Claude-Code-Game-Studios/.claude/docs/templates/interaction-pattern-library.md

Interaction Pattern Library: [Game Title]

Authoring guidance: .claude/docs/templates/guidance/interaction-pattern-library-guide.md (load per-section as you author — do not read entirely).

Status: Draft | Stable | Under Revision Author: [ux-designer] Last Updated: [Date] Version: [1.0] Engine: [Godot 4.6 / Unity 6 / Unreal Engine 5] UI Framework: [Godot Control nodes / Unity UI Toolkit / Unreal UMG] Related Documents:

• design/art/art-bible.md — visual standards (colors, typography, iconography)
• design/accessibility-requirements.md — accessibility commitments per feature
• design/ux/[screen].md — individual screen specs that reference patterns

Template: Interaction Pattern Library

Why this document exists: Every UI screen spec should be able to say "uses Button (Primary) pattern" rather than re-specifying hover states, press animations, focus behavior, keyboard handling, and screen reader announcements from scratch. This library is the single source of truth for reusable interaction behaviors. When a screen spec references a pattern name, the programmer looks it up here. When the behavior changes, it changes here and applies everywhere.

This is a living document. Patterns are added as new screens are designed — do not design a new interaction without checking here first. If a new pattern is needed, add it here (or propose it to the ux-designer) before writing the first screen spec that uses it.

Status definitions:

• Draft: Interaction specified but not yet implemented or validated
• Stable: Implemented, tested, and validated in at least one shipped screen
• Deprecated: Being phased out — existing uses will be migrated, do not use in new screens

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How to Use This Library

If you are designing a screen: Browse the Pattern Catalog Index below before inventing new interactions. When a standard pattern fits, reference it by name in the screen spec (e.g., "The confirm button uses Button (Primary) pattern"). When no existing pattern fits, propose a new one — document it here alongside or before the screen spec that introduces it.

If you are implementing a screen: When a screen spec says "use [PatternName] pattern," find it in this document for the complete specification. The implementation notes section contains engine-specific guidance. The accessibility section contains the requirements that are non-negotiable.

If you are reviewing a screen spec: Verify that all interactive elements reference a pattern from this library or include their own full interaction specification. "Standard button" or "the usual way" is not a valid reference.

If you are updating a pattern: Changing a Stable pattern affects every screen that uses it. Before changing, audit all usages (search screen specs for the pattern name), determine the impact, get approval from the ux-designer, and update this document before or simultaneously with any implementation change.

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Pattern Catalog Index

Add a row here every time a new pattern is added to this document. The "Used In" column is the usages audit trail — update it when new screens adopt the pattern.

