---
key: mechanic/point-and-click--family-20
type: mechanic
id: point-and-click--family-20
lang: en
title: 'Physics, environmental properties and experiment'
summary: >-
  The player experiments with material and environmental properties and observes
  the consequences.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/point-and-click--family-20/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-20.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/point-and-click--family-20.md
aliases:
  - Physics and experimentation
tags:
  - Point-and-click adventures
  - Devices and spatial puzzles
sourceIds:
  - source-8a3a7e105b6c798e
sources:
  - id: source-8a3a7e105b6c798e
    title: Portal
    url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations:
  - type: explains
    direction: incoming
    label: Understand the principle
    key: lesson/collision-basics
    title: Collision fundamentals
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/collision-basics/'
    jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/lesson/collision-basics.json'
    markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/lesson/collision-basics.md'
placements:
  - catalogId: point-and-click
    id: family-20
    title: Point-and-click adventures
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/point-and-click/#family-20'
    categoryIds:
      - section-3
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Physics and experimentation
    description: >-
      The player experiments with material and environmental properties and
      observes the consequences.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/adventure-portal-04.webp
      width: 640
      height: 360
      game: Portal
      sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/400/0000002586.1920x1080.jpg?t=1745368554
      credit: Valve
      rights: >-
        Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed
        Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: Cubes hold down floor buttons
      alt: Cubes hold down floor buttons
      markers:
        - x: 80
          'y': 53
          label: The cube’s weight holds the button down
        - x: 42
          'y': 25
          label: Passage state is linked to the buttons
    tips:
      - Show the force’s effect and let players safely test an assumption.
    examples:
      - title: Portal
        url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original taxonomy adapted from user-selected design discussions; linked
  sources support specific examples, not the whole classification.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/point-and-click
---
# Physics, environmental properties and experiment

id: point-and-click--family-20
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/point-and-click--family-20
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/point-and-click--family-20/

The player experiments with material and environmental properties and observes the consequences.

## At a glance

![Cubes hold down floor buttons](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/adventure-portal-04.webp)

[Portal](https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed Steam screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. The cube’s weight holds the button down
2. Passage state is linked to the buttons

- Show the force’s effect and let players safely test an assumption.

- [Portal](https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/)

## How it works

The player experiments with material and environmental properties and observes the consequences.

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-20-branch-1"></a>

- Mass and equilibrium: use scales, weights, levers and counterweights. <a id="family-20-variant-1"></a>
- Volume and pressure: measure fluids, displace contents and control sealed systems. <a id="family-20-variant-2"></a>
- Buoyancy and currents: float, sink, drift or move with flow. <a id="family-20-variant-3"></a>
- Friction and grip: lubricate, secure, enable sliding or prevent motion. <a id="family-20-variant-4"></a>
- Magnetism and conductivity: attract, repel, conduct and exploit material properties. <a id="family-20-variant-5"></a>
- Heat and reactions: heat, cool, burn or combine substances. <a id="family-20-variant-6"></a>
- Impulses and chain reactions: trigger falls, collisions, pendulums or sequences. <a id="family-20-variant-7"></a>
- Experimental laws: compare responses, infer rules and apply them to new tasks. <a id="family-20-variant-8"></a>

## Context and limits

A working classification with 44 families and 355 variants. Families overlap: one puzzle can combine items, dialogue, deduction and a character schedule. Core actions, progression architecture and assistance are separate layers. Sources identify examples from neighboring adventure genres.

## Connected materials

- Understand the principle: [Collision fundamentals](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/lessons/collision-basics/) (key: lesson/collision-basics)

## Sources and provenance

Original taxonomy adapted from user-selected design discussions; linked sources support specific examples, not the whole classification.

- [Portal](https://store.steampowered.com/app/400/) (id: source-8a3a7e105b6c798e)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors