{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/shared-family-44","type":"mechanic","id":"shared-family-44","lang":"en","title":"Story, roles and character decisions","summary":"Players make decisions as a character; the story responds through events, relationships or available actions.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-44/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-44.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-44.md","aliases":["Story, roles and decisions"],"tags":["Children’s games","Story, communication and creativity","Educational games"],"sourceIds":["source-8fcf1671c353b49b"],"sources":[{"id":"source-8fcf1671c353b49b","title":"Disco Elysium","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/632470/Disco_Elysium__The_Final_Cut/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Choose dialogue"},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"family-44-branch-1\"></a>\n\n- Choose dialogue <a id=\"family-44-variant-1\"></a>\n- Choose actions <a id=\"family-44-variant-2\"></a>\n- Fulfill role duties <a id=\"family-44-variant-3\"></a>\n- Investigate stories <a id=\"family-44-variant-4\"></a>\n- Reconstruct character motives <a id=\"family-44-variant-5\"></a>\n- Change viewpoints <a id=\"family-44-variant-6\"></a>\n- Observe decision consequences <a id=\"family-44-variant-7\"></a>\n- Play alternative episodes <a id=\"family-44-variant-8\"></a>\n- Perform professional roles <a id=\"family-44-variant-9\"></a>\n- Advance stories through tasks <a id=\"family-44-variant-10\"></a>\n- Resolve dilemmas <a id=\"family-44-variant-11\"></a>\n- Match actions to role and context <a id=\"family-44-variant-12\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Act as a park ranger investigating the animals' water shortage."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"An action map for children’s digital, board, active and mixed games. An instructional goal is optional: children can invent stories, explore toys, compete or enjoy play itself. Select age suitability, reading demands, controls and pace separately; different implementations can suit different ages. Learning tasks and instructional support have their own reference."},{"id":"context-education","title":"Context: Educational games","body":"A mechanic map for games with explicit learning goals, from first encounters with a topic to professional practice. It covers children, teenagers and adults; choose subject, difficulty, context and controls for the learner. Player actions, subject content, instructional support and assessment are distinct layers. Scores and game completion alone do not establish mastery or skill transfer."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"children","id":"family-44","title":"Children’s games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/children/#family-44","categoryIds":["social"]},{"catalogId":"education","id":"family-44","title":"Educational games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-44","categoryIds":["social"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Story, roles and decisions","description":"Players make decisions as a character; the story responds through events, relationships or available actions.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/disco-elysium-dialogue.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"crop":{"x":563,"y":38,"width":825,"height":712},"game":"Disco Elysium","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/632470/Disco_Elysium__The_Final_Cut/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/632470/ss_23836438cd455287232be5ae9c4f48d5c488967b.1920x1080.jpg?t=1780913406","credit":"ZA/UM","rights":"© ZA/UM. All rights reserved.","caption":"Choosing a reply within a conversation","alt":"Choosing a reply within a conversation","markers":[{"x":79,"y":72,"label":"Choose from the available replies"},{"x":79,"y":36,"label":"Conversation context before the decision"}]},"tips":["Express a choice’s meaning through dialogue wording and context."],"examples":[{"title":"Disco Elysium","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/632470/Disco_Elysium__The_Final_Cut/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Play-focused selection adapted from the original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated 2026-10-20. Developer sources support specific examples, not the entire classification.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/children"}}