--- key: mechanic/systemic-worlds--t265 type: mechanic id: systemic-worlds--t265 lang: en title: 'Character routines, needs and memory' summary: >- Routines connect needs, available places and event memory to produce understandable daily character routes. updatedAt: '2026-10-22' status: active url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/systemic-worlds--t265/' jsonUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/systemic-worlds--t265.json markdownUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/systemic-worlds--t265.md aliases: - Character routines and needs tags: - 'Systemic worlds, randomness and NPC behavior' - Mechanics and variants sourceIds: - source-3817d420df0baa92 - source-12394e8203bade5f 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-12394e8203bade5f title: Wobbledogs url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1424330/' 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: systemic-worlds id: t265 title: 'Systemic worlds, randomness and NPC behavior' url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/systemic-worlds/#t265' categoryIds: - mechanics supersededBy: [] attributes: preview: updatedAt: '2026-10-22' title: Character routines and needs description: >- Routines connect needs, available places and event memory to produce understandable daily character routes. image: src: images/mechanics/general-wobbledogs-07.webp width: 1440 height: 809 game: Wobbledogs sourceUrl: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1424330/' originalUrl: >- https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1424330/ss_7c1d0feb4ba10ec0ac38869239c7e4f8f33fc456.1920x1080.jpg?t=1783596978 credit: Animal Uprising / Secret Mode rights: >- Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed screenshot from Steam; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. caption: A pet’s condition connects feeding and rest alt: A pet’s condition connects feeding and rest markers: - x: 22 'y': 88 label: Meters show the selected pet’s needs - x: 56 'y': 63 label: A pet interacts with food tips: - >- Let everyday actions follow from a character’s state and available locations. examples: - title: Wobbledogs url: 'https://store.steampowered.com/app/1424330/' 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/systemic-worlds --- # Character routines, needs and memory id: systemic-worlds--t265 type: mechanic key: mechanic/systemic-worlds--t265 lang: en status: active url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/systemic-worlds--t265/ Routines connect needs, available places and event memory to produce understandable daily character routes. ## At a glance ![A pet’s condition connects feeding and rest](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/general-wobbledogs-07.webp) [Wobbledogs](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1424330/) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Publisher-distributed screenshot from Steam; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. 1. Meters show the selected pet’s needs 2. A pet interacts with food - Let everyday actions follow from a character’s state and available locations. - [Wobbledogs](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1424330/) ## How it works Routines connect needs, available places and event memory to produce understandable daily character routes. ## Variants ### Mechanic variants - Schedules set expected places at specified times. - Needs interrupt plans for recovery. - Memory changes attitudes toward familiar places. - Unavailable destinations trigger fallback behavior. ## Design example A craftsperson goes for lunch but chooses a cheaper canteen after a wallet theft. Prototype check: Test closed workplaces and missed appointments so NPCs do not endlessly attempt unavailable actions. ## Context and limits A systemic world applies shared rules to multiple objects so players can predict new combinations from known interactions. 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) - [Wobbledogs](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1424330/) (id: source-12394e8203bade5f) CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors