{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/shared-family-62","type":"mechanic","id":"shared-family-62","lang":"en","title":"Autonomy, identity and persistent worlds","summary":"Players choose a character, role and personal goals while the world preserves meaningful outcomes.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/shared-family-62/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-62.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/shared-family-62.md","aliases":["Agency and identity"],"tags":["Children’s games","Goals, constraints and progression","Educational games"],"sourceIds":["source-61bf1085758a8075"],"sources":[{"id":"source-61bf1085758a8075","title":"Pentiment","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1205520/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Choose characters"},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"family-62-branch-1\"></a>\n\n- Choose characters <a id=\"family-62-variant-1\"></a>\n- Customize appearance <a id=\"family-62-variant-2\"></a>\n- Choose themes or routes <a id=\"family-62-variant-3\"></a>\n- Choose task order <a id=\"family-62-variant-4\"></a>\n- Choose tools <a id=\"family-62-variant-5\"></a>\n- Choose solution methods <a id=\"family-62-variant-6\"></a>\n- Preserve constructions <a id=\"family-62-variant-7\"></a>\n- Care for characters <a id=\"family-62-variant-8\"></a>\n- Return to long projects <a id=\"family-62-variant-9\"></a>\n- Change the world through decisions <a id=\"family-62-variant-10\"></a>\n- Create personal goals <a id=\"family-62-variant-11\"></a>\n- Choose difficulty or support <a id=\"family-62-variant-12\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Choose a city area to restore and decide how to do it."},{"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-62","title":"Children’s games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/children/#family-62","categoryIds":["progress"]},{"catalogId":"education","id":"family-62","title":"Educational games","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-62","categoryIds":["progress"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Agency and identity","description":"Players choose a character, role and personal goals while the world preserves meaningful outcomes.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/dialogue-pentiment-00.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Pentiment","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1205520/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1205520/ss_115917c4fe73896ec794b7e8e1795db02f33a11b.1920x1080.jpg?t=1759874806","credit":"Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"The hero’s background affects later choices","alt":"The hero’s background affects later choices","markers":[{"x":29,"y":28,"label":"Choosing Craftsman defines the hero’s background"},{"x":57,"y":17,"label":"The explanation links background to later choices"}]},"tips":["Connect the chosen identity to the world’s response."],"examples":[{"title":"Pentiment","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1205520/"}]}},"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"}}