A Codex-native game studio workspace for Codex and OMX.
Keep the upstream studio playbooks, but run them from Codex.
Building a game solo with AI is powerful — but a single chat session has no structure. No one stops you from hardcoding magic numbers, skipping design docs, or writing spaghetti code. There's no QA pass, no design review, no one asking "does this actually fit the game's vision?"
Codex Game Studios keeps the upstream studio knowledge base, but runs it through Codex-native surfaces. The active runtime and maintenance model live in .codex/, .omx/, and AGENTS.md, with upstream material retained only as archived or reference content when needed.
The result: you still make every decision, but now you have a team that asks the right questions, catches mistakes early, and keeps your project organized from first brainstorm to launch.
This fork intentionally separates upstream content from Codex runtime surfaces:
.codex/prompt-sources/studio/and.codex/skills/studio-*/are the source material.codex/prompts/studio-*.mdare generated Codex prompts built from.codex/prompt-sources/studio/AGENTS.mdis the Codex top-level contract$game-studiois the Codex-native router skill for this repository
Read docs/codex-port.md for the current Codex-native maintenance model.
- What's Included
- Studio Hierarchy
- Codex Workflows
- Getting Started
- Upgrading
- Project Structure
- How It Works
- Design Philosophy
- Customization
- Platform Support
- Community
- Supporting This Project
- License
| Category | Count | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Agents | 49 | Specialized subagents across design, programming, art, audio, narrative, QA, and production |
| Skills | 72 | Slash commands for every workflow phase (/start, /design-system, /create-epics, /create-stories, /dev-story, /story-done, etc.) |
| Hooks | 12 | Automated validation on commits, pushes, asset changes, session lifecycle, agent audit trail, and gap detection |
| Rules | 11 | Path-scoped coding standards enforced when editing gameplay, engine, AI, UI, network code, and more |
| Templates | 39 | Document templates for GDDs, UX specs, ADRs, sprint plans, HUD design, accessibility, and more |
Agents are organized into three tiers, matching how real studios operate:
Tier 1 — Directors (Opus)
creative-director technical-director producer
Tier 2 — Department Leads (Sonnet)
game-designer lead-programmer art-director
audio-director narrative-director qa-lead
release-manager localization-lead
Tier 3 — Specialists (Sonnet/Haiku)
gameplay-programmer engine-programmer ai-programmer
network-programmer tools-programmer ui-programmer
systems-designer level-designer economy-designer
technical-artist sound-designer writer
world-builder ux-designer prototyper
performance-analyst devops-engineer analytics-engineer
security-engineer qa-tester accessibility-specialist
live-ops-designer community-manager
The template includes agent sets for all three major engines. Use the set that matches your project:
| Engine | Lead Agent | Sub-Specialists |
|---|---|---|
| Godot 4 | godot-specialist |
GDScript, Shaders, GDExtension |
| Unity | unity-specialist |
DOTS/ECS, Shaders/VFX, Addressables, UI Toolkit |
| Unreal Engine 5 | unreal-specialist |
GAS, Blueprints, Replication, UMG/CommonUI |
Use curated Codex-native workflows first:
Core path
$studio-start$studio-help$studio-project-stage-detect$studio-brainstorm$studio-setup-engine$studio-map-systems$studio-design-system$studio-design-review$studio-review-all-gdds$studio-propagate-design-change$studio-create-architecture$studio-architecture-decision$studio-architecture-review$studio-create-control-manifest$studio-create-epics$studio-create-stories$studio-sprint-plan$studio-sprint-status$studio-qa-plan$studio-story-readiness$studio-smoke-check$studio-team-qa$studio-gate-check$studio-regression-suite$studio-test-evidence-review$studio-test-flakiness$studio-test-helpers$studio-test-setup$studio-dev-story$studio-code-review$studio-story-done$studio-release-checklist$studio-launch-checklist
The remaining $studio-* workflows are also active Codex-native skills. Prompts are generated from .codex/prompt-sources/studio/; skill files under .codex/skills/studio-*/SKILL.md are the maintained workflow definitions.