Pattern Name	Category	Description	Used In (Screens)	Status
Button (Primary)	Input	Main call-to-action. High visual weight. One per screen.	[Main Menu, Pause Menu, Settings]	Draft
Button (Secondary)	Input	Alternative action or cancel. Lower visual weight than Primary.	[All modal dialogs, settings screens]	Draft
Button (Destructive)	Input	Irreversible action. Requires confirmation before execution.	[Delete Save, Reset Settings]	Draft
Toggle	Input	Binary on/off state selection.	[Accessibility settings, audio settings]	Draft
Slider	Input	Continuous value selection.	[Volume controls, brightness, text size]	Draft
Dropdown / Select	Input	Selection from a discrete list of options.	[Resolution, language, key binding]	Draft
List Item	Layout / Input	Selectable row in a vertical scrollable list.	[Achievements, quest log, settings list]	Draft
Grid Item	Layout / Input	Selectable cell in a two-dimensional grid.	[Inventory, ability select, item shop]	Draft
Modal Dialog	Feedback / Layout	Blocking overlay requiring explicit player decision.	[Confirmation dialogs, error prompts]	Draft
Confirmation Dialog	Feedback / Layout	Specific modal for destructive action confirmation.	[Delete Save, Leave Match, Reset]	Draft
Toast / Notification	Feedback	Non-blocking temporary message in a screen corner.	[Achievement unlock, autosave notification]	Draft
Tooltip	Feedback	Contextual information on hover or focus.	[Inventory items, ability descriptions, settings]	Draft
Progress Bar	Feedback / Layout	Linear progress indicator.	[Loading screen, XP bar, quest progress]	Draft
Input Field	Input	Text entry control.	[Player name, search, key binding entry]	Draft
Tab Bar	Navigation	Tabbed section navigation within a single screen.	[Character sheet, settings, crafting]	Draft
Scroll Container	Layout	Scrollable content region with visible scroll indicator.	[Inventory, lore entries, credits]	Draft
Inventory Slot	Game-Specific	Item container in inventory grid (empty, filled, equipped, locked).	[Inventory screen, equipment screen]	Draft
Ability / Skill Icon	Game-Specific	Ability button with cooldown, charges, and locked states.	[HUD ability bar, skill tree]	Draft
Health / Resource Bar	Game-Specific	Value bar with threshold states and damage flash.	[HUD]	Draft
Minimap	Game-Specific	Overview map with player marker and points of interest.	[HUD]	Draft
Quest / Objective Tracker	Game-Specific	Active objective display with proximity and completion states.	[HUD]	Draft
Dialogue Box	Game-Specific	NPC conversation UI with speaker identification.	[All dialogue sequences]	Draft
Context Action Prompt	Game-Specific	Contextual "Press X to [action]" prompt near interactable objects.	[World interaction]	Draft
Damage Number	Game-Specific	Floating combat feedback number.	[Combat HUD]	Draft
Status Effect Icon	Game-Specific	Buff/debuff indicator with duration.	[HUD status bar, enemy health display]	Draft
Notification Banner	Game-Specific	Achievement, level up, item acquired notifications.	[Global overlay]	Draft
Screen Push	Navigation	Forward navigation with directional animation.	[All menu navigation]	Draft
Screen Pop (Back)	Navigation	Back navigation with reversed animation.	[All menu navigation]	Draft
Screen Replace	Navigation	Replace current screen without stacking history.	[Main Menu to Loading Screen]	Draft
Modal Open / Close	Navigation	Overlay that dims background screen.	[All modal dialogs]	Draft
Tab Switch	Navigation	Same-screen content switch between tabs.	[All tabbed screens]	Draft
Focus Management	Navigation	Rules for where focus goes when screens open, close, or change.	[All screens]	Draft
Escape / Cancel	Navigation	Universal back behavior across platforms and input methods.	[All screens]	Draft
Loading State	Feedback	How screens and components indicate loading in progress.	[All loading states]	Draft
Empty State	Feedback	How empty lists and grids are presented.	[Empty inventory, no quests, no saves]	Draft
Error State	Feedback	How errors are communicated.	[Save failed, network error, invalid input]	Draft
Success Confirmation	Feedback	How completed actions are confirmed.	[Settings saved, item crafted, quest turned in]	Draft
Optimistic UI	Feedback	Showing assumed success before system confirmation.	[If online features are present]	Draft

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Standard Control Patterns

Full reference specifications for every pattern in this section (state tables with timing/audio values, accessibility requirements, implementation notes) are in .claude/docs/templates/guidance/interaction-pattern-library-guide-standard-controls.md — load only the pattern(s) currently being specified.

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Button (Primary)

Category: Input Status: Draft When to Use: [The single most important action on a screen — at most one visible at a time] When NOT to Use: [Alternative/secondary actions; destructive actions; anything not the screen's primary intent]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[Default / Hovered / Focused / Pressed / Disabled / Loading]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Accessibility: [Keyboard, gamepad, screen reader, colorblind, and touch-target requirements]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance]

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Button (Secondary)

Category: Input Status: Draft When to Use: [Alternative or cancel action — lower visual weight than Primary] When NOT to Use: [Destructive actions; the screen's most important action]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[State]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Accessibility: [Same baseline as Button (Primary); note cancel-input mapping in dialogs]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; consistent Primary/Secondary positioning]

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Button (Destructive)

Category: Input Status: Draft When to Use: [Irreversible actions causing loss of player data or progress] When NOT to Use: [Actions that can be undone or are merely consequential]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[State]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Critical rule: A Button (Destructive) NEVER executes its action directly. It always triggers a Confirmation Dialog. There are no exceptions.

