from our saved mechanics list 2. 2–3 optional roles that campers can choose (for players who don't want to run around - designers, strategists, artisans, etc.) 3. A brief flow of the game from start to finish 4. A climactic finale moment

Constraint-Based Differentiation Prompt

One of our design constraints is that not every camper wants to run around. Please suggest 2–3 ways to build in meaningful roles for campers who prefer a quieter or more creative form of participation - roles that still feel genuinely important to the team's success.

🟡 Lesson: Role-Based + Constraint-Based Prompts

Adding constraints ("not every kid wants to run") forces creative solutions. Constraints are a feature - they produce better design than open-ended requests. The more specific your constraint, the more useful and targeted the response.

🟢 2K Summer Design Principle: Design for Everyone

The Drag Racers Pit Crew mechanic was born because there weren't enough wheels for everyone to race. The constraint became part of the program. Designing roles for different play styles isn't a compromise - it IS the game. Every camper should feel essential.

Step 8 · Phase 3

Stress Test & Cost It Out

⏱ 8 minutes

Your game has lore and mechanics. Now let's find the holes and make sure it's actually buildable. We'll use AI as a critical advisor - not a cheerleader.

Virtual Panel Stress Test Prompt

Please act as a panel of three people reviewing our game concept: 1. A skeptical 14-year-old camper who has 'seen everything' 2. A camp director worried about safety and staff burden 3. A 7-year-old who gets confused easily For each person, give one thing they would love about this game and one concern or question they would raise.

Practical Analysis Budget Prompt

Now let's think about cost. The 2K Summer philosophy is that a full summer of novel games should cost around $2,000 total. Please estimate what our game would cost if we were buying everything new, then suggest 3 ways to reduce that cost by reusing, repurposing, or substituting materials.

🟡 Lesson: Virtual Panel (Simulation Prompting)

Having AI simulate stakeholder feedback is one of the most powerful uses of AI in design. It surfaces blind spots you'd only discover in the real world - without waiting for the real world to tell you. Don't be afraid to ask for harsh feedback. "Do not congratulate us" is a perfectly good prompt.

🟢 2K Summer Design Principle: Embrace the Cheapness

The $2K constraint is a design feature, not a limitation. Clothesline + glue + silver spray paint = barbed wire. Scarcity forces creativity. Designing around the constraint often produces the most memorable moments. Build the cheapness into the program.

✦

Share Out

The 60-Second Pitch

⏱ 10 minutes

Your pitch should hit four beats:

The name and category of your game

The lore - the story behind it all

The core mechanic - what campers physically do

The one thing that makes it unforgettable

Optional: Live Stress Test - run this prompt on screen after a group pitches:

Summary Elevator Pitch

I need to do a 60-second elevator pitch. Please create a pitch that includes the name of the game, and a brief (but descriptive) summary of the game. Be sure to include any standout game mechanics, characters, lore, or other novelty.

Take These Home

Quick Reference

Every prompting technique from today - one place.

Direct Command

Ask clearly. Then resist the urge to stop - probe, challenge, and ask for more. Every answer is a springboard.

Contextualized Chat

Prime AI with who you are and what you're doing. Context makes every response smarter. Brief it like a collaborator.

Chain-of-Thought

Ask AI to "show its reasoning step by step." Great for validating logic and finding gaps in arguments.

Role-Based

Assign AI a persona: "You are a game designer who..." Contextualizes the focus and produces targeted answers.

Constraint-Based

Add limits: "not every kid wants to run." Constraints force creative solutions and more useful responses.

Few-Shot

Give 2–3 examples of what you want before making the real request. AI will match your pattern exactly.

Iterative Refinement

Use AI's output as a draft. Ask for rewrites, variations, specific tweaks. You can iterate indefinitely.

Virtual Panel

Simulate stakeholder feedback. "Act as a 14-year-old who's seen everything and critique this game."

Bonus · Multimodal

Write Pre-Summer Social Media Hype

📱 Text AI

Build anticipation before campers even pack their bags. A drip campaign of mysterious, in-fiction posts in the weeks before summer starts is some of the cheapest and most effective metagame you can run. Use your text AI to write the whole series at once.

Hype Campaign Prompt

Please write a 4-post social media campaign to build hype in the 4 weeks leading up to summer. Each post should: - Be written in a mysterious, in-fiction voice (as if a character from the game is speaking) - Be appropriate for Instagram and Facebook (suitable for a family audience) - Include a suggested image description (what photo or graphic would accompany it) - Include 3–5 relevant hashtags - Escalate in urgency and intrigue as the weeks progress Week 1 should be cryptic and mysterious. Week 4 should feel like an urgent call to action.

🟡 Lesson: Role-Based Prompts for Voice & Tone

Asking AI to write "in the voice of a character from the game" is a role-based prompt - one of the most powerful for creative output. The more detail you give about the character's personality, the more distinctive the voice. Try adding: "This character is gruff and suspicious of outsiders" or "This character is cheerful but hiding a secret."

Bonus · Multimodal

Generate a Game Logo & Poster

🖼 Image Generation Tool

A logo and poster make the game feel real before it starts - print them, hang them in the lodge, tease them at dinner. This is pure metagame fuel.

Multimodal Logo Prompt

A bold, high-impact logo for the game. The logo should feel [DESCRIBE TONE: e.g. 'heroic and dramatic' / 'spooky and mysterious' / 'retro and playful']. Include a strong central icon or emblem that represents a key symbol from the game. Typography: bold, stylized, slightly distressed. Color palette: [YOUR THEME COLORS]. No background - transparent or white. Style: vector-art, screen-print aesthetic, suitable for printing on a banner or T-shirt.

Multimodal Poster Prompt

A dramatic movie-style event poster with the name of the game'. The poster should include: the game name in large, cinematic typography at the top or bottom; a central dramatic scene or character silhouette related to the game; atmospheric lighting (e.g. golden hour, dramatic shadows, fog); a tagline in smaller text below the title; and a color palette of [YOUR THEME COLORS]. Style: cinematic, slightly vintage, high contrast - like a blockbuster film poster from the 1980s. Portrait orientation, suitable for printing at 11x17 inches.

🟡 Lesson: The Metagame Starts Before the Game

In 2K Summer, the metagame is everything that surrounds the game but isn't the game itself - the poster in the dining hall, the mysterious character who appears at breakfast, the logo on the counselor's shirt. AI lets you generate professional-quality metagame assets in minutes. The magic circle can open days before the game begins.

Bonus · Multimodal

Generate a Game World Map

🖼 Image Generation Tool

A hand-illustrated-style map of the game world turns your camp's geography into something legendary. Upload your own camp map (or download Camp Cory's as a starting point), then use the prompt below to have AI generate an adventure-style version.

Don't have a camp map handy? Download Camp Cory's as a reference:

⬇ Download Camp Cory Map

Paste this prompt into an image generation tool:

Multimodal Image Generation Prompt

A stylized fantasy-adventure map for the game. The map should show [3–5 KEY LOCATIONS FROM YOUR GAME] labeled with dramatic names. Style: hand-drawn ink illustration with aged parchment texture, compass rose in the corner, illustrated trees and terrain features, bold typography for location names. The overall feel should be epic, adventurous, and slightly cinematic - like a map from a fantasy novel.

Tip: Print this at poster size and hang it in the dining hall the morning of the game. Let campers discover it without explanation - the Magic Circle starts before the game does.

Bonus · Multimodal

Generate a Rules Infographic

🖼 Image Generation Tool

A one-page visual rules sheet helps campers understand the game before it starts and doubles as signage on game day. Ask your text AI to write the infographic brief, then take that brief to an image tool.

Step 1 - Get the brief from your text AI:

Multimodal Text AI Prompt

Please write a detailed image-generation prompt I can paste into an AI image tool (like DALL·E, Adobe Firefly, or Midjourney) to create a bold, visually exciting rules infographic for our all-camp game called [GAME NAME]. The infographic should include: - The game name as a large header - A short tagline - 3–4 illustrated icons representing the core rules or phases - A color palette that feels adventurous and matches [THEME] - A style that is bold, graphic-novel-inspired, and readable from 10 feet away Please write a descriptive image prompt I can copy directly into an image generation tool.

Step 2 - Paste the resulting prompt into your image tool of choice.

🟡 Lesson: Multimodal Prompting

Multimodal prompting means working across different AI modalities - text, image, audio. A smart move is to use your text AI to write the best possible prompt for your image AI. Each tool has its strengths; chaining them together multiplies what's possible.

Bonus · Multimodal

Generate a Game Theme & Atmosphere Music

🎵 Music AI (Suno / Udio)

Music transforms an activity into an experience. AI music tools like Suno (suno.com) and Udio (udio.com) can generate original tracks from a text description in seconds - for free. Use them to create an opening theme, tension-building atmosphere music, and a triumphant finale track.

Music AI Opening Theme Prompt

[GAME NAME] opening theme. [DESCRIBE GENRE AND MOOD - e.g. 'Epic orchestral fanfare, heroic brass section, building from quiet strings to a full cinematic swell']. 60–90 seconds. Instrumental only. Starts with energy and builds to a dramatic peak at the end. Example: "Epic orchestral adventure theme. Bold brass fanfare opening, swelling strings, war drums, cinematic and heroic. Suitable for a summer camp game reveal. Instrumental. 90 seconds."

Music AI Atmosphere / Tension Track

Atmospheric tension music for an all-camp game called '[GAME NAME]'. [DESCRIBE MOOD - e.g. 'Slow-building suspense, low drones, subtle percussion, sparse piano']. Loopable. 2–3 minutes. Instrumental only. Should feel like background music during a tense moment - not distracting but emotionally present.

Music AI Victory / Finale Track

Triumphant victory fanfare for an all-camp game called '[GAME NAME]'. [DESCRIBE GENRE - e.g. 'Big orchestral celebration, full brass, cheering energy, major key']. 30–60 seconds. Should feel like the moment of winning - pure joy and release.

🟡 Lesson: Descriptive Prompts for Creative AI

Music and image AI respond to sensory and emotional language, not just factual descriptions. Words like "unsettling," "triumphant," "sparse," "building," and "cinematic" do more work than "make it sound like a game." The more vividly you describe the feeling you want, the better the result. Genre labels (orchestral, lo-fi, 8-bit, folk) are also very effective anchors.

🟢 2K Summer Design Principle: Sound is Atmosphere

In Doughboys, a smoke machine and a soldier yelling "Tell Maggie I love her!" cost almost nothing but were remembered for years. Sound - whether a playlist, a live announcement, or AI-generated music - is the cheapest atmosphere upgrade available. Play the opening theme as campers gather. Let the music tell them something big is about to happen.

Design a Game
with AI

Learning AI

Seasoning the Chat

Creation

Quick Reference

Multimodal: Build Your Assets & Hype the Game