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Adaptive Game — Design Placeholder

EVE Glyph Design: Education Stream

Format: Interactive form, paired with the children's handbook.

Audience: Children (ages 6–14). See docs/audience.md.

Status: Placeholder design document. Full specification to follow.


Purpose

The game is the interactive extension of the handbook. Where the handbook teaches by reading, the game teaches by doing. A child who has read Chapter 1 of the handbook already has enough to begin the game. A child who has played the game will understand the handbook more deeply when they return to it.

The two forms — book and game — are not independent. They are the same education, expressed in different modes. They are designed to reinforce each other.


Core Loop

The fundamental pattern of play:

  1. Encounter. The child encounters a glyph in the game world. The glyph is presented simply — a shape on the screen, in a scene, in a story moment. No instructions. Just the shape.
  2. Decode. The child is asked: What does this shape mean? What is its job? They choose from simple options, or draw/tap their interpretation. There is no penalty for wrong first guesses — the game responds to where the child is, not where they are supposed to be.
  3. Build. The child makes a glyph of their own in response to what they decoded. This is not copying — it is reply. If that shape said X, what shape would you use to say Y?
  4. Return. The child's glyph enters the game world as their mark. It stays. It can be seen again. The child has left a footprint.

The loop repeats. Each cycle, the shapes are slightly more complex. The meaning is slightly less obvious. The building requires slightly more choice. The child's glyph vocabulary grows.


Adaptive Mechanics

The game reads the child and responds. This is not optional — it is the design.

What the game adapts:

DimensionHow It Adapts
DifficultyGlyphs become more abstract as the child demonstrates comprehension. They simplify when the child struggles.
VocabularyLanguage in prompts and feedback adjusts to match demonstrated reading level.
PacingSome children decode quickly and want more; some need time. The game waits.
Content themesThemes shift toward what the child has engaged with most. A child who loved the Eve story gets more narrative. A child who loved the drawing exercises gets more building.

What the game does NOT adapt: the core honesty of the glyph. A triangle is still a triangle. A footprint still means "someone was here." The methodology does not bend for preference.


Reading the Real World (Camera / AR — Optional Later)

The game is designed with a future layer in mind: the ability to point the device's camera at the real world and receive a glyph reading in return.

This layer is optional and future-phased. The core game works entirely without it. The AR layer is additive — it makes the game richer, not possible.

When the AR layer is active, the game reads the real world and returns education in real time. The child is not told what to see — they are helped to see what is already there.


Data Posture

The game collects no data beyond what is needed to adapt locally on the device.

The data posture is governed by the EVE Glyph Design copyright umbrella and the Pacific Utilities Design Council stewardship framework. If this ever goes to an app store, the privacy nutrition label must reflect this posture exactly.


Relationship to the Handbook

Handbook ChapterGame Counterpart
Chapter 1: What Is a Glyph?Level 1: Encounter your first glyph
Chapter 2: The Eve StoryNarrative mode: play alongside Eve
Chapter 3: Reading the WorldObservation challenges: what shape is doing the work?
Chapter 4: Making Your Own GlyphBuild mode: full glyph creation tool
Chapter 5: Sharing SafelyGallery mode: your glyphs, watermarked, safe

© 2026 Dany Theriault. EVE "digital stem cell" glyph and glyph-based design principles — all rights reserved. Stewardship of rights of use and assignment for large public and institutional usage rests with the Pacific Utilities Design Council. Published as a time-stamped record of authorship and intent.

© 2026 Dany Theriault. EVE “digital stem cell” glyph and glyph-based design principles — all rights reserved. Stewardship of rights of use and assignment for large public and institutional usage rests with the Pacific Utilities Design Council. Published as a time-stamped record of authorship and intent.
pour le bien-être du peuple