{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/time-world-rules--t256","type":"mechanic","id":"time-world-rules--t256","lang":"en","title":"Portals, topology and non-Euclidean spaces","summary":"Portals connect nonadjacent regions while unusual topology changes expectations about routes, visibility and returning.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/time-world-rules--t256/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/time-world-rules--t256.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/time-world-rules--t256.md","aliases":["Portals and topology"],"tags":["Time, information and world rules","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-eceba0e40b661634","source-10d1df6f36fd4358"],"sources":[{"id":"source-eceba0e40b661634","title":"PuzzleScript: Rules","url":"https://www.puzzlescript.net/Documentation/rules.html","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-10d1df6f36fd4358","title":"Patrick's Parabox","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1260520/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Portals connect nonadjacent regions while unusual topology changes expectations about routes, visibility and returning."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t256-variants\"></a>\n\n- Paired portals maintain explicit entry-exit links. <a id=\"t256-v1\"></a>\n- Exit orientation transforms movement direction. <a id=\"t256-v2\"></a>\n- Looping rooms return travelers from another side. <a id=\"t256-v3\"></a>\n- One-way connections make transitions irreversible. <a id=\"t256-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A balcony door leads downstairs while a window shows that room from an otherwise incompatible angle.\n\nPrototype check: Test camera, projectile and carried-object paths through a connection, including repeated transitions."},{"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":"t256","title":"Time, information and world rules","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/time-world-rules/#t256","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Portals and topology","description":"Portals connect nonadjacent regions while unusual topology changes expectations about routes, visibility and returning.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/adventure-patrick-parabox-00.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Patrick's Parabox","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1260520/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1260520/ss_fc9994b3d063276aaaeacbc86c6d740dabeebdc0.1920x1080.jpg?t=1745611653","credit":"Patrick Traynor","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"A nested box contains accessible space","alt":"A nested box contains accessible space","markers":[{"x":65,"y":56,"label":"Space inside a movable box"}]},"tips":["Show the connection between entrance and exit before irreversible travel."],"examples":[{"title":"Patrick's Parabox","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/1260520/"}]}},"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"}}