A progression element is an abstraction that can be used to represent a wide variety of game elements.
For example, progression elements could be what I call “knowledge elements”. Knowledge type elements can include abilities or concepts that are introduced to the player (e.g. game mechanics, puzzle types, enemy types), access to areas of the game world that the player has unlocked, and narrative developments.
Or progression elements could be game state variables. Game state variables that are relevant to progression are usually expressed quantitatively and feature throughout the game. Common examples would be XP and currency.
You could also use a progression element as a kind of attribute to indicate that a moment is of a certain type. For example, "Mars" might indicate that the moment is a mission that takes place on Mars. You can then use this to quickly view all your Martian missions (using the "Highlight moments containing this element" right-click option on the Progression elements list).
For some progression elements, the quantity value is important, for other’s it’s going to be something you ignore.
Create a progression element by going to the Progression elements menu and selecting "Create new progression element". The element will now appear on the progression elements list on the far left of the progression plan.
Add a progression element to a moment by dragging it from the progression elements list into the state updates grid in the moment properties tab.
To delete an element, right click it in the Progression elements list and select “Delete progression element”.
It’s likely that you’ll be using progression elements for different purposes within the same project. For clarity, you may want to have them sorted into groups. Assign a progression element to a group by right-clicking on it in the progression elements list.
To sort them by group, click on the “Grouped” button below the list. You can also sort your elements alphabetically by clicking on “Alphabetic”.