{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/activity-simulators--t138","type":"mechanic","id":"activity-simulators--t138","lang":"en","title":"Business, office and bureaucracy simulators","summary":"Office tasks move documents and requests through limited authority, approvals and deadlines to expose organizational dependencies.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/activity-simulators--t138/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/activity-simulators--t138.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/activity-simulators--t138.md","aliases":["Business, office and bureaucracy"],"tags":["Activity and profession simulators","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-3817d420df0baa92","source-cd67e3aaef77868a"],"sources":[{"id":"source-3817d420df0baa92","title":"Robert Nystrom: State","url":"https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-cd67e3aaef77868a","title":"Papers, Please","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/239030/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Office tasks move documents and requests through limited authority, approvals and deadlines to expose organizational dependencies."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t138-variants\"></a>\n\n- Approval routes impose a required sequence. <a id=\"t138-v1\"></a>\n- Authority permits a specific decision type. <a id=\"t138-v2\"></a>\n- Templates speed up repeated processing. <a id=\"t138-v3\"></a>\n- Revision requests create another work cycle. <a id=\"t138-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A purchase needs a manager's signature before the manager leaves for a meeting.\n\nPrototype check: Test whether a stalled document has a visible cause and a solution beyond trying every employee."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Activity simulators turn observation, operation sequences and limited tools into a testable work task. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map."}],"relations":[{"type":"uses","direction":"outgoing","label":"Sources in the selection","key":"resource/state-pattern","title":"State: Game Programming Patterns","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.md"}],"placements":[{"catalogId":"activity-simulators","id":"t138","title":"Activity and profession simulators","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/activity-simulators/#t138","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Business, office and bureaucracy","description":"Office tasks move documents and requests through limited authority, approvals and deadlines to expose organizational dependencies.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/strategy-papers-please-06.webp","width":1280,"height":720,"game":"Papers, Please","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/239030/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/239030/ss_4a533fbcd53d15778d477d8417fb28f814e27210.1920x1080.jpg?t=1678266428","credit":"Lucas Pope / 3909","rights":"© Lucas Pope / 3909. All rights reserved.","caption":"The working day affects the family’s income and expenses","alt":"The working day affects the family’s income and expenses","markers":[{"x":51,"y":57,"label":"The summary accounts for wages, rent, food and heat"},{"x":86,"y":39,"label":"The panel shows family members’ conditions"}]},"tips":["Connect paperwork procedures to understandable resources and decision consequences."],"examples":[{"title":"Papers, Please","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/239030/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/activity-simulators"}}