Finishing a Clowdr game: from Player Promise to Publication Review

A Clowdr game is finished when its approved work and Release Blockers are complete and the integrated result meets the publishing standard. The Lead then submits it for Publication Review. An empty task board alone cannot make the game ready.

Clowdr is pre-release. This guide describes the approved production system, not a history of games already shipped through it.

Start with the experience you can sustain

The Project Pitch names a Player Promise: who the game is for, what they will meaningfully do or experience, and why that experience is worth their time. It also fixes the intended release, platform, Feature Scope, Vertical Slice Plan, AI Production Note, Lead contribution, needed Contributors, and rights position.

Size that promise to the people and capacity available. An optional Prototype can test a production question before the pitch, but Clowdr approves the Project Pitch, not the Prototype. A prototype remains evidence for a decision.

AI use is optional. The pitch must explain the project's deliberate position, including where assistance will and will not be used and why.

Earn Production with the Vertical Slice

Approval opens the Slice Phase. Only work needed to build, integrate, and evaluate the Vertical Slice is claimable. Keep the integrated build playable as contributions arrive; a disconnected collection of completed assets cannot prove the game.

Clowdr checks the slice against the Player Promise and approves it as the binding Quality Baseline. That approval opens Production. The complete game must later meet or improve on the baseline's coherence and polish.

Finish the approved game

During Production, integrate frequently and report progress, next work, and blockers each week. Agree small scoped tasks with clear handoffs. Keep a playable build available so problems appear in the game rather than only in status updates.

Feature Scope stays locked. New capabilities go to a future pitch. Defects, omissions, rights problems, or integration failures that prevent the approved game from meeting the standard are Release Blockers and create required work.

If the project stalls, identify the missing evidence or capacity and make a recorded decision with the Lead and Clowdr. Continuing a dormant backlog indefinitely is not a production plan.

Bring evidence to the publication decision

Once the Project is Done, the Lead submits a Release Candidate with the integrated build, publication materials, and Final AI Production Note. Prepare evidence for all Five Proofs:

• Promise Proof: the complete game delivers the approved experience.
• Build Proof: the critical path works on every stated platform.
• Craft Proof: the game meets its Quality Baseline without placeholders or Unowned Output.
• Ownership Proof: contributions, provenance, rights, licenses, disclosures, attribution, and credits are accounted for.
• Publication Proof: the game and release materials accurately support the approved destination.

Playtesting is mandatory evidence. The appropriate coverage depends on the release; Clowdr sets no universal tester count.

Clowdr decides Accepted, Revision Required, or Publication Declined. The Lead does not publish by declaration. Independent release requires a decline plus explicit written authorization and a project-specific sublicense.

How We Ship is the full production standard. Use the slice guide and scope-control guide to prepare the next concrete decision in that path.