Workbench — Game Design Document — Alexander Snurnitsyn

Made for Mortalis Game — included here with attribution, per the studio agreement.

About this document

I wrote and designed this GDD as a game designer on the Mortalis team — the crafting and research systems, the interface flow, and the document itself. It’s shown here in full; the parts I’d point to first:

Knowledge is earned, not given. Recipes are discovered through exploration, quests, and experimentation rather than unlocked automatically — crafting knowledge becomes a progression resource.
One resource pool. Crafting draws from inventory and storage together, so players don’t shuffle materials just to build.
Two modes, one station. Crafting (making items from known recipes) and Recipes & Research (discovering and completing them) live side by side.

The complete design document follows.

Workbench is one of the Hideout modules. It allows players to craft equipment, consumables, furniture and other useful items between arena runs.

The Workbench serves as the primary production station inside the Hideout. Through crafting and recipe discovery, players convert gathered resources into valuable equipment and progression.

The module combines resource management, crafting and knowledge acquisition into a single progression system.

Core Concept

The Workbench is designed around the idea that crafting knowledge is earned rather than freely available.

Instead of receiving every recipe automatically, players gradually build their crafting library through exploration, quests, NPC interactions and experimentation.

The system is built around four pillars:

Crafting as progression — players convert resources into useful items.
Knowledge as reward — recipes are valuable discoveries rather than automatically unlocked content.
Experimentation and discovery — players can uncover new recipes through gameplay.
Workbench progression — upgrading the station unlocks more advanced crafting possibilities.

System Structure

The Workbench system consists of 3 parts:

Workbench [this part] — module progression, interaction flow, visuals and UI structure.

Recipes & Research Part — recipe acquisition, recipe journal, recipe discovery and research mechanics.

Crafting Part — crafting workflow, resource consumption, crafting queue, hotkeys and edge cases.

View Figma board ↗

Interface Structure

The Workbench screen is divided into two main sections displayed side by side:

Character Inventory Panel (Left)

Displays all player-owned items available for crafting.

The player can review, move and inspect items without leaving the Workbench interface.

All materials stored in either Inventory or Storage are automatically available for crafting and research, however storage items are not directly shown not to overload the interface.

The system treats both sources as a single resource pool while the Workbench is open.

Workbench Panel (Right)

Displays the currently selected Workbench functionality.

The panel contains two modes:

Crafting
Recipes & Research

Players can switch between modes using tabs located at the top of the panel.

Crafting Mode

Used for creating items from known recipes.

The panel displays:

Available recipe categories
Known recipes
Name of chosen recipe
Level of workbench needed for craft
Recipe description
Required ingredients
Crafting cost
Craft result preview
Craft button

Only fully learned recipes can be crafted.

Detailed crafting behavior is described in the Crafting Part document.

Recipes & Research Mode

Used for managing recipe knowledge and discovering new recipes.

The panel displays:

Learned recipes
Partially discovered recipes
Recipe fragments
Research slots
Research controls
Discovery information

Players can use this mode to track crafting knowledge and perform recipe research.

Detailed research behavior is described in the Recipes & Research Part document.

Access & Interaction

How to Open Workbench

Requirement

Completes the tutorial.
Creates a Workbench module via the Hideout Terminal.

Action

Walks up to the Workbench in the Hideout.
Presses [Interact].

Result

Workbench screen opens.
Inventory becomes visible.
Storage resources become available.
Workbench remains visible behind the UI.
Player movement and interaction controls are disabled.

Workbench Progression

The Workbench module can be upgraded through the Hideout Terminal.

Upgrading improves both the visual state of the workshop and its functionality.

Module Level	Research Slots	Items destruction chance	Max Recipe Tier	Workbench State
Level 1	2	20%	Tier 1	Improvised workbench assembled from scavenged parts.
Level 2	3	10%	Tier 2	Organized workstation with basic tools and storage.
Level 3	4	5%	Tier 3	Fully operational workshop with advanced equipment.

Progression Goals

Workbench upgrades provide:

Access to higher-tier recipes.
Additional research slots.
Reduced research failure penalties.
Access to advanced crafting categories.

Detailed functionality is described in the Recipes & Research Part and Crafting Part .

