{
  "metadata": {
    "title": "What Survives a Run?",
    "version": "1.0-draft",
    "coding_date": "2026-10-28",
    "status": "AI-assisted documentary research and preliminary coding; student review pending",
    "unit": "One source-linked mechanism, not a player or a run",
    "sampling": "Small purposive documentary sample; unequal coverage is not a ranking or prevalence estimate.",
    "url_normalization": "HTML entity & decoded to & in source URLs only; no other URL meaning changed.",
    "verification_scope": "Source pages were reviewed by the research task. This file's local validation checks structure only; no in-game replication or personal play diary is claimed.",
    "boundary": "Ordinary repeat-attempt/reset behavior within a continuing save; new profiles, save deletion, mods, exploits, and a complete audit of later platforms or versions are outside scope."
  },
  "games": [
    {"name": "Hades", "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite"},
    {"name": "Returnal", "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite"},
    {"name": "Slay the Spire", "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite"},
    {"name": "Outer Wilds", "genre_role": "comparison_time_loop"}
  ],
  "records": [
    {
      "id": "HAD-01",
      "game": "Hades",
      "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite",
      "mechanic": "Run-specific Olympian Boons",
      "reset_or_persist": "reset",
      "persistence_domain": "run_loadout",
      "trigger": "An escape attempt ends in death.",
      "observable_consequence": "The collected Boons do not carry into the next attempt.",
      "knowledge_gate": "not_applicable",
      "npc_awareness": "not_applicable",
      "evidence_url": "https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/hades/",
      "evidence_title": "Hades — PlayStation official game page",
      "concise_paraphrase": "The official page distinguishes temporary Boons from permanent upgrades.",
      "scope_limit": "The secondary guide specifies loss on death. This row does not claim all character progress resets.",
      "source_kind": "official_game_page_with_secondary_mechanic_detail",
      "source_date": null,
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "evidence_locator": "Game overview, temporary Boons; supporting guide, What Is Kept and What Is Lost When You Die?",
      "outcome_category": "run_configuration",
      "supporting_evidence": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/hades-guide-how-to-play-and-everything-you-need-to-know",
          "title": "Hades Guide: How to Play and Everything You Need to Know",
          "use": "Explicitly lists Boons among losses on death."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "HAD-02",
      "game": "Hades",
      "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite",
      "mechanic": "Megaera reacts to repeated defeats and Mirror use",
      "reset_or_persist": "persist",
      "persistence_domain": "narrative_state",
      "trigger": "Defeat Megaera repeatedly with Mirror upgrades, then win without them.",
      "observable_consequence": "Her remarks blame the Mirror, then change after the unassisted win.",
      "knowledge_gate": "system_recorded",
      "npc_awareness": "explicitly_acknowledges_prior_performance",
      "evidence_url": "https://www.nintendo.com/jp/topics/article/ba148413-63d7-435a-8f1f-ade7de766ce0",
      "evidence_title": "Hello! Indie #40: Hades developer interview — Nintendo",
      "concise_paraphrase": "Greg Kasavin describes Megaera's responses to progress across encounters.",
      "scope_limit": "English paraphrase of Japanese. No exact thresholds, dialogue priority, or universal NPC memory are established.",
      "source_kind": "official_platform_developer_interview",
      "source_date": "2021-06-24",
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "evidence_locator": "First interview section, Megaera/Mirror example and adjacent screenshot captions (web lines 85–103).",
      "outcome_category": "dialogue",
      "supporting_evidence": []
    },
    {
      "id": "HAD-03",
      "game": "Hades",
      "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite",
      "mechanic": "Mirror of Night upgrades survive failed attempts",
      "reset_or_persist": "persist",
      "persistence_domain": "system_unlock",
      "trigger": "Spend Darkness on a Mirror upgrade.",
      "observable_consequence": "The purchased boost remains available in subsequent attempts.",
      "knowledge_gate": "not_applicable",
      "npc_awareness": "not_applicable",
