All checklists from the course, in order

The six checklists below are the same ones that close each step, gathered here so you can work through them without the surrounding reading. The page is formatted to print on about two sheets of A4.

How to use them

Each checklist belongs to a step, and each step explains why its items are there. If an item does not make sense on its own, the explanation is in the step it came from, linked above each list. Working from the lists alone is possible but you will be following instructions rather than making decisions, which is a weaker position to be in.

The boxes are printed marks, not controls. Nothing on this site records what you have ticked, because this site stores nothing about its readers at all — no cookies, no accounts, no saved progress. If you want a record, print the page and use a pen, or copy the items into whatever you already use for lists.

The order matters more than it looks. Checklist 0 exists because three of its five items can rule out everything that follows: an unsupported operating system, a full disk or an exhausted data allowance each ends the exercise before it begins, and finding that out first costs five minutes rather than an evening. Checklist 2 comes before Checklist 3 because there is no point creating an account for something your computer cannot run. Checklist 5 comes last because every decision in it is easier once you have actually played.

Not every item will apply to you. A household with no one under 18 in it can skip the items about shared computers and classification, though the classification record is quick to look up and occasionally surprising. Someone on an unmetered connection can ignore the data items. Cross out what does not apply rather than leaving it to nag at you.

Some items are decisions rather than tasks, and those are the ones to take seriously. “Decide your yearly spending limit” has no visible result and takes thirty seconds, which makes it easy to skip, and it is the single item in these lists most likely to be worth money to you later. The same is true of “choose a display name that reveals nothing about who or where you are”: it costs nothing at the moment of choosing and is awkward to change afterwards.

If you are working through this on behalf of someone else in the house — which is common — the useful move is to do Checklists 0, 2 and 5 yourself and go through Checklist 3 together. Those are the ones involving hardware, money and personal information. The install in Checklist 4 is a reasonable thing to hand over.

Finally, there is no finishing state. Nobody is marking this and nothing is recorded anywhere. A checklist you worked halfway through and abandoned because the answer became obvious has done its job.

Checklist 0 — before you read any further · from the course overview

Find out whether the computer you intend to use runs Windows, Linux or macOS.
Find out roughly how much free space is on the drive the computer starts from.
Check whether your internet plan has a data allowance, and how much is left this month.
Decide the largest amount in Australian dollars you would spend on a game in a year, and write it down.
Agree with anyone else who uses the computer that you will be installing something on it.

Checklist 1 — understanding the model · from Step 1

Write one sentence describing what a studio gets from a player who never spends money.
Name which of the three patterns — cosmetic, convenience, randomised — you would be least comfortable with, and why.
Decide your yearly spending limit in Australian dollars and write it down.
Check whether anyone under 18 will use the same computer or account, and note it.
Confirm you understand that in-game purchases depend on the publisher's servers continuing to operate.
Read back the glossary strip in Step 1 and tick this only once all seven terms mean something to you.

Checklist 2 — your machine, in writing · from Step 2

Operating system written down, including whether it is 64-bit.
Processor model written down word for word as it appears on screen.
Installed memory written down in gigabytes.
Graphics hardware written down, and marked as discrete or integrated.
Free space on the system drive written down in gigabytes.
The vendor's current minimum and recommended lists read on the vendor's own page.
Each of your five figures marked above, equal or below the minimum.
Monthly data allowance checked and the remaining amount noted.
If the computer is a Mac, confirm whether the game supports macOS; for the example used in this course, the vendor states it does not.

Checklist 3 — the account, deliberately · from Step 3

Decide which email address the account will use.
Generate or compose a password used nowhere else, and record it where you can retrieve it.
Choose a display name that reveals nothing about who or where you are.
Leave every optional field on the form blank.
Read the six parts of the privacy notice listed in Step 3; note the retention period and the deletion process.
Find the sections of the terms covering account closure and purchases.
Check the address bar before typing the password, reading the domain itself.
Complete the email confirmation, checking the junk folder if the message does not arrive.
Turn on two-factor authentication if the service offers it.
Sign in once to confirm the account works.

Checklist 4 — installing and the first session · from Step 4

Free space confirmed on the day.
Installer obtained from the publisher's own page or a platform the publisher points to.
Other demanding programs closed; laptop on mains power.
Transfer and unpacking both allowed to finish without interruption.
The post-install update allowed to complete before judging anything.
Signed in with the account confirmed in Step 3.
Visual preset set low and resolution lowered one step before first play.
One session of thirty to sixty minutes played, then stopped deliberately.
Three lines written: how it ran, how it felt, anything unexpected asked of you.
Any symptom matched against the table in Step 4, and the first remedy noted.
Nothing purchased during the first session.

Checklist 5 — money and suitability · from Step 5

Smallest token bundle found and its price confirmed as Australian dollars.
Dollar value of a single token calculated and written down.
Three wanted items priced in Australian dollars using that figure.
Checked whether those items can be earned through play, and how slowly.
Result compared against the annual limit set in Step 1.
Checked whether the game sells randomised containers, and whether probabilities are published.
Payment details not stored in the game account or the platform.
Separate user accounts set up on a shared computer.
Classification and consumer advice looked up on the Australian Classification Board's site.
A fixed delay agreed between deciding to buy and buying.
A place chosen to record each purchase, with date and amount in Australian dollars.
Receipts and confirmation emails kept somewhere you can find them.