diff --git a/src/BasicBehaveEngine/BasicBehaveEngine.ts b/src/BasicBehaveEngine/BasicBehaveEngine.ts
index ddccd5f..3689b53 100644
--- a/src/BasicBehaveEngine/BasicBehaveEngine.ts
+++ b/src/BasicBehaveEngine/BasicBehaveEngine.ts
@@ -221,6 +221,17 @@ export class BasicBehaveEngine implements IBehaveEngine {
             events: this.events,
         };
 
+        this.variables.forEach(variable => {
+            if (variable.value === undefined) {
+                // TODO get the default value from the type
+                variable.value = 0;
+            }
+            // sanitize, these need to be arrays
+            if (!Array.isArray(variable.value)) {
+                variable.value = [variable.value];
+            }
+        });
+
         let index = 0;
         this.nodes.forEach(node => {
             const behaviourNodeProps: IBehaviourNodeProps = {
diff --git a/src/BasicBehaveEngine/nodes/variable/VariableGet.ts b/src/BasicBehaveEngine/nodes/variable/VariableGet.ts
index f0d71dc..9f1c901 100644
--- a/src/BasicBehaveEngine/nodes/variable/VariableGet.ts
+++ b/src/BasicBehaveEngine/nodes/variable/VariableGet.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,12 @@ export class VariableGet extends BehaveEngineNode {
         this.graphEngine.processNodeStarted(this);
 
         const result: Record<string, IValue> = {};
-        result["value"] = this.variables[this._variable];
+        const res = this.variables[this._variable];
+        // TODO It's unclear when the value needs to be a glTF value (always an array)
+        // or when it needs to be the actual value. Since the result of this node is always parsed
+        // with parseType, it currently needs to be an array.
+        if (!Array.isArray(res.value)) res.value = [res.value];
+        result["value"] = res;
         return result;
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/BasicBehaveEngine/nodes/variable/VariableSet.ts b/src/BasicBehaveEngine/nodes/variable/VariableSet.ts
index bf15b27..98c87f7 100644
--- a/src/BasicBehaveEngine/nodes/variable/VariableSet.ts
+++ b/src/BasicBehaveEngine/nodes/variable/VariableSet.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ export class VariableSet extends BehaveEngineNode {
         const vals = this.evaluateAllValues(["value"]);
         this.graphEngine.processNodeStarted(this);
 
-        this.variables[this._variable].value = vals[variable.id];
+        this.variables[this._variable].value = vals["value"];
 
         super.processNode(flowSocket);
     }