{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/point-and-click--family-05","type":"mechanic","id":"point-and-click--family-05","lang":"en","title":"Using items","summary":"The player selects an item and a suitable target to cause a rule-defined change.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/point-and-click--family-05/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-05.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-05.md","aliases":["Using inventory items"],"tags":["Point-and-click adventures","Core actions and items"],"sourceIds":["source-796ac91c3a695e59"],"sources":[{"id":"source-796ac91c3a695e59","title":"Day of the Tentacle Remastered","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/388210/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The player selects an item and a suitable target to cause a rule-defined change."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"family-05-branch-1\"></a>\n\n- Item on environment: use a tool, key, material or device on a world object. <a id=\"family-05-variant-1\"></a>\n- Item on character: give, show, feed, equip or affect an NPC. <a id=\"family-05-variant-2\"></a>\n- Item on self: wear, eat, drink, apply or change the protagonist's state. <a id=\"family-05-variant-3\"></a>\n- Item on item: affect another item without necessarily creating a new one. <a id=\"family-05-variant-4\"></a>\n- Indirect use: give a tool to another actor or automate its use. <a id=\"family-05-variant-5\"></a>\n- Positional use: place an item at a required point, angle or distance. <a id=\"family-05-variant-6\"></a>\n- Multiple purposes: find alternative uses or allocate a consumable. <a id=\"family-05-variant-7\"></a>\n- Contextual use: outcomes depend on target state, place, time and previous actions. <a id=\"family-05-variant-8\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A working classification with 44 families and 355 variants. Families overlap: one puzzle can combine items, dialogue, deduction and a character schedule. Core actions, progression architecture and assistance are separate layers. Sources identify examples from neighboring adventure genres."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"point-and-click","id":"family-05","title":"Point-and-click adventures","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/point-and-click/#family-05","categoryIds":["section-1"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Using inventory items","description":"The player selects an item and a suitable target to cause a rule-defined change.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/adventure-day-of-the-tentacle-07.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"crop":{"x":180,"y":0,"width":1080,"height":810},"game":"Day of the Tentacle Remastered","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/388210/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/388210/ss_9eefffbc6bf66978cb5b8570665b09774d4f604a.1920x1080.jpg?t=1731602439","credit":"Double Fine Productions / Shiny Shoe","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"The Use action and separate inventory items","alt":"The Use action and separate inventory items","markers":[{"x":42,"y":80,"label":"Item-use action"},{"x":63,"y":81,"label":"Inventory item"}]},"tips":["Connect the selected item, valid target and resulting action."],"examples":[{"title":"Day of the Tentacle Remastered","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/388210/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original taxonomy adapted from user-selected design discussions; linked sources support specific examples, not the whole classification.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/point-and-click"}}