---
id: time-world-rules
status: active
supersededBy: []
lang: en
title: 'Time, information and world rules'
description: >-
Time and space rules change action causality; the interface must show which
state survives a transformation.
intro: >-
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.
updatedAt: '2026-10-21'
sources:
- title: 'PuzzleScript: Rules'
url: 'https://www.puzzlescript.net/Documentation/rules.html'
description: The creator’s documentation of pattern replacement and board state.
counts:
families: 6
branches: 6
variants: 24
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/time-world-rules/'
markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/mechanics/en/time-world-rules.md'
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
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.
---
# Time, information and world rules
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.
## Mechanics and variants
### 1. Stopping, slowing and accelerating time
id: t250
canonicalId: time-world-rules--t250
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/time-world-rules/#t250
Changing time speed creates analysis and execution opportunities, but requires explicit exceptions across world systems.
#### Mechanic variants
- Stopping freezes the world but permits commands.
- Slow motion expands a player's response window.
- Fast-forward skips predictable repeated cycles.
- Local fields alter the rate of selected objects.
Design example: A projectile slows inside a sphere so a reflector can move before it exits.
Prototype check: Test timers, audio and physics across rate boundaries, including pausing within another slow-motion effect.
- [PuzzleScript: Rules](https://www.puzzlescript.net/Documentation/rules.html)
### 2. Parallel timelines and causality
id: t251
canonicalId: time-world-rules--t251
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/time-world-rules/#t251
Multiple temporal states connect through causal rules, letting actions in one timeline change another's possibilities.
#### Mechanic variants
- Past actions alter a persistent future object.
- Branches create independent choice consequences.
- Invariants preserve selected facts across timelines.
- Paradoxes have a predefined resolution rule.
Design example: A tree planted in the past supports a future bridge unless the ground is flooded.
Prototype check: Test changing a cause after its result has been used and preserve consistent paradox rules.
- [PuzzleScript: Rules](https://www.puzzlescript.net/Documentation/rules.html)
### 3. Recorded actions, replays and interacting with copies
id: t252
canonicalId: time-world-rules--t252
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/time-world-rules/#t252
Recording turns an action sequence into a repeating participant with whom the current player can coordinate new actions.
#### Mechanic variants
- Ghosts replay input on a shared timeline.
- Copies encounter the changed environment.
- New recordings replace a limited replay slot.
- Synchronization aligns actions from different attempts.
Design example: A first recording holds a lever while the current character carries cargo through an open gate.
Prototype check: Test replay divergence after geometry changes and explicitly choose input replay or stored-trajectory playback.
- [PuzzleScript: Rules](https://www.puzzlescript.net/Documentation/rules.html)
### 4. Changing scale, gravity and reference frames
id: t255
canonicalId: time-world-rules--t255
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/time-world-rules/#t255
Changing scale or reference frames reshapes usable surfaces, distances and force directions.
#### Mechanic variants
- Shrinking opens a narrow passage.
- Growth turns a small object into a platform.
- Gravity rotation changes wall and floor roles.
- Moving supports define relative velocity.
Design example: A player shrinks a cube for transport and enlarges it under a lever as support.
Prototype check: Test collision and velocity across scale transitions and align interface units with the selected rule.
- [PuzzleScript: Rules](https://www.puzzlescript.net/Documentation/rules.html)
### 5. Portals, topology and non-Euclidean spaces
id: t256
canonicalId: time-world-rules--t256
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/time-world-rules/#t256
Portals connect nonadjacent regions while unusual topology changes expectations about routes, visibility and returning.
#### Mechanic variants
- Paired portals maintain explicit entry-exit links.
- Exit orientation transforms movement direction.
- Looping rooms return travelers from another side.
- One-way connections make transitions irreversible.
Design example: A balcony door leads downstairs while a window shows that room from an otherwise incompatible angle.
Prototype check: Test camera, projectile and carried-object paths through a connection, including repeated transitions.
- [PuzzleScript: Rules](https://www.puzzlescript.net/Documentation/rules.html)
### 6. Changing rules and interface metagames
id: t257
canonicalId: time-world-rules--t257
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/time-world-rules/#t257
Players change an active rule or treat interface elements as world objects, expanding ordinary permitted transformations.
#### Mechanic variants
- Rule words change properties of an object group.
- Reordering conditions changes the victory method.
- Interface windows become movable geometry.
- Rule changes have a visible scope of effect.
Design example: Replacing a rule's wall with door opens passages but simultaneously removes a needed support.
Prototype check: Test self-applying rules and recovery after creating a state with no available actions.
- [PuzzleScript: Rules](https://www.puzzlescript.net/Documentation/rules.html)
## Sources and examples
Sources support particular techniques or methodology, not every family variant. Design examples and mechanic combinations are illustrative.
- [PuzzleScript: Rules](https://www.puzzlescript.net/Documentation/rules.html): The creator’s documentation of pattern replacement and board state.