The upstream template still defines the original workflow inventory. Treat it as reference source material that this workspace now exposes through Codex-native prompts and skills:
Onboarding & Navigation
/start /help /project-stage-detect /setup-engine /adopt
Game Design
/brainstorm /map-systems /design-system /quick-design /review-all-gdds /propagate-design-change
Art & Assets
/art-bible /asset-spec /asset-audit
UX & Interface Design
/ux-design /ux-review
Architecture
/create-architecture /architecture-decision /architecture-review /create-control-manifest
Stories & Sprints
/create-epics /create-stories /dev-story /sprint-plan /sprint-status /story-readiness /story-done /estimate
Reviews & Analysis
/design-review /code-review /balance-check /content-audit /scope-check /perf-profile /tech-debt /gate-check /consistency-check
QA & Testing
/qa-plan /smoke-check /soak-test /regression-suite /test-setup /test-helpers /test-evidence-review /test-flakiness /skill-test /skill-improve
Production
/milestone-review /retrospective /bug-report /bug-triage /reverse-document /playtest-report
Release
/release-checklist /launch-checklist /changelog /patch-notes /hotfix
Creative & Content
/prototype /onboard /localize
Team Orchestration (coordinate multiple agents on a single feature)
/team-combat /team-narrative /team-ui /team-release /team-polish /team-audio /team-level /team-live-ops /team-qa
- Git
- Codex CLI with local project access
- oh-my-codex available as
omx - Node.js for the prompt sync script
- Recommended: jq (for hook validation) and Python 3 (for JSON validation)
All hooks fail gracefully if optional tools are missing — nothing breaks, you just lose validation.
-
Clone your fork:
git clone <your-fork-url> my-game cd my-game
-
Install project-level OMX scaffolding:
omx setup --force --scope project
-
Generate the Codex prompt/catalog surfaces:
bash scripts/sync_codex_bridge.sh
-
Open Codex in the project root and use the Codex surfaces:
$game-studio— route a task through the upstream studio workflow docs/prompts:studio-creative-director— creative direction/prompts:studio-lead-programmer— code architecture and implementation review/prompts:studio-godot-specialist//prompts:studio-unity-specialist//prompts:studio-unreal-specialist— engine-specific work
-
Use the Codex-native workflows directly:
$studio-start— onboarding$studio-help— “what next?” routing$studio-project-stage-detect— project audit$studio-dev-story— implementation workflow$studio-design-system— GDD authoring workflow$studio-test-setup— test scaffolding workflow.codex/skills/studio-*/SKILL.md— maintained workflow definitions when you need the exact contract
-
Use the upstream skill docs as reference playbooks:
.codex/skills/studio-start/SKILL.md— onboarding flow logic.codex/skills/studio-brainstorm/SKILL.md— ideation workflow.codex/skills/studio-design-system/SKILL.md— GDD authoring flow.codex/skills/studio-dev-story/SKILL.md— implementation workflow
Already using an older version of this template? See UPGRADING.md for step-by-step migration instructions, a breakdown of what changed between versions, and which files are safe to overwrite vs. which need a manual merge.
AGENTS.md # Codex/OMX master configuration
.codex/
prompt-sources/studio/ # Canonical studio role source material
prompts/ # Generated Codex studio prompts
skills/ # Codex-native skills for this fork
.omx/ # Project-local OMX state, plans, logs, and HUD config
docs/
codex-port.md # Codex migration and maintenance guide
studio/
quick-start.md # Studio workflow orientation
workflow-catalog.yaml # Studio workflow catalog
templates/ # Document templates
hooks-reference/ # Hook reference docs
src/ # Game source code
assets/ # Art, audio, VFX, shaders, data files
design/ # GDDs, narrative docs, level designs
docs/ # Technical documentation and ADRs
tests/ # Test suites (unit, integration, performance, playtest)
tools/ # Build and pipeline tools
prototypes/ # Throwaway prototypes (isolated from src/)
production/ # Sprint plans, milestones, release tracking
Agents follow a structured delegation model:
- Vertical delegation — directors delegate to leads, leads delegate to specialists
- Horizontal consultation — same-tier agents can consult each other but can't make binding cross-domain decisions
- Conflict resolution — disagreements escalate up to the shared parent (
creative-directorfor design,technical-directorfor technical) - Change propagation — cross-department changes are coordinated by
producer - Domain boundaries — agents don't modify files outside their domain without explicit delegation
In this fork, those studio roles are invoked from Codex via /prompts:studio-*, generated from the upstream .codex/prompt-sources/studio/*.md files.
