- 01Observe event times
- 02Record knowledge
- 03Reset the world
- 04Execute a revised plan
Planning within a time loop
The world repeats a schedule while the player retains knowledge. Progress comes from better visits and timing rather than merely accumulating items.
The player's decision
Use this loop to investigate an unknown event or execute a known chain of actions?
Original scenario
Original setup: a station opens at minute 2, loses power at 4 and dispatches at 5. Discover the backup supply, then bring a tool earlier on the next loop to change departure conditions.
Start with this prototype
Build three rooms, six turns and four scheduled events. Keep the journal across loops but reset specified items. Prevent one power failure; fast-forward known waiting periods and state exactly what persists.
Change one variable
Vary one event's action window and check whether players plan routes or merely repeat long waits.
What to observe in a playtest
Can players name what they learned each loop, and do identical conditions reproduce event timing?
Take the full design card
Includes rules, scope, tuning questions and sources for further planning. It does not create a project automatically.
Original analysis · version 1
Common pitfall
Repeating known text and travel in full can bury knowledge progress under repetition.
Observations and sources
Cases refer to public documentation. Developers and community wikis are credited separately; document review is not a claim of hands-on testing.
- Outer Wilds
Locations change over time within the loop, making arrival timing an exploration condition.
- Twelve Minutes
The developer centers the loop on using foreknowledge to change the next outcome.
Brief for the studio
Opens the AI studio with the brief below in the input. You can edit it. Nothing starts automatically.
Build three rooms, six turns and four scheduled events. Keep the journal across loops but reset specified items. Prevent one power failure; fast-forward known waiting periods and state exactly what persists.
Covers are original AI-generated style illustrations. Game names reference publicly visible design choices and remain the property of their owners. This atlas does not supply screenshots or assets from those games. Prompts and combinations are original drafts for new games.