01 Prototype 08 Tinkerer

A character with a workbench. The player drops items off; the tinkerer works at their own pace; finished items land on a done tray. Destruction mechanics live here (narrative: 08-items.md).

Dependencies: Venue (08-venue.md), Items (08-items.md), ItemManager (08-item-manager.md).

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Scene

Workshop (child of venue.tscn, hidden until tinkerer unlocked)
├── TinkererCharacter      (root script runs the state machine)
├── Workbench              (current commission sits here while being worked on)
├── DoneTray               (finished commissions await pickup)
└── DropOffBasket          (where the player leaves items)

Gated by &"tinkerer" in unlocked_characters.

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State machine

State	Progresses work?
resting	No; tea, staring out the window
procrastinating	No; reading, tidying, chatting
working	Yes; at the workbench

Transitions are authored weighted durations, not player-triggered. State durations come from authored ranges; transition weights pick the next state.

@export var resting_range: Vector2 = Vector2(20, 60)
@export var procrastinating_range: Vector2 = Vector2(60, 300)
@export var working_range: Vector2 = Vector2(180, 900)
@export var weights_from_resting: Dictionary = { &"procrastinating": 0.7, &"working": 0.3 }
@export var weights_from_procrastinating: Dictionary = { &"working": 0.6, &"resting": 0.2, &"procrastinating": 0.2 }
@export var weights_from_working: Dictionary = { &"procrastinating": 0.5, &"resting": 0.5 }

Hot-reloadable. With an empty queue, the tinkerer still cycles; working becomes quiet bench-tidying.

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Work queue

class_name ItemCommission
extends RefCounted

var item_key: String
var kind: StringName           # &"level_up", &"destroy"
var work_required_seconds: float
var work_done_seconds: float   # accumulates only while working on this commission
var dropped_at_unix: int

Work progresses only while working and the commission is at the head of the queue. FIFO by dropped_at_unix. Complete when work_done_seconds >= work_required_seconds.

Persistence

var tinkerer_queue: Array[Dictionary] = []
var tinkerer_current_state: StringName = &"resting"
var tinkerer_state_started_unix: int = 0
var tinkerer_state_duration_seconds: float = 0.0

On load: resume the state with remaining duration.

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Player flow

1. Player drags an item onto the drop-off basket (from BallRack, GearRack, or the court). ItemCommission enqueued.
2. Tinkerer rotates through states on their own.
3. On completion, the item lands on the done tray; a soft chime from the workshop side.
4. Player drags from the done tray: ball and equipment items to BallRack/GearRack, court items onto the court. item_levels updates at drop.

Commission kinds

• Level up: item_levels[item_key] += 1. Ball and equipment items return inactive (to BallRack or GearRack); court items return to a free Roles/Court marker.
• Destroy: item_levels[item_key] = 0, append to destroyed_items, partial friendship refund, any secret unlock enters the shop pool (see 04-upgrade-shop.md). The tinkerer's dialogue holds its tongue on secret unlocks.

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Wall-clock catch-up

On resume: walk the state machine forward by the elapsed delta. For each working step on a head-of-queue commission, add its duration to work_done_seconds. Complete commissions that cross the threshold; advance the queue.

Cap at offline_cap_seconds (see 08-venue.md). Fire commission_completed on scene ready for anything that finished offline so the done tray lights up at once.

Because work only progresses during working, wall-clock completion is always longer than work_required_seconds. A fast item might finish in ten minutes; a meaningful one might take a day.

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Not a shipment

The tinkerer works in view at the workshop. Shipments (see 08-shipments.md) are the friend's delivery metaphor and stay single-purpose.

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Per-item work values

@export var tinker_level_seconds: float = 60.0
@export var tinker_destroy_seconds: float = 120.0

Overridable per item. Combined with the state-machine rhythm to produce the real wait.

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Audio and visual cues

• Working: quiet hammer/sand loop, fades in other states.
• Commission complete: soft chime from the workshop.
• Done tray: gentle pulse while unclaimed items sit on it.

All audio placeholder for prototype.

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Resolved questions

1. Indicate the current commission. The item sits on the workbench, inactive for the player. It is visible but not interactable until the commission completes.
2. Queue capacity. One commission at a time, possibly upgradeable later.
3. Player can poke the tinkerer. Yes: produces a sound effect and a small visual reaction. No gameplay effect.
4. Procrastination spikes. The tinkerer procrastinates more on items they do not want to work on, lengthening the real wait.
5. Tinkerer mood affects output. Alpha scope.

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Rough ticket outline

Not filing yet.

1. Workshop scene: workbench, done tray, drop-off basket, tinkerer.
2. Tinkerer unlock beat + gate + show/hide.
3. TinkererCharacter state machine.
4. ItemCommission + queue management.
5. Work-accumulator loop.
6. Done tray pickup gesture; item_levels / destroyed_items update.
7. Wall-clock catch-up.
8. tinker_level_seconds / tinker_destroy_seconds on ItemDefinition.