Accessibility: [Screen reader must announce the destructive nature]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance]

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Toggle

Category: Input Status: Draft When to Use: [Binary on/off settings where current state must be visible at a glance] When NOT to Use: [More than two options; one-shot actions; choices needing explanation]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[State]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Accessibility: [Activation inputs, screen reader switch role/state rules, state label requirements]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; motion-reduction behavior]

---

Slider

Category: Input Status: Draft When to Use: [Continuous value selection where range and relative position matter] When NOT to Use: [Precise value entry; short discrete lists; binary state]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[State]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Accessibility: [Keyboard step/large-step/min-max inputs, screen reader value announcements, numeric value display requirement]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance]

---

Dropdown / Select

Category: Input Status: Draft When to Use: [Selection from a discrete list of 3-15 options; only the selection visible at rest] When NOT to Use: [Binary choices; more than ~15 options; when comparing options matters]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[State]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Accessibility: [List navigation, combobox role, expanded/collapsed announcements, positioning rules]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance]

---

List Item

Category: Layout / Input Status: Draft When to Use: [A selectable row in a vertically scrollable list] When NOT to Use: [Two-dimensional grids; non-selectable content rows]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[State]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Accessibility: [Focus cycling rules, listitem role and position announcements, minimum row height]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; scroll-into-view on focus]

---

Grid Item

Category: Layout / Input Status: Draft When to Use: [A selectable cell in a two-dimensional grid] When NOT to Use: [Single-column content; non-selectable display cells]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[Empty / Populated / Hovered / Focused / Selected / Pressed / Locked / Drag source / Drop target]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Accessibility: [Grid dimensions and row/column position announcements, keyboard-reachable tooltips]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; custom D-pad cell navigation]

---

Modal Dialog

Category: Feedback / Layout Status: Draft When to Use: [A decision or acknowledgment that must be resolved before continuing] When NOT to Use: [Non-blocking notifications; information that can wait; dialogs that should allow play behind them]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[Opening / Active / Dismissing (confirmed) / Dismissing (cancelled) / Cannot dismiss]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Focus trap rule: While a modal dialog is open, focus navigation must cycle within the dialog only, and focus must return to the trigger element on close.

Accessibility: [Dialog role and required title, Escape/Enter mappings, motion-reduction overrides]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance]

---

Confirmation Dialog

Category: Feedback / Layout Status: Draft When to Use: [Confirming a destructive action — always triggered by Button (Destructive)] When NOT to Use: [Non-destructive confirmations; dialogs with more than two actions]

Label rule: The confirm button must be labeled with the specific action, not a generic "OK" or "Yes."

Structure:

• Title: [Brief, action-describing]
• Body: [One sentence stating the consequence]
• Confirm button: [Button (Primary) — labeled with the specific action]
• Cancel button: [Button (Secondary) — "Cancel"]
• Default focus: [Cancel — safer default]

Accessibility: [Inherits Modal Dialog; alert-dialog announcement; default focus on Cancel is required]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance]

---

Toast / Notification

Category: Feedback Status: Draft When to Use: [Brief, non-blocking information requiring no player decision] When NOT to Use: [Decisions; errors requiring action; critical information the player must not miss]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[Entering / Displayed / Auto-dismiss / Manual dismiss / Queue overflow]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Accessibility: [Announcement without focus, motion-reduction fallback, minimum auto-dismiss timing, never sole channel for actionable info]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; queue management and layer ordering]

---

Tooltip

Category: Feedback Status: Draft When to Use: [Contextual information supplementing a visible label] When NOT to Use: [Information required to complete an action; touch-only platforms without hover]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[Hidden / Hover trigger / Focus trigger / Appearing / Displayed / Hiding]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Accessibility: [Content accessible without hover, required appearance delay, contrast requirements]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; screen-edge repositioning]