Scene & Audio

Scene

The Workbench is located inside the Hideout.
When interacting with the Workbench, the workshop remains visible behind the UI.
The visual appearance changes based on module level.
Additional tools, equipment and decorations appear as the Workbench is upgraded.

Audio

Interaction

Workbench open sound.
Workbench close sound.
UI navigation sounds.

Crafting

Tool handling sounds.
Material placement sounds.
Craft completion sound.

Research

Research start sound.
Discovery sound.
Research failure sound.

Crafting Part

The Crafting Part covers all mechanics related to creating items at the Workbench.

Unlike the Recipes & Research system, Crafting does not involve recipe discovery. It is used exclusively for producing items from recipes that have already been learned.

The player selects a learned recipie, reviews its requirements and crafts the desired item.

View Figma board ↗

Crafting Interface

Crafting is performed through the Crafting tab of the Workbench.

The screen is divided into two sections.

Recipes Panel (Left)

Displays all player-owned recipes available for crafting by categories. Recipes that are not yet fully discovered aren’t showed.

Crafting Panel (Right)

Displays information about the selected recipe.

The panel contains:

Recipe description
Required ingredients
Available ingredient count
Craft result preview
Craft button

Recipe Categories

Recipes are grouped into categories.

Example categories:

Weapons
Armor
Consumables
Ammo
Resources
Furniture

Recipe Selection

Action

Player selects a learned recipe from the recipe list.

Result

The Crafting Panel updates and displays:

Recipe name
Description
Crafted item preview
Required ingredients
Available ingredient counts

Example:

Stone Spear\n\nA primitive spear useful for hunting.\n\nRequirements:\n\n✓ 1 Stick (Available: 12)\n✓ 1 Stone (Available: 8)\n\nResult:\n\n1 Stone Spear

Crafting Item

Requirement

Recipe is Learned.
Player has all required materials in inventory or in storage.
Workbench level meets recipe tier requirement.

Action

Player presses Craft.

Result

Required materials are consumed.
Crafted item is created.
Crafted item is added to Inventory.
Crafting sound is played.

Missing Materials

Requirement

Player lacks one or more required ingredients.

Action

Player presses Craft.

Result

Crafting is blocked.
Materials are not consumed.
Warning message is displayed.

Example:

Missing Materials\n\nRequired:\nStone x2\n\nAvailable:\nStone x1

Workbench Tier Restrictions

Some recipes require a higher Workbench level.

Requirement

Recipe tier exceeds current Workbench level.

Action

Player selects recipe.

Result

Recipe remains visible.
Craft button is disabled.
Requirement message is displayed.

Example:

Workbench Level Required\n\nCurrent Level: 1\nRequired Level: 2

Resource Sources

When calculating available materials, the system checks all available item sources.

Priority order:

Inventory
Storage

Equipped items are never consumed automatically.

The player must unequip an item before it can be used as a crafting material.

Crafting Furniture

Furniture is crafted using the same crafting system.

Result

Crafted furniture is added to Inventory.
Furniture can later be placed through the Storage Furniture system.

See: Furniture Part

Crafting Multiple Items

Requirement

Player possesses materials for multiple crafts.

Action

Player selects quantity.

Example:

Craft Quantity\n\n5 [<][>]

Player presses Craft.

Result

Materials for all selected crafts are consumed.
Multiple items are created.
Items are added to Inventory.

Inventory Full

Requirement

Crafted item can not fit into Inventory.

Action

Player presses Craft.

Result

Crafting is blocked.

Inventory Full

Recipes & Research Part

The Recipes & Research Part covers all mechanics related to recipe acquisition, recipe progression and recipe discovery.

Unlike traditional crafting systems, recipes are not automatically known to the player. Crafting knowledge is treated as a progression resource that must be collected, researched and learned.

The system is designed to encourage exploration and experimentation while avoiding blind trial-and-error or reliance on external guides.

View Figma board ↗

Interface Structure

The Recipes & Research tab is one of the two Workbench modes.

It allows players to:

View learned recipes.
View partially discovered recipes.
Track recipe progress.
Perform recipe research.
Review recipe hints and fragments.

The screen is divided into three sections.

Recipe List (Left)

Displays all recipes known to the player.

Recipes are grouped by category.

Examples:

Weapons
Armor
Consumables
Ammo
Furniture
Resources

Recipes may appear in three different states:

Learned
Discovered
Unknown (hidden)

Selecting a recipe updates the information panel.

