{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"practice/light-for-two","type":"practice","id":"light-for-two","lang":"en","title":"Light for two","summary":"Express a story's theme through actions and consequences.","updatedAt":"2026-10-20","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/practice/light-for-two/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/practice/light-for-two.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/practice/light-for-two.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Story through rules"],"sourceIds":["source-3e6c21889ae768e0","source-6f794a271cd60b9c"],"sources":[{"id":"source-3e6c21889ae768e0","title":"Challenges for Game Designers: author website","url":"https://designgames.wordpress.com/","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-6f794a271cd60b9c","title":"Challenges for Game Designers: table of contents","url":"https://designgames.wordpress.com/toc/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"goal","title":"Goal","body":"Express a story's theme through actions and consequences."},{"id":"example","title":"Scenario and materials","body":"A winter station's energy supply decreases each turn. The player can light the living area or maintain communication with a neighbouring station. Create a short game about interdependence in which meaning emerges from energy allocation and the neighbours' responses.\n\nState cards"},{"id":"constraints","title":"Constraints","body":"- Use no more than five introductory sentences.\n- No dialogue directly states the moral.\n- At least one consequence arrives a turn later rather than immediately."},{"id":"steps","title":"Steps","body":"1. State the theme in one sentence.\n2. Describe the actions and delayed consequences.\n3. Run the game and ask the player to explain what it is about in their own words. Compare the answer with your intention."},{"id":"outcome","title":"Deliverable","body":"Rules, a consequence map and a record of the player's interpretation."},{"id":"checks","title":"Check your work","body":"- At least one repeated player action relates to the theme.\n- Consequences follow from rules rather than an arbitrary designer decision.\n- Keep your intended interpretation separate from the player's answer."},{"id":"reflection","title":"Reflect","body":"If you remove the introduction, what part of the story remains understandable?"}],"relations":[{"type":"uses","direction":"outgoing","label":"Sources in the selection","key":"resource/challenges-for-game-designers","title":"Challenges for Game Designers","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-challenges-for-game-designers","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/resource/challenges-for-game-designers.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/resource/challenges-for-game-designers.md"}],"placements":[{"title":"In the original collection","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/practice/#light-for-two"}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"topic":"story","level":"intermediate","minutes":60},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Thematic inspiration: Challenges for Game Designers by Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber. These scenarios, constraints and checks are independently written around broad game-design learning topics. This is not a translation or a sequential retelling of the book exercises.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors"}}