Build specification

Core Game Loops#

Moment loop — 5 to 90 seconds#

Observe world state → Focus a person/object/path → understand possible Actions → act, ask, or withdraw → world responds → Record appears only when consequence warrants it.

Contribution loop — 10 to 45 minutes#

Notice a Project need → choose a role-shaped WorkItem → inspect outcome/constraints/authority → work with people, Ally, or Actor → submit an Artifact/relationship change → receive accept/revise response → Project space changes.

Project loop — sessions to weeks#

Frame purpose → gather complementary roles → create bounded milestone → request Capacity/resources → make/accept Contributions → resolve decisions and conflicts → expand table to workshop to compound → open a wider Realm bridge.

Relationship loop#

Encounter → exchange bounded context → invite/decline → set directional grants → work together → revise trust and permissions from evidence. No invisible “friend score” exists.

Mystery loop#

Notice anomaly → collect observations → compare interpretations → choose an Action with incomplete certainty → leave evidence → return to changed evidence. Completion means the player can articulate uncertainty, not that lore has been solved.

Economy loop#

Receive/earn Capacity → decide where to use it → produce accepted work → request or allocate sandbox resources → trace value flow and consequence. Recirculation and provenance matter more than consumption totals.

Failure#

Failure creates a typed state: blocked, denied, revision-requested, external-wait, resource-shortfall, relationship-boundary, or mystery-divergence. Each provides a legitimate next Action. Only destructive experiments inside explicit simulations may reset; their Records remain.