      "evidence_url": "https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/hades-guide-how-to-play-and-everything-you-need-to-know",
      "evidence_title": "Hades Guide: How to Play and Everything You Need to Know",
      "concise_paraphrase": "The guide describes Darkness-funded Mirror boosts as permanent.",
      "scope_limit": "Secondary guide; saved upgrades are not proof of branching story outcomes.",
      "source_kind": "secondary_gameplay_guide",
      "source_date": "2021-08-17",
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "evidence_locator": "Mirror of Night section (web lines 97–102).",
      "outcome_category": "run_configuration",
      "supporting_evidence": []
    },
    {
      "id": "HAD-04",
      "game": "Hades",
      "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite",
      "mechanic": "Nectar gifts unlock selectable Keepsakes",
      "reset_or_persist": "persist",
      "persistence_domain": "system_unlock",
      "trigger": "Give Nectar to a character who offers a Keepsake.",
      "observable_consequence": "Their Keepsake joins the cabinet's options for future attempts.",
      "knowledge_gate": "not_applicable",
      "npc_awareness": "unknown",
      "evidence_url": "https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/hades-guide-how-to-play-and-everything-you-need-to-know",
      "evidence_title": "Hades Guide: How to Play and Everything You Need to Know",
      "concise_paraphrase": "Gifting unlocks an equipable Keepsake; the hub supports choosing one before a run.",
      "scope_limit": "Not every character immediately gives one. Gift response alone does not prove reset awareness.",
      "source_kind": "secondary_gameplay_guide",
      "source_date": "2021-08-17",
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "evidence_locator": "Keepsakes and House of Hades sections (web lines 81–93).",
      "outcome_category": "available_actions",
      "supporting_evidence": []
    },
    {
      "id": "RET-01",
      "game": "Returnal",
      "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite",
      "mechanic": "Artifact effects expire with the cycle",
      "reset_or_persist": "reset",
      "persistence_domain": "run_loadout",
      "trigger": "The current cycle ends.",
      "observable_consequence": "The artifact's active benefit is not carried into the next cycle.",
      "knowledge_gate": "not_applicable",
      "npc_awareness": "not_applicable",
      "evidence_url": "https://blog.playstation.com/2021/04/28/returnal-survival-guide-housemarques-gameplay-tips-for-atropos/",
      "evidence_title": "Returnal survival guide: Housemarque’s gameplay tips for Atropos",
      "scope_limit": "Codes the equipped effect, not whether that artifact type remains unlocked in the loot pool. Does not equate a resurrection within a cycle with a new cycle.",
      "source_date": "2021-04-28",
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "concise_paraphrase": "Housemarque describes artifacts as benefits whose duration is one cycle.",
      "source_kind": "official_developer_article",
      "evidence_locator": "Artifacts section (web lines 66–68).",
      "outcome_category": "run_configuration",
      "supporting_evidence": []
    },
    {
      "id": "RET-02",
      "game": "Returnal",
      "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite",
      "mechanic": "Cthonos expands the future item pool",
      "reset_or_persist": "persist",
      "persistence_domain": "system_unlock",
      "trigger": "Spend Ether at an active Cthonos.",
      "observable_consequence": "A new item becomes available immediately and can appear randomly in later cycles.",
      "knowledge_gate": "not_applicable",
      "npc_awareness": "not_applicable",
      "evidence_url": "https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/returnal-guide-tips-tricks-and-all-you-need-to-know",
      "evidence_title": "Returnal Guide: Tips, Tricks, and All You Need to Know",
      "scope_limit": "Post-release secondary gameplay guide supplies the trigger. Unlocking does not guarantee that item in every later run; no narrative effect is claimed.",
      "source_date": "2022-11-24",
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "supporting_evidence": [
        {
          "url": "https://blog.playstation.com/2021/01/13/returnal-combat-details-upgradable-weapons-otherworldly-tools-and-risky-buffs/",
          "title": "Returnal combat details: Upgradable weapons, otherworldly tools, and risky buffs",
          "use": "Official pre-release corroboration of permanent pool addition only; do not use its outdated cost or launch-date details."
