Systems overview

This page connects the player experience to the systems that support it. Engineering pages describe the runtime details.

Player-facing systems

System	Player experience	Design ownership
Character and interaction	Explore an isometric 3D space and activate nearby runes or interactables.	Movement feel, interaction distance, readable focus.
World runes	Find language embedded in ruins, objects, light, and landscape.	Rune placement, shape, discovery context, pairing opportunities.
Mind Drawing	Reconstruct an encountered rune from its exact stroke pattern.	Pattern legibility, learning order, drawing challenge.
Rune transaction	Combine one Verb and one Noun in either order.	Vocabulary, contextual behavior, puzzle intent.
Command delivery	See the noun-centered command travel through the world.	Range, pacing, feedback, target composition.
Runeable objects	Respond according to noun identity, current status, and resolved Verb effect.	Allowed statuses, state transitions, presentation.
Dynamic camera	Frame clues, transformations, routes, and reveals.	Camera zones, shot priority, transition timing.
Audio and VFX	Reinforce selection, completion, travel, rejection, and state change.	Sensory language for every command stage.
Level structure	Turn learned vocabulary into traversal, discovery, and narrative progress.	Encounter, comparison, application, reveal.
Save and accessibility	Preserve progress and support keyboard, mouse, and gamepad play.	Checkpoint boundaries, rebindable actions, readable feedback.

Runtime flow

1. ARephraseCharacter routes interaction to URuneCoordinatorComponent.
2. A world or drawn rune contributes a token to FRuneTransaction.
3. The coordinator accepts one Verb and one Noun in either order.
4. The noun provides the command origin and identity.
5. AExpandingRingActor visualizes and times delivery.
6. URuneableObjectComponent checks the noun and finds the noun's rule for this verb and the exact current state.
7. The rule sets the new state, or keeps it for a temporary effect such as Rise.
8. The puzzle shows the new state through its State Looks and plays the matching Performance: animation, light, sound, VFX, and camera.

Content sources

• Current Rune Type defines Verb × Noun × Status behavior.
• Game Macro defines where vocabulary appears and how areas reuse it.
• Making runes defines the team authoring workflow.
• Level design template defines the puzzle handoff.

Technical owners

Area	Primary owner
Rune coordinator, transaction, command delivery	Systems Engineer
Word data, drawing patterns, puzzle Blueprints	Blueprint Engineer / Tech Designer
Character, input, camera, integration	Generalist Engineer
Rune-responsive puzzle actors	Puzzle Engineer
Audio feedback	Audio Engineer
Materials, VFX, transformation readability	Tech Art
Milestone integration and verification	Engineering Producer

Related Engineering pages

• Rune system core
• Player and interaction
• Puzzle rules and behaviors
• Content pipeline
• Camera system

Change history

• 2026-09-17 — Gabriel Li — Rebuilt the inventory around the current rune transaction, Mind Drawing, command delivery, status effects, and 2nd Playable.
• 2026-05-08 — Gabriel Li — Added baseline change history section for weekly wiki maintenance.