Pericytes are cells that wrap around the smallest blood vessels, the capillaries. In Arborwake, Vessa is a pericyte at Vessel Margins.
In the brain#
- Pericytes help keep the blood–brain barrier intact.
- They can influence local blood flow, though how much varies by vessel type and is still debated.
- The dossier's main source (Dalkara et al., 2024) covers physiology and ischaemia. The dossier warns not to read it as proof of a universal stress-related "vascular gate".
In the game#
- Anchored. Vessa belongs to one vessel. She is not an all-purpose valve operator and cannot teleport home.
- Interfaces first. Vessa introduces the vessel border before the player meets any inflammatory relay.
- No universal sphincter. The plan says a pericyte effect on travel must not be shown as a universal capillary valve.
- Border residents are not enemies. Cells that normally live at the border are not invaders.
Development#
- The pericyte sprite was part of the approved cast direction (the r006 eye correction, accepted 27 October).
- On 31 October the lead removed pericyte NPCs from every generated population in the older Placeholder preview, at the user's request.
- Vessa's named design (the original body with a rounded antenna) was approved on 2 November.
- In the alpha A pericyte sprite remains in the alpha's encounter art. Whether it appears in a playable room was not checked.
See also#
Sources#
- .GAME_PLAN/ARBORWAKE_COMPANIONS_NARRATIVE_AND_SYSTEMS_DOSSIER_v0.5.md (working copy, not in Git)
- .GAME_PLAN/ARBORWAKE_THE_LONG_WAKE_COMPLETE_GAME_PLAN_v0.5.md (working copy, not in Git)
b89f778c2:docs/ops/agent-messages/2026-10-31-lead-remove-pericytes.mdb89f778c2:src/main-game/alpha/public/encounter/art/cells/pericyte.png