---

Progress Bar

Category: Feedback / Layout Status: Draft When to Use: [Linear progress toward a defined endpoint] When NOT to Use: [Radial progress; rapidly fluctuating values; values with no endpoint]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[Default / Value increasing / At maximum / At zero / Indeterminate]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Accessibility: [Progressbar role, numeric value + percentage announcements, numeric label requirement, motion-reduction overrides]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; indeterminate-mode implementation]

---

Input Field

Category: Input Status: Draft When to Use: [Text entry — player name, search, precise numeric values, key binding capture] When NOT to Use: [Selecting from known options; console-primary flows where virtual keyboards add friction]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[Default / Hovered / Focused / Typing / Value present / Limit reached / Clear / Validation error / Validated / Disabled]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Accessibility: [Standard editing shortcuts, textbox role, visible label requirement (placeholder is not a label)]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; virtual keyboard handling]

---

Tab Bar

Category: Navigation Status: Draft When to Use: [Dividing one screen's content into discrete sections, one visible at a time — max 5-6 tabs] When NOT to Use: [More than 6 tabs; content needing simultaneous visibility; navigation between screens]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[Inactive / Active / Hovered / Focused / Activated / Shoulder-button switch]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Accessibility: [ARIA tab panel pattern (tab/tablist/tabpanel), active-tab distinction beyond color]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; shoulder-button shortcut handling]

---

Scroll Container

Category: Layout Status: Draft When to Use: [Content exceeding the visible area of its container] When NOT to Use: [Content better paginated; infinite scroll without loading/end states]

Interaction Specification:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration	Audio
[Content fits / Scrollable / Scrolling / Scrollbar drag / Keyboard scroll / Gamepad scroll / Boundary / Focus follows scroll]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration + easing]	[Sound category]

Accessibility: [Auto-scroll to keep focused items in view, scroll position announcements, scrollbar as required indicator]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; ensure-visible on focus change]

---

Game-Specific UI Patterns

Full reference specifications for every pattern in this section are in .claude/docs/templates/guidance/interaction-pattern-library-guide-game-specific.md — load only the pattern(s) currently being specified.

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Inventory Slot

Category: Game-Specific Status: Draft When to Use: [Every item container in the inventory grid — empty, populated, equipped, locked]

States:

State	Visual	Notes
[Empty / Populated / Focused / Selected / Drag source / Locked / Highlighted / Cooldown overlay]	[Visual treatment]	[Behavioral notes]

Accessibility: [Non-color alternatives for stack counts and quality tiers; keyboard-reachable tooltip; locked-state announcement]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance]

---

Ability / Skill Icon

Category: Game-Specific Status: Draft When to Use: [HUD ability bar buttons, skill tree nodes, any availability-state ability display]

States:

State	Visual	Notes
[Available / On cooldown / Charges remaining / Out of resource / Locked / Active / Just activated]	[Visual treatment]	[Behavioral notes]

Accessibility: [Numeric alternatives for cooldown/charge information; names and descriptions exposed to screen readers]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance]

---

Health / Resource Bar

Category: Game-Specific Status: Draft When to Use: [Any continuously varying critical player resource in the HUD]

States and behaviors:

Event	Visual	Audio	Duration
[Decrease / Increase / Below threshold / At zero / Maximum / Overflow]	[Visual treatment]	[Sound category]	[Duration]

Accessibility: [Numeric value access; non-color backups for threshold states]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; ghost-bar technique]

---

Dialogue Box

Category: Game-Specific Status: Draft When to Use: [All dialogue that has a speaker — NPC conversation, voiced narrative, character-delivered tutorial text]

Structure: [Speaker identification, dialogue text body, advance prompt, optional skip/voice/subtitle indicators]

States and behaviors:

State	Visual	Input	Response	Duration
[Line entering / Revealing / Line complete / Advancing / Choices appearing / Closing / Skipping all]	[Visual treatment]	[Input trigger]	[Response]	[Duration]

Accessibility: [Subtitles on by default, configurable typewriter speed, no auto-advance, navigable choices with position announcements]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; dialogue data format]

---

Context Action Prompt

Category: Game-Specific Status: Draft When to Use: [A prompt near an interactable object indicating what the player can do]

States:

