{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/goals-feedback--t278","type":"mechanic","id":"goals-feedback--t278","lang":"en","title":"Inventories, maps and interfaces as play spaces","summary":"Interfaces become play spaces when placing, connecting or interpreting their elements directly changes a challenge's solution.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/goals-feedback--t278/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/goals-feedback--t278.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/goals-feedback--t278.md","aliases":["Interface as a play space"],"tags":["Goals, difficulty, learning and feedback","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-d4c7409816f79db5","source-6669156765be17e4"],"sources":[{"id":"source-d4c7409816f79db5","title":"Game Accessibility Guidelines","url":"https://gameaccessibilityguidelines.com/","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-6669156765be17e4","title":"Resident Evil 4 (2023)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/tetris-inventory","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Interfaces become play spaces when placing, connecting or interpreting their elements directly changes a challenge's solution."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t278-variants\"></a>\n\n- Packing connects item shapes to storage space. <a id=\"t278-v1\"></a>\n- Maps permit rearranging connections between rooms. <a id=\"t278-v2\"></a>\n- Windows hide or reveal parts of a world. <a id=\"t278-v3\"></a>\n- Panels connect commands into executable sequences. <a id=\"t278-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A player rearranges map rooms and changes actual doorway connections in a dungeon.\n\nPrototype check: Test visible links between interface operations and world changes, with undo before creating a dead end."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Goals and feedback explain the value of an action, the causes of its result and ways to improve the next attempt. 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":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"goals-feedback","id":"t278","title":"Goals, difficulty, learning and feedback","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/goals-feedback/#t278","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Interface as a play space","description":"Interfaces become play spaces when placing, connecting or interpreting their elements directly changes a challenge's solution.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/combat-tetris-inventory.webp","width":1024,"height":576,"crop":{"x":245,"y":68,"width":515,"height":370},"game":"Resident Evil 4 (2023)","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/tetris-inventory","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/resident_evil_4_remake_inventory.jpg","credit":"Capcom; image via GameMechanics.org","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. All rights reserved; excluded from the portal’s MIT and CC BY 4.0 licenses.","caption":"Items occupy cells in the case grid","alt":"Items occupy cells in the case grid","markers":[{"x":49,"y":45,"label":"An item’s shape affects packing"},{"x":70,"y":62,"label":"Free cells constrain the next placement"}]},"tips":["Show placement constraints before an action is confirmed."],"examples":[{"title":"Resident Evil 4 (2023)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/tetris-inventory"}]}},"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/goals-feedback"}}