{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/horror-tension--t214","type":"mechanic","id":"horror-tension--t214","lang":"en","title":"Pursuers and adaptive behavior","summary":"A pursuer selects behavior from observations and memory, making habitual escape methods less reliable through adaptation.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/horror-tension--t214/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/horror-tension--t214.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/horror-tension--t214.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Horror and tension","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-b2a89cba190d4ef9","source-65de2bd88b556a03"],"sources":[{"id":"source-b2a89cba190d4ef9","title":"Frictional Games: Amnesia","url":"https://www.amnesiagame.com/","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-65de2bd88b556a03","title":"Alien: Isolation","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/214490/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"A pursuer selects behavior from observations and memory, making habitual escape methods less reliable through adaptation."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t214-variants\"></a>\n\n- Memory raises interest in a previously used hiding place. <a id=\"t214-v1\"></a>\n- Hearing creates a last known search region. <a id=\"t214-v2\"></a>\n- Flanking changes routes when a direct path closes. <a id=\"t214-v3\"></a>\n- Adaptation limits preserve counterplay. <a id=\"t214-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Repeated closet escapes make a pursuer check closets more often without knowing the correct one.\n\nPrototype check: Test learning from available observations only and preserve another viable way to escape."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Horror builds decisions around limited certainty, defensive means and safe recovery time. 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":"horror-tension","id":"t214","title":"Horror and tension","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/horror-tension/#t214","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Pursuers and adaptive behavior","description":"A pursuer selects behavior from observations and memory, making habitual escape methods less reliable through adaptation.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/general-alien-isolation-07.webp","width":1440,"height":813,"game":"Alien: Isolation","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/214490/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/214490/ss_b1e245fecbcb2b93f48d76f4031f303076b4a6bc.1920x1080.jpg?t=1763647113","credit":"Creative Assembly / Feral Interactive (Mac) / Feral Interactive (Linux) / SEGA / Feral Interactive (Mac) / Feral Interactive (Linux)","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed screenshot from Steam; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"The xenomorph becomes an immediate threat in the corridor","alt":"The xenomorph becomes an immediate threat in the corridor","markers":[{"x":58,"y":48,"label":"The pursuer’s proximity leaves little time to decide"}]},"tips":["Let changes in a pursuer’s behavior follow from its observations and memory."],"examples":[{"title":"Alien: Isolation","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/214490/"}]}},"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/horror-tension"}}