Contract catalog

This contract decides what your health bar or XP bar does when it overfills, reaches zero, or fills into the next level.

Also called: health, health bar, stamina, mana

Adoptions

Boss staggerExperienceHealthKarmaOxygenStamina

This contract decides when a container is full, what happens to items that do not fit, and which slot receives or gives an item first.

Also called: inventory, backpack, bag, chest

Adoptions

BackpackHunters satchelWorkshop stockpile

This contract decides what your crafting bench or build queue does when a job stops, fails, or has no place for its result.

Also called: recipe resolution, crafting, recipe, crafting bench

Adoptions

AssemblerBarracksConstruction siteHand benchKitchenPoint researchResearch labSalvage

This contract decides what your turn order does when two events are due at the same moment: which event goes first and how a tie is decided.

Also called: turn order, initiative, initiative tie, resolution order

Adoptions

Arena waveCard duelSolo puzzleTactics tie

This contract decides what a timed window, such as invulnerability frames, a cooldown, or a status effect, does when its opening occurs again while it is open, when play is suspended, and when it ends.

Also called: invulnerability frames, i-frames, restart lock, cooldown window

Adoptions

Dodge roll invulnerabilityPoison window

This contract decides how your grid is numbered, which cells are neighbors, how distance is measured, and how a rule decides a tie between two cells.

Also called: grid, tile map, coordinates, origin

Adoptions

Chess boardDungeon mapRacing track grid

This contract decides what each camera must keep on screen, which activities, such as zoom, may move that content off screen, and what happens when the content does not fit.

Also called: camera, camera bounds, camera follow, camera framing

Adoptions

Couch coop cameraEndless runner cameraParty RPG with a tactical viewPlatformer follow cameraPuzzle board cameraTop down objective camera

This contract decides which button, key, or touch runs each action, how players can change the controls, and what happens when a press is demanding, such as a hold or a combination.

Also called: controls, control scheme, control layout, key bindings

Adoptions

Fighting inputsHeld repairMobile touchPC consoleRTS pointerShooter layers

This contract decides what happens when the player presses jump or dodge slightly too early or too late, and which action the game tries when several become ready at the same moment.

Also called: coyote time, input buffer, jump buffer, input buffering

Adoptions

Fighting game action classesPlatformer jump and dashRace start throttleRhythm lane hitSingle action turn puzzleSoulslike action buffer

This contract decides what a mouse click or screen tap does: what it selects, what it orders, and what a cancel ends.

Also called: click to move, tap to move, unit selection, box select

Adoptions

ARPG held click to move and attackColony work designationMOBA selection and smart castPoint and click adventure verb coinRTS select order and castTower defense placement

This contract decides what your racing ghost has to match, whether the game can still play it after an update, and what happens at the first difference.

Also called: replay, replay file, rerun, determinism

Adoptions

Patched racing ghostPuzzle solution shareRacing ghost lapRoguelike daily runRTS observer replay

This contract decides whether your campaign progress and settings are kept after events such as a crash or a move to a new device, and what happens when a save is damaged.

Also called: save state, save data, persistence, reload

Adoptions

Account settingsArcade scoreCloud campaignContinuous worldRoguelike runStory campaign

This contract decides what your energy refill or crop timer does while the game is closed, and what the player sees on return.

Also called: offline progress, away progress, catch-up, background progress

Adoptions

Daily rewardEnergy refill while awayLives refill while awayPumpkin growth windowPuzzle position

This contract decides which actions players can discover, what players see when an action cannot be used, and which action a shared button runs.

Also called: action prompts, interact prompt, context-sensitive interact, shared interact button

Adoptions

Cozy sceneDoor interactSecret finisherTraversal affordances

This contract decides which game facts players can always read, and how players read each fact without depending on color alone.

Also called: readable facts, accessibility cues, information channels, color alternatives

Adoptions

Card keyword stateSquad tactics readouts