The heart of PULSE
A loop built around real movement
Your shoe does not progress by waiting. It progresses because you move, earn and decide what comes next.
The loop is simple to understand, but every layer adds new decisions: which shoe to use, which earning mode to choose, where to invest and when to preserve or consume a resource.
Five repeating actions
The PULSE loop
Each completed run returns the player to the same question: use what you earned now, or prepare for a stronger run later?
Choose your shoe
Select the type, attributes, equipment and earning mode that fit the session.
Spend Energy
Walk, jog or run outdoors. One Energy powers five minutes of play.
Complete the run
PACE or a Fortune score is calculated minute by minute and awarded at the end.
Make a choice
Level, repair, equip, heal, train or save resources for the Forge.
Return stronger
Higher attributes, better preparation and deeper systems reshape the next run.
How a run advances
Every minute matters
A run advances in one-minute ticks. Each completed minute consumes 0.2 Energy, reads the player’s average speed and calculates that minute’s contribution.
The result accumulates during the run, but nothing is credited early. Stopping the run closes it permanently and settles every outcome once.
One run, one purpose
Choose what the run produces
The earning mode is selected before the run and locked at the start. A run never produces both outputs.
Earn PACE
PACE fuels progression throughout the game. Speed, shoe performance and condition shape the result.
Available from the beginning
Earn a Sport Bag
The run creates a Fortune score. If the score reaches a threshold, it determines the level of the Sport Bag.
Unlocked in Expert
What gives the loop depth
Earning is not the finish line
Resources return to the game through progression. The player constantly balances immediate performance against long-term development.
There is no single correct route. A player may strengthen one main shoe, prepare a future Forge, build Fortune, or preserve flexibility for the next World.
Level
Gain attribute points and raise the daily PACE cap.
Maintain
Repair durability or heal an injured shoe.
Equip
Use items and pods to shape performance.
Forge
Prepare two compatible shoes to create a new shoebox.
Your shoe wears down
Durability decreases while running. Lower durability reduces PACE earnings and must be repaired.
Your Energy changes
Durability stops decreasing, but the gauge no longer fills by itself. The player creates fuel by recycling shoes; the daily spend limit still refills on the same four slots.
Quick reference
Follow every decision deeper
Recovery, session time and the Standard-to-Expert transition.
Open chapter → Run outputPACE earningsSpeed curves, shoe types, daily caps, bonuses and penalties.
Open chapter → Long-term growthProgressionLevels, attribute points, milestones and strategic choices.
Open chapter → Alternative outputFortune ModePULSE Charge, Sport Bag thresholds and Energy-backed scoring.
Open chapter →This chapter explains the loop. The linked chapters contain the exact rules and decision-making data for each system.