{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/social-cooperation--t200","type":"mechanic","id":"social-cooperation--t200","lang":"en","title":"Caring for pets and dependent characters","summary":"Care tracks a dependent character's needs and turns observing its signals into choosing suitable actions.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/social-cooperation--t200/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/social-cooperation--t200.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/social-cooperation--t200.md","aliases":["Caring for pets and characters"],"tags":["Social relationships and shared play","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-3817d420df0baa92","source-d320a7f0575d36f7"],"sources":[{"id":"source-3817d420df0baa92","title":"Robert Nystrom: State","url":"https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-d320a7f0575d36f7","title":"Final Fantasy XIV","url":"https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/playguide/contentsguide/island_sanctuary/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Care tracks a dependent character's needs and turns observing its signals into choosing suitable actions."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t200-variants\"></a>\n\n- Signals distinguish hunger, fatigue and boredom. <a id=\"t200-v1\"></a>\n- Routines connect care to a stable schedule. <a id=\"t200-v2\"></a>\n- Preferences change the appropriate form of care. <a id=\"t200-v3\"></a>\n- Growing independence reduces mandatory supervision. <a id=\"t200-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A tired pet refuses to play, so a new toy cannot substitute for rest.\n\nPrototype check: Test understandable refusal reasons and ending a session without unexpectedly penalizing the dependent character."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Social mechanics connect participants’ different capabilities through care, trust, coordination and conflicting commitments. 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":[{"type":"uses","direction":"outgoing","label":"Sources in the selection","key":"resource/state-pattern","title":"State: Game Programming Patterns","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.md"}],"placements":[{"catalogId":"social-cooperation","id":"t200","title":"Social relationships and shared play","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/social-cooperation/#t200","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Caring for pets and characters","description":"Care tracks a dependent character's needs and turns observing its signals into choosing suitable actions.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/rpg-ffxiv-island-11.webp","width":960,"height":540,"game":"Final Fantasy XIV","sourceUrl":"https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/playguide/contentsguide/island_sanctuary/","originalUrl":"https://lds-img.finalfantasyxiv.com/h/U/W6N7f-C18mVwg5pEXRgBd3--zc.jpg","credit":"Square Enix; official guide screenshot","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Official game guide or publisher-distributed screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Tending an animal on the island","alt":"Tending an animal on the island","markers":[{"x":59,"y":49,"label":"The animal remains part of the farm and needs care"}]},"tips":["Connect a pet’s condition to a specific care action."],"examples":[{"title":"Final Fantasy XIV","url":"https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/playguide/contentsguide/island_sanctuary/"}]}},"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/social-cooperation"}}