{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/time-world-rules--t257","type":"mechanic","id":"time-world-rules--t257","lang":"en","title":"Changing rules and interface metagames","summary":"Players change an active rule or treat interface elements as world objects, expanding ordinary permitted transformations.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/time-world-rules--t257/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/time-world-rules--t257.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/time-world-rules--t257.md","aliases":["Changing rules and metagames"],"tags":["Time, information and world rules","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-eceba0e40b661634","source-d99c3809fdf4654d"],"sources":[{"id":"source-eceba0e40b661634","title":"PuzzleScript: Rules","url":"https://www.puzzlescript.net/Documentation/rules.html","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-d99c3809fdf4654d","title":"Baba Is You","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Players change an active rule or treat interface elements as world objects, expanding ordinary permitted transformations."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t257-variants\"></a>\n\n- Rule words change properties of an object group. <a id=\"t257-v1\"></a>\n- Reordering conditions changes the victory method. <a id=\"t257-v2\"></a>\n- Interface windows become movable geometry. <a id=\"t257-v3\"></a>\n- Rule changes have a visible scope of effect. <a id=\"t257-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Replacing a rule's wall with door opens passages but simultaneously removes a needed support.\n\nPrototype check: Test self-applying rules and recovery after creating a state with no available actions."},{"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":"t257","title":"Time, information and world rules","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/time-world-rules/#t257","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Changing rules and metagames","description":"Players change an active rule or treat interface elements as world objects, expanding ordinary permitted transformations.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/adventure-baba-is-you-00.webp","width":850,"height":472,"game":"Baba Is You","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/736260/ss_908c8a4fd0ffec9f29341eb50eb7f074c105342f.1920x1080.jpg?t=1760102539","credit":"Hempuli Oy","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Words on the board also define the game’s rules","alt":"Words on the board also define the game’s rules","markers":[{"x":35,"y":70,"label":"A rule is formed from movable words"},{"x":13,"y":10,"label":"Another rule defines the win condition"}]},"tips":["Distinguish changing a rule from moving an ordinary object."],"examples":[{"title":"Baba Is You","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/"}]}},"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"}}