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20-minute experience flow

This flow describes the learning arc for a short vertical slice. Timings are targets for playtesting.

Flow

Beat Target time Player understanding
Awakening 1-2 min A rune activates and the world responds before the player knows its meaning.
Free observation 1-2 min The player reads the space, sees rune shapes, and chooses where to look.
First world-rune activation 2 min Interacting highlights a word and creates a pending half-command.
First Verb + Noun result 2-3 min A complete phrase sends a command from the noun and changes a nearby object.
Context comparison 3 min Reusing one word with another state or object sharpens its meaning.
Mind Drawing introduction 3 min The player reconstructs an encountered pattern and uses the drawn word in the same grammar.
Applied route puzzle 4-5 min The player selects words based on the environment and opens a way forward.
Wider-world reveal 2-3 min A camera or viewpoint reveals that architecture and landscape can also form runes.

Learning arc

The slice builds five ideas in order:

  1. Runes respond to interaction.
  2. One Verb and one Noun form a command.
  3. The noun sets the command origin and target identity.
  4. Object status changes how a Verb behaves.
  5. Encountered rune shapes can be reconstructed through Mind Drawing.

Feedback requirements

Every command gives the player a readable chain of evidence:

  • selected world rune or exact drawing match;
  • pending-word presentation;
  • complete two-word transaction;
  • command-orb origin and range;
  • receiver response;
  • final object status and route consequence.

A rejection also identifies where the attempt stops: word selection, grammar, range, receiver eligibility, or status transition.

Playtest questions

  • When does the player first describe the relationship between a Verb and a Noun?
  • Can they predict the command origin before the second puzzle?
  • Can they tell whether an object changed because of its noun, its status, or both?
  • Does Mind Drawing feel like recalling a language rather than choosing a spell?
  • Which environmental clue drives the next action without spoken or written instruction?

Change history

  • 2026-09-17 — Gabriel Li — Rebuilt the vertical-slice flow around world activation, two-word commands, contextual comparison, and Mind Drawing.
  • 2026-05-08 — Gabriel Li — Added baseline change history section for weekly wiki maintenance.