        }
      ],
      "concise_paraphrase": "The guide identifies both the Ether payment and the addition to subsequent random drops.",
      "source_kind": "secondary_gameplay_guide",
      "evidence_locator": "Cthonos section (web lines 283–285).",
      "outcome_category": "run_configuration"
    },
    {
      "id": "RET-03",
      "game": "Returnal",
      "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite",
      "mechanic": "Icarian Grapnel remains available after death",
      "reset_or_persist": "persist",
      "persistence_domain": "system_unlock",
      "trigger": "Acquire the Icarian Grapnel.",
      "observable_consequence": "Later cycles retain grappling access to elevated platforms and gaps.",
      "knowledge_gate": "not_applicable",
      "npc_awareness": "not_applicable",
      "evidence_url": "https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/returnal-guide-tips-tricks-and-all-you-need-to-know",
      "evidence_title": "Returnal Guide: Tips, Tricks, and All You Need to Know",
      "scope_limit": "Secondary gameplay guide. The row establishes retained traversal, not a specific narrative branch or the acquisition boss.",
      "source_date": "2022-11-24",
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "concise_paraphrase": "The permanent-equipment section lists the Grapnel and its traversal function.",
      "source_kind": "secondary_gameplay_guide",
      "evidence_locator": "Permanent Equipment table, Icarian Grapnel (web lines 309–327).",
      "outcome_category": "available_actions",
      "supporting_evidence": []
    },
    {
      "id": "RET-04",
      "game": "Returnal",
      "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite",
      "mechanic": "The House Key persists as an access item",
      "reset_or_persist": "persist",
      "persistence_domain": "system_unlock",
      "trigger": "Acquire the House Key.",
      "observable_consequence": "The retained key opens the House, where first-person story sequences take place.",
      "knowledge_gate": "not_applicable",
      "npc_awareness": "not_applicable",
      "evidence_url": "https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/returnal-what-do-you-lose-when-you-die",
      "evidence_title": "Returnal: What Do You Lose When You Die?",
      "scope_limit": "Persistence is established by a secondary guide; the developer establishes the House's narrative role. Neither claim establishes that the key guarantees a new sequence on every visit. No exact acquisition timing is coded.",
      "source_date": "2022-08-04",
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "supporting_evidence": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/returnal-guide-tips-tricks-and-all-you-need-to-know",
          "title": "Returnal Guide: Tips, Tricks, and All You Need to Know",
          "use": "House Key function: enter the House."
        },
        {
          "url": "https://blog.playstation.com/?p=347200",
          "title": "Returnal: Four mysteries from the new story trailer answered",
          "use": "Official developer description of first-person House story sequences."
        }
      ],
      "concise_paraphrase": "The guide identifies the House Key as an item retained after death.",
      "source_kind": "secondary_gameplay_guide_with_developer_context",
      "evidence_locator": "What Do You Keep When You Die? (web lines 60–66); official story article section 4.",
      "outcome_category": "narrative_access"
    },
    {
      "id": "RET-05",
      "game": "Returnal",
      "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite",
      "mechanic": "Collected language samples gate Xenoglyph translation",
      "reset_or_persist": "unknown",
      "persistence_domain": "narrative_state",
      "trigger": "Collect language samples across Atropos.",
      "observable_consequence": "Written Xenoglyph accounts become translatable.",
      "knowledge_gate": "system_recorded",
      "npc_awareness": "not_applicable",
      "evidence_url": "https://blog.playstation.com/?p=347200",
      "evidence_title": "Returnal: Four mysteries from the new story trailer answered",
      "scope_limit": "This source establishes a translation-accumulation gate, not sample retention after death. Unknown means not established by the selected evidence, not that the mechanic necessarily resets.",
      "source_date": "2021-03-17",
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "supporting_evidence": [
        {
          "url": "https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/returnal-what-do-you-lose-when-you-die",
          "title": "Returnal: What Do You Lose When You Die?",
          "use": "Related context only: research and story/objective progress persist. This general statement is not treated as cipher-specific proof."
