--- key: mechanic/social-cooperation--t206 type: mechanic id: social-cooperation--t206 lang: en title: 'Rescue, support and shared responsibility' summary: >- Support changes an ally's capabilities while rescue redistributes risk and time across the group. updatedAt: '2026-10-22' status: active url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/social-cooperation--t206/' jsonUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/social-cooperation--t206.json markdownUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/social-cooperation--t206.md aliases: - Rescuing and supporting a teammate tags: - Social relationships and shared play - Mechanics and variants sourceIds: - source-3817d420df0baa92 - source-bedadccbc9147211 sources: - id: source-3817d420df0baa92 title: 'Robert Nystrom: State' url: >- https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown verifiedAt: null - id: source-bedadccbc9147211 title: Human Fall Flat url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/477160/' verifiedAt: null relations: - type: uses direction: outgoing label: Sources in the selection key: resource/state-pattern title: 'State: Game Programming Patterns' url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern' jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.json' markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.md' placements: - catalogId: social-cooperation id: t206 title: Social relationships and shared play url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/social-cooperation/#t206' categoryIds: - mechanics supersededBy: [] attributes: preview: updatedAt: '2026-10-22' title: Rescuing and supporting a teammate description: >- Support changes an ally's capabilities while rescue redistributes risk and time across the group. image: src: images/mechanics/general-human-fall-flat-09.webp width: 1440 height: 810 game: Human Fall Flat sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/477160/' originalUrl: >- https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/477160/4062b4de4cf5fac03557adb96054d546234a3ea5/ss_4062b4de4cf5fac03557adb96054d546234a3ea5.1920x1080.jpg?t=1792416519 credit: No Brakes Games / Curve Games rights: >- Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed screenshot from Steam; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. caption: Players hold onto an edge and each other alt: Players hold onto an edge and each other markers: - x: 61 'y': 53 label: Holding the platform prevents a fall tips: - >- Show the cost of helping and let the recipient participate in the rescue. examples: - title: Human Fall Flat url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/477160/' 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/social-cooperation --- # Rescue, support and shared responsibility id: social-cooperation--t206 type: mechanic key: mechanic/social-cooperation--t206 lang: en status: active url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/social-cooperation--t206/ Support changes an ally's capabilities while rescue redistributes risk and time across the group. ## At a glance ![Players hold onto an edge and each other](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/general-human-fall-flat-09.webp) [Human Fall Flat](https://store.steampowered.com/app/477160/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed screenshot from Steam; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. 1. Holding the platform prevents a fall - Show the cost of helping and let the recipient participate in the rescue. - [Human Fall Flat](https://store.steampowered.com/app/477160/) ## How it works Support changes an ally's capabilities while rescue redistributes risk and time across the group. ## Variants ### Mechanic variants - Reviving requires uninterrupted safe contact. - Covering fire opens a path to a downed ally. - Resource transfers change personal support reserves. - Evacuation limits speed and available actions. ## Design example One participant carries an injured ally, another opens doors and a third distracts a pursuer. Prototype check: Test useful participation or a timely return to play after an unsuccessful rescue. ## Context and limits Social mechanics connect participants’ different capabilities through care, trust, coordination and conflicting commitments. 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. ## Connected materials - Sources in the selection: [State: Game Programming Patterns](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern) (key: resource/state-pattern) ## Sources and 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. - [Robert Nystrom: State](https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown) (id: source-3817d420df0baa92) - [Human Fall Flat](https://store.steampowered.com/app/477160/) (id: source-bedadccbc9147211) CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors