cougr-game-starter

Cougr Game Starter

Build a new game as a small, shippable vertical slice. Treat cougr-core as the architectural foundation, not as decoration added after the game logic is already tangled.

Workflow

1. Classify the game before writing code.
2. Scaffold a minimal project and add cougr-core.
3. Model the game state in ECS terms.
4. Implement contract APIs as thin entrypoints over game logic.
5. Add tests that prove the loop works.
6. Leave the project with documentation that another engineer can extend.

Read bundled references as needed:

• Read references/bootstrap.md before creating or restructuring a project.
• Read references/patterns.md when deciding how to model entities, components, systems, and contract APIs.
• Read references/prototype-checklist.md before finishing work or when deciding what belongs in a first prototype.

Step 1: Classify The Game

Reduce the request to a concrete gameplay loop before creating files.

Capture:

• player count
• turn-based vs real-time tick updates
• hidden information vs fully public state
• win and loss conditions
• smallest playable loop
• one or two mechanics that make the prototype worth building

Prefer a narrow first milestone:

• pong, not full sports simulation
• battleship placement and attack loop, not matchmaking and rankings
• one arena combat loop, not inventory, guilds, and tournaments at once

If the user asks for a large game, implement the thinnest coherent slice first and state that scope in the project README.

Step 2: Scaffold The Project

Scaffold with the cougr CLI. Do not hand-write the project layout, Cargo.toml, or a starter contract skeleton, cougr new already generates a canonical lib.rs / components.rs / systems.rs layout with a passing test suite, and hand-rolling one only reproduces what the CLI does correctly.

cargo install cougr-cli
cougr new <name> --template <template>
cd <name>
cargo test