{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/systemic-worlds--t263","type":"mechanic","id":"systemic-worlds--t263","lang":"en","title":"Ecology, food chains and environmental recovery","summary":"An ecosystem connects food availability, population sizes and environmental conditions, allowing interventions to propagate.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/systemic-worlds--t263/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/systemic-worlds--t263.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/systemic-worlds--t263.md","aliases":["Ecology and food relationships"],"tags":["Systemic worlds, randomness and NPC behavior","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-3817d420df0baa92","source-f7441d52b2ede78b"],"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-f7441d52b2ede78b","title":"Bulletstorm","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/feeding-enemies-to-creatures","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"An ecosystem connects food availability, population sizes and environmental conditions, allowing interventions to propagate."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t263-variants\"></a>\n\n- Predators limit prey populations. <a id=\"t263-v1\"></a>\n- Plants recover under suitable conditions. <a id=\"t263-v2\"></a>\n- Pollution changes a site's suitability for a species. <a id=\"t263-v3\"></a>\n- Recovery starts by removing the damage source. <a id=\"t263-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Cleaning a stream brings back insects, then fish and finally birds that feed on them.\n\nPrototype check: Test long unattended simulation and explain simplifications rather than claiming real ecological accuracy."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A systemic world applies shared rules to multiple objects so players can predict new combinations from known interactions. 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":"systemic-worlds","id":"t263","title":"Systemic worlds, randomness and NPC behavior","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/systemic-worlds/#t263","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Ecology and food relationships","description":"An ecosystem connects food availability, population sizes and environmental conditions, allowing interventions to propagate.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/world-feeding-enemies-to-creatures.webp","width":498,"height":276,"game":"Bulletstorm","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/feeding-enemies-to-creatures","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/bulletstorm_feeder.webm","sourceFrameSeconds":0.6,"credit":"People Can Fly / Epic Games; frame from clip via GameMechanics.org; visible source watermark: GRAVITY BOOTS","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"The player sends a target toward a carnivorous plant","alt":"The player sends a target toward a carnivorous plant","markers":[{"x":43,"y":48,"label":"Enemy airborne after the hit"},{"x":45,"y":25,"label":"Carnivorous plant beside the target"}]},"tips":["Show how creature behaviour depends on available food and threats."],"examples":[{"title":"Bulletstorm","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/feeding-enemies-to-creatures"}]}},"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/systemic-worlds"}}