This is not an auto-pilot system. Every agent follows a strict collaboration protocol:
- Ask — agents ask questions before proposing solutions
- Present options — agents show 2-4 options with pros/cons
- You decide — the user always makes the call
- Draft — agents show work before finalizing
- Approve — nothing gets written without your sign-off
You stay in control. The agents provide structure and expertise, not autonomy.
Hooks run automatically on every session:
| Hook | Trigger | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
validate-commit.sh |
PreToolUse (Bash) | Checks for hardcoded values, TODO format, JSON validity, design doc sections — exits early if the command is not git commit |
validate-push.sh |
PreToolUse (Bash) | Warns on pushes to protected branches — exits early if the command is not git push |
validate-assets.sh |
PostToolUse (Write/Edit) | Validates naming conventions and JSON structure — exits early if the file is not in assets/ |
session-start.sh |
Session open | Shows current branch and recent commits for orientation |
detect-gaps.sh |
Session open | Detects fresh projects (suggests /start) and missing design docs when code or prototypes exist |
pre-compact.sh |
Before compaction | Preserves session progress notes |
post-compact.sh |
After compaction | Reminds the next Codex turn to restore session state from active.md |
notify.sh |
Notification event | Shows Windows toast notification via PowerShell |
session-stop.sh |
Session close | Archives active.md to session log and records git activity |
log-agent.sh |
Agent spawned | Audit trail start — logs subagent invocation |
log-agent-stop.sh |
Agent stops | Audit trail stop — completes subagent record |
validate-skill-change.sh |
PostToolUse (Write/Edit) | Advises running /skill-test after any .codex/skills/studio-*/ change |
Note:
validate-commit.sh,validate-assets.sh, andvalidate-skill-change.shfire on every Bash/Write tool call and exit immediately (exit 0) when the command or file path is not relevant. This is normal hook behavior — not a performance concern.
Permission rules in settings.json auto-allow safe operations (git status, test runs) and block dangerous ones (force push, rm -rf, reading .env files).
Coding standards are automatically enforced based on file location:
| Path | Enforces |
|---|---|
src/gameplay/** |
Data-driven values, delta time usage, no UI references |
src/core/** |
Zero allocations in hot paths, thread safety, API stability |
src/ai/** |
Performance budgets, debuggability, data-driven parameters |
src/networking/** |
Server-authoritative, versioned messages, security |
src/ui/** |
No game state ownership, localization-ready, accessibility |
design/gdd/** |
Required 8 sections, formula format, edge cases |
tests/** |
Test naming, coverage requirements, fixture patterns |
prototypes/** |
Relaxed standards, README required, hypothesis documented |
This template is grounded in professional game development practices:
- MDA Framework — Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics analysis for game design
- Self-Determination Theory — Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness for player motivation
- Flow State Design — Challenge-skill balance for player engagement
- Bartle Player Types — Audience targeting and validation
- Verification-Driven Development — Tests first, then implementation
This is a template, not a locked framework. Everything is meant to be customized:
- Add/remove agents — delete agent files you don't need, add new ones for your domains
- Edit agent prompts — tune agent behavior, add project-specific knowledge
- Modify skills — adjust workflows to match your team's process
- Add rules — create new path-scoped rules for your project's directory structure
- Tune hooks — adjust validation strictness, add new checks
- Pick your engine — use the Godot, Unity, or Unreal agent set (or none)
- Set review intensity —
full(all director gates),lean(phase gates only), orsolo(none). Set during/startor editproduction/review-mode.txt. Override per-run with--review soloon any skill.
Tested on Windows 10 with Git Bash. All hooks use POSIX-compatible patterns (grep -E, not grep -P) and include fallbacks for missing tools. Works on macOS and Linux without modification.
- Discussions — use this repository's Discussions tab for questions, ideas, and showcases
- Issues — use this repository's Issues tab for bug reports and feature requests
Codex Game Studios is free and open source. If it saves you time or helps you ship your game, consider supporting continued development:
- Buy Me a Coffee — one-time support
- GitHub Sponsors — recurring support through GitHub
Sponsorships help fund time spent maintaining skills, adding new agents, keeping up with Codex/OMX and engine API changes, and responding to community issues.
Built for Codex and OMX. Maintained and extended — contributions welcome through this repository's Discussions tab.
MIT License. See LICENSE for details.