        }
      ],
      "concise_paraphrase": "The developer links deciphering alien writings to collected language samples.",
      "source_kind": "official_developer_article",
      "evidence_locator": "Section 3, Relive other cycles that are not your own (web line 75).",
      "outcome_category": "narrative_access"
    },
    {
      "id": "STS-01",
      "game": "Slay the Spire",
      "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite",
      "mechanic": "Neow's starting choices depend on the previous run",
      "reset_or_persist": "persist",
      "persistence_domain": "system_unlock",
      "trigger": "Begin an unseeded Standard run after an attempt that did not reach the Act 1 boss.",
      "observable_consequence": "Neow offers the fixed alternatives of an HP bonus or Neow's Lament.",
      "knowledge_gate": "system_recorded",
      "npc_awareness": "unknown",
      "evidence_url": "https://store.steampowered.com/news/posts/?appids=646570&enddate=1544142426",
      "evidence_title": "Mega Crit — Weekly Patch 46: Adrenaline (October 18, 2018)",
      "concise_paraphrase": "Mega Crit explicitly ties the restricted starting menu to not reaching the Act 1 boss.",
      "scope_limit": "Dated PC patch evidence, not an audit of every later port. Patch 47 exempts seeded Standard runs. History-conditioned offers do not establish Neow’s diegetic awareness of every reset. Persistence here means prior-run history conditions the next offer, not a permanently unlocked bonus.",
      "source_kind": "developer_patch_notes",
      "source_date": "2018-10-18",
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "evidence_locator": "Weekly Patch 46, Neow Updates; Patch 47, Balance (web lines 416–419, 346).",
      "outcome_category": "available_actions",
      "supporting_evidence": []
    },
    {
      "id": "STS-02",
      "game": "Slay the Spire",
      "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite",
      "mechanic": "A victory unlocks Ascension for that character",
      "reset_or_persist": "persist",
      "persistence_domain": "system_unlock",
      "trigger": "Win a qualifying run with a character.",
      "observable_consequence": "Ascension Mode becomes available for that character in subsequent play.",
      "knowledge_gate": "not_applicable",
      "npc_awareness": "not_applicable",
      "evidence_url": "https://store.steampowered.com/news/posts/?appids=646570&enddate=1539301742",
      "evidence_title": "Mega Crit — Weekly Patch 36: Power Through (August 2, 2018)",
      "concise_paraphrase": "The patch states that Ascension is unlocked separately for each character upon winning.",
      "scope_limit": "Dated PC patch evidence for the initial per-character mode unlock, not every later difficulty level or port. Seeded-run unlocks have separate restrictions; no narrative branch is claimed.",
      "source_kind": "developer_patch_notes",
      "source_date": "2018-08-02",
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "evidence_locator": "Weekly Patch 36, Balance (web line 706).",
      "outcome_category": "available_actions",
      "supporting_evidence": [
        {
          "url": "https://store.steampowered.com/news/posts/?appids=646570&enddate=1544142426",
          "title": "Mega Crit — Weekly Patch 47: Metamorphosis (October 25, 2018)",
          "use": "Bug fixes explicitly disallow Ascension unlocks from seeded runs."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "STS-03",
      "game": "Slay the Spire",
      "genre_role": "core_roguelike_or_roguelite",
      "mechanic": "The Ending achievement enables Final Act access in Custom Mode",
      "reset_or_persist": "persist",
      "persistence_domain": "system_unlock",
      "trigger": "Unlock The Ending achievement.",
      "observable_consequence": "The player gains the option to enable the Final Act in Custom Mode.",
      "knowledge_gate": "system_recorded",
      "npc_awareness": "not_applicable",
      "evidence_url": "https://store.steampowered.com/news/posts/?appids=646570&enddate=1559840454&feed=steam_community_announcements",
      "evidence_title": "Mega Crit — Weekly Patch 54: Loop (January 3, 2019)",
      "concise_paraphrase": "An achievement flag enables a previously unavailable Custom Mode content option.",
