{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/time-world-rules--t251","type":"mechanic","id":"time-world-rules--t251","lang":"en","title":"Parallel timelines and causality","summary":"Multiple temporal states connect through causal rules, letting actions in one timeline change another's possibilities.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/time-world-rules--t251/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/time-world-rules--t251.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/time-world-rules--t251.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Time, information and world rules","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-eceba0e40b661634","source-796ac91c3a695e59"],"sources":[{"id":"source-eceba0e40b661634","title":"PuzzleScript: Rules","url":"https://www.puzzlescript.net/Documentation/rules.html","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-796ac91c3a695e59","title":"Day of the Tentacle Remastered","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/388210/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Multiple temporal states connect through causal rules, letting actions in one timeline change another's possibilities."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t251-variants\"></a>\n\n- Past actions alter a persistent future object. <a id=\"t251-v1\"></a>\n- Branches create independent choice consequences. <a id=\"t251-v2\"></a>\n- Invariants preserve selected facts across timelines. <a id=\"t251-v3\"></a>\n- Paradoxes have a predefined resolution rule. <a id=\"t251-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A tree planted in the past supports a future bridge unless the ground is flooded.\n\nPrototype check: Test changing a cause after its result has been used and preserve consistent paradox rules."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Time and space rules change action causality; the interface must show which state survives a transformation. 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":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"time-world-rules","id":"t251","title":"Time, information and world rules","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/time-world-rules/#t251","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Parallel timelines and causality","description":"Multiple temporal states connect through causal rules, letting actions in one timeline change another's possibilities.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/adventure-day-of-the-tentacle-07.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"crop":{"x":180,"y":0,"width":1080,"height":810},"game":"Day of the Tentacle Remastered","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/388210/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/388210/ss_9eefffbc6bf66978cb5b8570665b09774d4f604a.1920x1080.jpg?t=1731602439","credit":"Double Fine Productions / Shiny Shoe","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Portraits switch between available protagonists","alt":"Portraits switch between available protagonists","markers":[{"x":84,"y":82,"label":"Portraits switch the controlled protagonist"}]},"tips":["Show causal links between changes to the past and the resulting state."],"examples":[{"title":"Day of the Tentacle Remastered","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/388210/"}]}},"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/time-world-rules"}}