Day 1 of 7
30 min
What Do You Actually Love
Day 1 -- before we pick a new game, we pick what fuels it.
Pixel
When the kid opens the day
“Welcome back! Okay big shift this week. Last week was the sprint. You shipped a tiny game. That was the warm-up. This week? We design something with REAL legs. A game we are gonna keep building all year if you want. But first? We figure out what you actually love. Because games made out of stuff you love? Those are the ones that do not get boring on day six.”
Today’s artifact
Love List -- ten things that light you up, saved to your Capstone Locker
The lesson, beat by beat
- 1
Why we start here
~4 min
Pixel says
“Last week your game was kinda whatever. Quick and dirty. Good. But this week? Every kid in here is about to design something bigger. And the kids whose games are gonna feel ALIVE are the ones who built them out of stuff they actually love. Not stuff they think is cool. Stuff they LOVE.”
Kid does
Read the example Love Lists from three older Graidschool kids. Notice how specific they are.
- 2
Specific beats cool
~5 min
Pixel says
“Look at this list. Kid one wrote dragons. Boring. Kid two wrote the part in How To Train Your Dragon where Hiccup touches Toothless for the first time. THAT one. We can build a game off THAT. See the difference? Specific. Always specific.”
Kid does
Pick which list (cool/specific) would make a better game. Pixel explains why specificity wins.
- 3
Make YOUR list (10 entries)
~12 min
Pixel says
“Okay your turn. Ten things. Be weird. Be specific. Be honest. Nobody is grading this. Stuff like -- the smell when it rains on hot pavement. Or that one level in Hollow Knight. Or how your grandma laughs. Or being underwater with your eyes open. Ten things. Go.”
Kid does
Type ten specific things they love into the Love List template. Pixel cheers each one on.
- 4
Star your top 3
~6 min
Pixel says
“Now read your ten back. Star the three that hit you hardest. Do not overthink it. The ones that made your chest do a little squeeze when you wrote them. Those are the three.”
Kid does
Mark three favorites with a star. Pixel asks one curious question about each starred item.
- 5
Save the list
~3 min
Pixel says
“Save it. This is the fuel tank for the next five weeks. Every time we get stuck on a design choice, we come back to this list. Promise.”
Kid does
Click Save. Love List lands in the Capstone Locker under Week 2 / Day 1.
Pixel signs off
“Save your Love List. Tomorrow we mine it. Every game on Steam, every show on Netflix, every book in your room -- somebody made it out of stuff they loved. Now we do that too.”
Show your grown-up
Read your Love List to whoever is closest. Ask them: which two of these did you NOT know about me? That answer is gonna surprise you.
What goes to the parent dashboard
Your kid wrote a Love List today -- ten specific things they love (a character, a place, a kind of moment, a feeling, a memory). This is the design fuel for their Week 2-6 game. If you want to be helpful tonight, ask them about ONE thing on the list and let them talk.
You’re at the start of the week
Next · Day 2
Three Pitches, One Pick