      "scope_limit": "Dated PC patch evidence. This concerns Custom Mode, not Standard Mode’s in-run key requirements, a universal current-port audit, or altered NPC dialogue.",
      "source_kind": "developer_patch_notes",
      "source_date": "2019-01-03",
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "evidence_locator": "Weekly Patch 54, Gameplay and Balance (web line 316).",
      "outcome_category": "narrative_access",
      "supporting_evidence": []
    },
    {
      "id": "OW-01",
      "game": "Outer Wilds",
      "genre_role": "comparison_time_loop",
      "mechanic": "Player knowledge survives the time loop",
      "reset_or_persist": "persist",
      "persistence_domain": "player_knowledge",
      "trigger": "Discover information while exploring, including on a journey that ends in death.",
      "observable_consequence": "The player can use what was learned to choose and navigate later expeditions.",
      "knowledge_gate": "player_inferred",
      "npc_awareness": "unknown",
      "evidence_url": "https://blog.playstation.com/archive/2019/10/08/explore-a-solar-system-that-resets-every-22-minutes-in-the-outer-wilds-out-this-month/",
      "evidence_title": "Kelsey Rice, Mobius Digital — Explore a solar system that resets every 22 minutes in The Outer Wilds, out this month",
      "concise_paraphrase": "The developer explains that information carries between loops, so even fatal expeditions can advance knowledge-based exploration.",
      "scope_limit": "Outer Wilds is the non-roguelike time-loop comparator. Knowledge retention is not an inventory upgrade or evidence that every NPC remembers resets. This record does not measure a player's actual understanding. Available actions denotes knowledge-enabled planning/navigation, not newly granted controls or equipment.",
      "source_kind": "developer_authored_article",
      "source_date": "2019-10-08",
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "evidence_locator": "Developer discussion of knowledge carried between loops (web lines 62, 67).",
      "outcome_category": "available_actions",
      "supporting_evidence": [
        {
          "url": "https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2019/05/30/outer-wilds-available-today-xbox-game-pass/",
          "title": "Tips for Playing Outer Wilds, Available Today with Xbox Game Pass",
          "use": "Developer explains learned routes and hazards rather than level or ship upgrades."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "OW-02",
      "game": "Outer Wilds",
      "genre_role": "comparison_time_loop",
      "mechanic": "Ship-log clues remain reviewable after a loop reset",
      "reset_or_persist": "persist",
      "persistence_domain": "narrative_state",
      "trigger": "Record discovered clues, then reset the loop.",
      "observable_consequence": "Previously collected rumors and data remain available to consult in the ship log.",
      "knowledge_gate": "system_recorded",
      "npc_awareness": "not_applicable",
      "evidence_url": "https://www.gamesradar.com/how-to-save-in-outer-wilds/",
      "evidence_title": "How to save in Outer Wilds — GamesRadar+",
      "concise_paraphrase": "The guide distinguishes reset physical progress from retained ship-log information.",
      "scope_limit": "Non-roguelike comparator. Secondary evidence establishes retention; the developer corroborates clue review. Recording a clue is not proof that the player understands it.",
      "source_kind": "secondary_gameplay_guide_with_developer_context",
      "source_date": null,
      "verified_date": "2026-10-28",
      "evidence_locator": "Saving your game in Outer Wilds (web lines 421–422); developer Xbox article, Pay Attention to Information.",
      "outcome_category": "narrative_access",
      "supporting_evidence": [
        {
          "url": "https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2019/05/30/outer-wilds-available-today-xbox-game-pass/",
          "title": "Tips for Playing Outer Wilds, Available Today with Xbox Game Pass",
          "use": "Developer explicitly recommends reviewing found clues in the ship log."
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}