Rune language¶

The rune language lets players combine one action word with one target word. The authoritative behavior matrix is Current Rune Type, mirrored from the linked Google Sheet.

Rune categories¶

Category	Purpose	Examples
Noun runes	Identify object classes or concepts.	Door, Light, Column, Wall, Stair, Tile, Box, Book, Tree, Water, Fire, Mirror, Wind, Sky
Verb runes	Describe an action applied to a noun.	Repair, Rotate, Open, Destroy, Rise, Grow, Freeze
World/meta runes	Affect wider world state or the ending layer.	Fake World, True World

Rune base construction¶

Every rune is built by highlighting and rotating parts of one shared base. The base has three part systems:

System	Parts	Movement
Big circle / body	The large rim, four limb-like strokes, and the triangle's closing bar	Rotate together around the main centre.
Small circle	The two outline halves and the inner straight stroke	Orbit together around the main centre, independently of the body.
Fixed frame	Two squares, the outward corner strokes, and eight directional sockets	Stay in place.

The two rotation controls are independent: turning the body does not carry the small circle, and moving the small circle does not turn the body. Zero degrees is the upright standing reference, and the sliders lock to 45 degree steps on release.

The large rim divides into eight socket-to-socket arcs. The small outline has two selectable halves. Each square edge splits at its midpoint socket. Corner strokes are selected manually; touching a socket does not switch them on.

A Verb needs all three of:

the whole small-circle outline highlighted;
the straight stroke inside the small circle highlighted;
matching big-circle and small-circle angles.

The rest of the figure suggests the action, and the whole big circle does not have to be highlighted. Nouns are pictographic: they start from an object's outline, a defining feature, or a visual relationship, and they stay distinguishable from the verb signature.

The design methods for a new rune:

Let related runes share a visual relationship. Water and Fire share a bottom horizontal line with a curved form above it.
Combine symbols into a larger idea. Sky is a moon-like outer arc cradling a small circle for the sun.
Use rotation to shape relationships, like the hands of a clock.
Make straight strokes and curves work together.
Simplify and compare, then record the motif in one sentence: "This suggests ___ through ___."

Source: Rune Base Design Guide.

Sentence grammar¶

A sentence contains exactly one Verb and one Noun. Order does not matter:

VERB + NOUN
NOUN + VERB

Both forms produce the same command. The first activated word becomes pending. Activating the same token again cancels it. Token identity includes the word, its origin, and its source actor.

A valid pair launches one command from the noun and clears after delivery. Two Verbs or two Nouns reject and clear.

Player interaction¶

Walk into a world rune's interaction range. The closest rune becomes the candidate.
Press F to activate it. Nearby interactable actors take priority.
Press E to open or close the drawing tablet.
Navigate the tablet with WASD, arrow keys, or left stick.
Press Space or the mapped gamepad action to toggle the selected stroke.
Exact drawn patterns activate automatically.
Combine one Verb with one Noun to send the command orb.

See Making runes for asset setup and runtime details.

First implementation set¶

Type	Rune	Behavior
Verb	Repair	Restore a broken supported noun.
Verb	Open	Open a Door or turn on a Light when its state permits.
Noun	Door	Closed, Open, and Broken door states.
Noun	Light	Off/Open and Broken light states.

Examples:

Door + Open changes a Closed door to Open and moves the door to its open pose.
Door + Repair clears Broken while preserving Open.
Light + Open turns on the puzzle's light.
Light + Repair clears Broken while preserving Open.

Verb behavior¶

A verb is a player-facing clue. Its exact result depends on the noun and current status row in the matrix.

Verb	Design expectation
Repair	Restore a broken/restorable noun.
Open	Open, reveal, clear, or light a supported noun.
Rotate	Change orientation when supported.
Rise	Raise a supported noun a certain distance for a while.
Destroy	Break, clear, extinguish, or turn off according to the row.
Freeze	Stop supported motion or state changes.
Grow	Advance growth for growth-capable nouns.
Enhance	Defined as a column in the matrix with no noun rows yet.

Effects are immediate unless the matrix row and implementation task define an ongoing presentation.

Authoring questions¶

Each new rune should answer:

What does the player observe before learning the word?
Which Verb + Noun pairing introduces it clearly?
What first puzzle proves its meaning?
Which status rows are supported?
Which combinations intentionally reject?
Which states does each noun have, and which is its Default Status?
Do the existing performance behaviors express it, or does it need a new behavior?

Change history¶

2026-10-02 — Gabriel Li — Door + Open reads as a change from Closed to Open, and Light + Open turns on the puzzle's own light (CORE-011).
2026-09-17 — Gabriel Li — Added the rune base construction rules, the Rise and Enhance verb rows, and the Rune Base Design Guide source.
2026-09-17 — Gabriel Li — Reframed the page around the shipping one-Verb + one-Noun language, current input, and runeable-object status behavior.
2026-09-16 — Gabriel Li — Locked Set 1 Door/Light behavior and interactable-first controls.
2026-09-16 — Gabriel Li — Commands go to URuneableObjectComponent. ISP2CommandReceiver is gone.
2026-09-16 — Gabriel Li — Shipping controls: F interact, E tablet, Space stroke, stick/Tab navigate. Interactable wins. Open-on-open is a silent reject.
2026-09-16 — Gabriel Li — Set 1 receiver now clears Broken and keeps Open. Other matrix rows arrive with their verbs.
2026-09-10 — Gabriel Li — Added the current Second Playable authoring route, labeled older rune references as legacy, aligned the cut/parked heading with the links that point to it, and clarified token-level cancellation plus the prototype receiver's coverage limits.
2026-09-09 — Gabriel Li — Updated to the current Google Sheet matrix: Repair/Light naming, Sept 2 no-slot one-verb + one-noun lock, and Set 1 guidance for Repair/Open/Door/Light.
2026-09-03 — Reconciled to the then-current rune matrix; grammar set to order-independent one verb + one noun; Reverse marked cut, Enhance deferred.
2026-05-23 — Gabriel Li — Sentence patterns synced to GDD; VERB + NOUN links implementation status.