{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/systemic-worlds--t265","type":"mechanic","id":"systemic-worlds--t265","lang":"en","title":"Character routines, needs and memory","summary":"Routines connect needs, available places and event memory to produce understandable daily character routes.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/systemic-worlds--t265/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/systemic-worlds--t265.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/systemic-worlds--t265.md","aliases":["Character routines and needs"],"tags":["Systemic worlds, randomness and NPC behavior","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-3817d420df0baa92","source-12394e8203bade5f"],"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-12394e8203bade5f","title":"Wobbledogs","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1424330/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Routines connect needs, available places and event memory to produce understandable daily character routes."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t265-variants\"></a>\n\n- Schedules set expected places at specified times. <a id=\"t265-v1\"></a>\n- Needs interrupt plans for recovery. <a id=\"t265-v2\"></a>\n- Memory changes attitudes toward familiar places. <a id=\"t265-v3\"></a>\n- Unavailable destinations trigger fallback behavior. <a id=\"t265-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A craftsperson goes for lunch but chooses a cheaper canteen after a wallet theft.\n\nPrototype check: Test closed workplaces and missed appointments so NPCs do not endlessly attempt unavailable actions."},{"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":"t265","title":"Systemic worlds, randomness and NPC behavior","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/systemic-worlds/#t265","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Character routines and needs","description":"Routines connect needs, available places and event memory to produce understandable daily character routes.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/general-wobbledogs-07.webp","width":1440,"height":809,"game":"Wobbledogs","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1424330/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1424330/ss_7c1d0feb4ba10ec0ac38869239c7e4f8f33fc456.1920x1080.jpg?t=1783596978","credit":"Animal Uprising / Secret Mode","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed screenshot from Steam; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"A pet’s condition connects feeding and rest","alt":"A pet’s condition connects feeding and rest","markers":[{"x":22,"y":88,"label":"Meters show the selected pet’s needs"},{"x":56,"y":63,"label":"A pet interacts with food"}]},"tips":["Let everyday actions follow from a character’s state and available locations."],"examples":[{"title":"Wobbledogs","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1424330/"}]}},"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"}}