State	Visual	Notes
[Appearing / Idle / Holding / Cannot interact / Disappearing]	[Visual treatment]	[Behavioral notes]

Accessibility: [Text label alongside button icon; positioning must not overlap critical HUD]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; input-method-aware icon swapping]

---

Damage Number

Category: Game-Specific Status: Draft When to Use: [Floating feedback numbers above combat participants]

Variants:

Variant	Visual	Notes
[Normal / Critical / Healing / Miss / Status damage]	[Visual treatment]	[Behavioral notes]

Behavior: [Float trajectory, fade timing, overlap staggering, maximum simultaneous numbers]

Accessibility: [Supplementary-only feedback; disable option; game fully playable when disabled]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; object pooling]

---

Navigation Patterns

Full reference specifications for this section and the next are in .claude/docs/templates/guidance/interaction-pattern-library-guide-navigation-feedback.md — load only the pattern(s) currently being specified.

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Screen Push / Pop / Replace

Category: Navigation Status: Draft

These three patterns define how screens enter and exit the navigation stack.

Pattern	Trigger	Animation	Stack Behavior	Focus Behavior
[Push / Pop / Replace]	[Trigger]	[Animation]	[Stack behavior]	[Focus behavior]

Animation durations: [Push/Pop and Replace durations + easing]

Motion reduction: [Fallback behavior]

Implementation Notes: [Engine-specific guidance; screen stack manager and return-focus storage]

---

Focus Management

Category: Navigation Status: Draft

Focus management is the most common keyboard and gamepad accessibility failure in game UIs. These rules must be implemented consistently.

Rule	Description
[Screen open / close, modal open / close, element disabled / destroyed, Tab order, D-pad spatial navigation, focus visibility]	[Rule description]

---

Escape / Cancel

Category: Navigation Status: Draft

The "go back" action is the most-used navigation input in all menu systems. It must be consistent across every screen with no exceptions.

Platform	Input	Behavior
[Platform]	[Input]	[Behavior]

Rules: [Never override "go back / cancel"; every screen defines its Escape behavior explicitly in its UX spec]

---

Feedback and Loading Patterns

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Loading State

Category: Feedback Status: Draft

Scope	Pattern	Notes
[Full screen (initial) / Full screen (transition) / Component inline / Background async]	[Pattern]	[Notes]

Accessibility: [Screen reader loading/loaded announcements; loading screens navigable]

---

Empty State

Category: Feedback Status: Draft

Every empty list and grid must have a designed empty state. The empty state is not an error — it is a starting point.

Location	Empty State Content	Notes
[Location]	[Icon + message + sub-message or action]	[Notes]

Rule: Every empty state must include an icon, a message, and either a sub-message or an action button.

---

Error State

Category: Feedback Status: Draft

Error Type	Pattern	Tone
[Input validation / Operation failed / System error / Soft error]	[Pattern]	[Tone guidance]

Principle: Error messages are never the player's fault. They tell the player what happened and what to do next.

---

Animation Standards

These timing values apply to ALL patterns in this library. When a pattern says "150ms ease-out," the easing function is defined here. Consistency in timing makes the UI feel like a single designed system rather than a collection of individual decisions.

Animation Type	Duration (ms)	Easing Function	Notes
Button hover / focus enter	80	ease-out	Fast — snappy, not sluggish
Button hover / focus exit	60	ease-in	Slightly faster exit than entry
Button press scale down	60	ease-in	Immediate feedback
Button press scale up (release)	80	ease-out	Slightly bouncy feel
Screen push (enter)	250	ease-in-out	Screen slides in from right
Screen pop (exit)	250	ease-in-out	Screen slides out to right
Modal open	200	ease-out	Expands from center
Modal close	150	ease-in	Collapses faster than it opens
Toast enter	200	ease-out	Slides in from screen edge
Toast exit	200	ease-in
Tab switch	150	ease-in-out	Content cross-fades or slides
Tooltip appear	120	ease-out	After 300-400ms delay
Tooltip disappear	80	ease-in
Progress bar fill	300	ease-out	Value changes animate smoothly
Value flash (damage, gain)	100ms on + 100ms off	linear	Brief, attention-catching
Dialogue text reveal (per character)	30ms per character	linear	Configurable in accessibility settings
HUD damage flash	80	linear	White or red overlay, immediate

Motion reduction overrides: When motion reduction mode is enabled (see accessibility-requirements.md), all slide and scale animations are replaced with fades. Fade durations are reduced by 50%. Looping animations (indeterminate spinners, pulsing indicators) are replaced with static equivalents.