Recipe Information Panel (Right-top)

Displays information about the currently selected recipe.

Possible information includes:

Recipe name
Recipe tier
Recipe description
Known ingredients
Unknown ingredients
Research progress
Hint information

Example:

Iron Trap\n\nTier 2\n\nA reusable hunting trap reinforced with scrap metal.\n\nKnown Ingredients:\n\n✓ Iron Scrap\n✓ Rope\n?\n?

Research Panel (Right-bottom)

Used for recipe research.

The panel contains:

Research slots
Research button
Research result messages

The number of available slots depends on Workbench level.

Recipe Types

Recipes are divided into three categories.

The difference between categories is not complexity but how the player initially learns about them.

Known Recipes

Simple and intuitive recipes.

The player automatically learns these recipes after discovering all required ingredients at least once.

No research is required.

Example:

The player finds:

Stick
Stone

The Stone Axe recipe automatically becomes learned.

Discoverable Recipes

The player knows the recipe exists before learning it.

The recipe appears in the recipe list after:

Quest completion
NPC dialogue
Notes

The player can see the recipe entry and gradually reveal missing ingredients.

Example:

Reinforced Bandage\n\nKnown Ingredients:\n\n✓ Cloth\n?\n?

The player knows the item exists and can actively work toward researching it.

Secret Recipes

The player has no knowledge that the recipe exists.

The recipe does not appear anywhere in the UI.

It can only become visible after:

Successful experimentation.
Discovery of a rare clue.
Special quest events.

Example:

The player accidentally combines (for example, not real materials):

Ancient Core
Iron Scrap
Crystal Shard

The game discovers a hidden recipe.

Only then is the recipe added to the journal.

Recipe States

Every recipe exists in one of three states.

Hidden

The player has no information about the recipe.

Result

Recipe is not shown in the list.
Recipe can not be selected.
Recipe can not be tracked.

Discovered

The player knows the recipe exists.

Result

Recipe appears in the list on research tab, not on crafting tab.
Some ingredients remain hidden.
Recipe can not be crafted.

Example:

Iron Trap\n\nKnown Ingredients:\n\n✓ Iron Scrap\n?\n?

Learned

The player knows the complete recipe.

Result

All ingredients become visible.
Recipe becomes available in the Crafting tab.

Recipe Fragments

Recipe information can be acquired in pieces.

Each piece automatically updates the corresponding recipe.

A fragment may reveal:

One ingredient.
Multiple ingredients.
Total ingredient count.
Recipe description.
Recipe category.

Example:

Player finds a note:

The trap requires rope and scrap metal.

Result:

Iron Trap\n\nKnown Ingredients:\n\n✓ Iron Scrap\n✓ Rope\n?\n?

Research System

Research allows players to discover the full composition of recipes.

Research is performed by choosing discovered recipie and placing materials into Research Slots.

Ingredient order does not matter.

To research secret recipie, player can select any discovered recipie and if items in slots are correct, secret recipie will be learned.

Only ingredient presence is checked.

Research Slots

The number of available research slots depends on Workbench level.

Workbench Level	Research Slots
Level 1	2
Level 2	3
Level 3	4

Research slots also determine the maximum recipe size that can be researched.

Example:

2-slot recipe requires Workbench Level 1.
3-slot recipe requires Workbench Level 2.
4-slot recipe requires Workbench Level 3.

Research Example

The player has discovered the following recipe:

Stone Spear\n\nKnown Ingredients:\n\n✓ Stick\n?

The player suspects Stone may be required.

Action

Player places via drag and drop from the inventory:

Stick
Stone

into the Research Slots and presses Research.

Result

Research Successful\n\nNew Recipe Learned:\nStone Spear

The recipe becomes fully visible:

Stone Spear\n\nIngredients:\n\n1x Stick\n1x Stone

The spear itself is not crafted.

The player must switch to the Crafting tab and craft it normally.

Failed Research

Requirement

The inserted combination does not match any valid recipe.

Action

Player presses Research.

Result

Research fails.
One random inserted ingredient may be destroyed.
Destruction chance depends on Workbench level.
Failure message is displayed.

Example:

Research Failed\n\nNo matching recipe found.

Research Failed\n\n1 matching ingredient detected.