Gridponder DSL v0.5 — Manifest Schema

The pack's entry point: declares identity, version, compatibility requirements, and presentation metadata without loading any gameplay content.

Purpose

manifest.json is the entry point of a game pack. It declares pack identity, versioning, compatibility requirements, and presentation metadata (title, description, cover art). The platform app reads the manifest to display the pack in the library without loading the full game definition.

manifest.json does not contain gameplay content. The level sequence, entity definitions, systems, and rules all live in game.json.

Schema

{
  "dslVersion": "0.1.0",
  "packVersion": 1,
  "gameId": "com.example.mygame",
  "title": "My Puzzle Game",
  "description": "A short description of the game.",
  "coverImage": "assets/cover.png",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "minEngineVersion": "0.1.0",
  "author": "Author Name",
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "website": "https://example.com"
}

Field Reference

Field	Type	Required	Description
`dslVersion`	string	yes	DSL version this pack uses. Semantic versioning.
`packVersion`	integer	yes	Internal pack format version (currently `1`).
`gameId`	string	yes	Globally unique game identifier. Reverse-domain recommended: `com.author.gamename`.
`title`	string	yes	Human-readable game title.
`version`	string	yes	Game content version. Semantic versioning.
`author`	string	no	Author or team name.
`description`	string	no	Short description (1–2 sentences).
`minEngineVersion`	string	yes	Minimum engine version required to run this pack.
`gameFile`	string	no	Path to the game definition file. Default: `"game.json"`.
`levelDirectory`	string	no	Directory containing level files. Default: `"levels"`.
`assetsDirectory`	string	no	Directory containing assets. Default: `"assets"`.
`coverImage`	string	no	Path to cover art image (relative to pack root).
`license`	string	no	SPDX license identifier or `"proprietary"`.
`website`	string	no	URL for more information.
`sharedAssets`	array of strings	no	Shared asset collection IDs this pack depends on. See Shared Assets.

Shared Assets

Games may reference shared asset collections managed by the platform rather than bundling every asset inside the pack. This avoids duplicating common sprites (e.g., the standard rabbit avatar) across many games.

{
  "sharedAssets": ["gridponder-base", "rabbit-character"]
}

A shared asset collection is a named folder in the platform's shared asset store. When a game references a shared collection, the engine resolves asset paths by checking:

The pack's own assets/ directory first (local always wins)
Each shared collection in declaration order

Resolution rules

A pack that uses sharedAssets can reference sprites from those collections as if they were local (e.g., "assets/sprites/avatar/rabbit_looking_right.png" could come from the rabbit-character collection).
At import time, the platform verifies that all declared shared collections are available. Import fails with a clear message if a collection is missing.
For portable distribution (sharing a pack as a zip), the pack can be flattened — tooling copies all referenced shared assets into the pack folder so it becomes fully self-contained.

When to use shared assets

Scenario	Recommendation
Flagship games sharing the standard rabbit	Use `sharedAssets: ["rabbit-character"]`
Community game with custom art	Don't use shared assets — bundle everything
Game reusing common tiles (walls, water, etc.)	Use `sharedAssets: ["gridponder-base"]`

Shared asset collections are managed by the platform and can be updated independently of game packs.

Validation Rules

dslVersion must be a recognized version supported by the engine.
gameId must be non-empty and use only alphanumeric characters, dots, hyphens, and underscores.
gameFile must point to an existing JSON file in the pack.
minEngineVersion is compared against the running engine version; import fails if the engine is too old.
version should follow semantic versioning (major.minor.patch).

Compatibility

When the engine version is lower than minEngineVersion, the platform must:

Refuse to import the pack
Display a clear message indicating the required engine version
Not attempt partial loading