---

Sound Standards

Every interactive event should have audio feedback. Sound is a primary feedback channel, not a decoration. The sounds defined here are event categories — the specific audio assets are defined in design/audio/sound-bible.md (or design/gdd/sound-bible.md, where earlier versions put it). This table maps interaction events to sound categories so the sound designer and UI programmer use the same vocabulary.

Interaction Event	Sound Category	Notes
Button hover / focus	UI Hover	Subtle, short (< 80ms), non-fatiguing on rapid navigation. Hades uses a very quiet, high-frequency click that disappears into background on rapid nav.
Button (Primary) confirm	UI Confirm — Primary	Slightly more prominent than secondary confirm. The "yes, let's go" sound.
Button (Secondary) cancel / back	UI Cancel	Subtly downward in pitch. The "going back" sound. Mass Effect uses a clean, distinct swoosh for back navigation.
Button (Destructive) — opening confirmation	UI Warning	Distinct from standard confirm. Brief attention-catching sound.
Confirmation dialog — confirm destructive	UI Confirm — Destructive	Final, slightly weighted. The action is being taken.
Toggle ON	UI Toggle On	Brief, snappy, slightly bright. Celeste's accessibility toggles have a satisfying click-on sound.
Toggle OFF	UI Toggle Off	Same click family, slightly flatter.
Slider adjust	UI Slider	Subtle continuous sound while dragging. A single click per D-pad step. Never fatiguing.
Dropdown open	UI Expand	Brief, directional (opening feel).
Dropdown close / select	UI Select	Confirmation feel.
Tab switch	UI Tab	Horizontal movement feel. Distinct from vertical navigation.
Modal open	UI Modal Open	More prominent than standard navigation — draws attention.
Modal close (cancel)	UI Modal Close	Returns to previous context.
Toast — informational	UI Notification	Background-level, non-intrusive.
Toast — achievement	UI Achievement	Celebratory but not overlong. The player should feel rewarded, not interrupted.
Toast — warning	UI Warning — Toast	Distinct from error. Alert, not alarming.
Error state	UI Error	Friendly but clear. Not a harsh buzzer. Dark Souls uses a subtle dull thud for failed actions — communicates "no" without being harsh.
Success confirmation	UI Success	Clean and satisfying.
Ability activate	Gameplay — Ability Activate	In-world feel, distinct from pure UI. Part of game feel, not menu feel.
Damage received	Gameplay — Damage	See sound-bible.md for full specification.
Item pickup	Gameplay — Item Acquire	Brief, rewarding.
Level up / rank up	Gameplay — Progression	Celebratory, appropriately prominent.
Dialogue advance	UI Dialogue	Subtle, matches typewriter rhythm if typewriter is active.

---

Open Questions

Question	Owner	Deadline	Resolution
[Does the engine's accessibility node system support screen reader announcements for toast notifications without requiring focus? Verify against engine-reference/godot/ for Godot 4.6.]	[ux-designer]	[Before first menu implementation]	[Unresolved]
[What is the platform-correct confirm/cancel button mapping for Nintendo Switch release? Nintendo first-party convention differs from Xbox/PlayStation.]	[producer]	[Before platform certification submission]	[Unresolved]
[Should damage numbers be pooled as Label3D nodes or rendered in a SubViewport? Verify performance budget in coordination with technical-director.]	[lead-programmer, ux-designer]	[Before combat HUD implementation]	[Unresolved]
[What is the maximum number of simultaneous toast notifications before the queue becomes visually overwhelming? Needs playtesting.]	[ux-designer]	[First playtesting session]	[Unresolved]
[Add question]	[Owner]	[Deadline]	[Resolution]