world-generation

World Generation Protocol

Dynamic world creation — questions create places. "The world grows where curiosity leads."

Core Principle

Don't pre-generate everything. Generate on demand.

When a player asks about a place that doesn't exist, create it. Questions expand the world. Exploration IS creation.

Player: "What's north?"
DM: *creates north*

Generation Philosophy

# What triggers world generation
generation_triggers:
  questions: "Where did the grue come from?"
  statements: "There must be a library somewhere!"
  actions:
    DIG: "tunnel"
    CLIMB: "passage"
  quests: "Objective location generates itself"
  exploration: "Walking beyond known areas"

Methods

CREATE - Generate New Place

invoke: CREATE
params:
  seed: "Starting concept or name"
  style: "World style (fantasy, sci-fi, modern)"
  parent: "What area this connects to"
effect:
  - Create directory for new place
  - Generate ROOM.yml with properties
  - Add exits connecting to parent
  - Optionally populate with objects/NPCs

EXPAND - Add to Existing Area

invoke: EXPAND
params:
  from: "Existing place"
  direction: "north/south/etc or conceptual"
  hints: "Optional flavor hints"
effect:
  - Generate adjacent room
  - Add bidirectional exits
  - Inherit parent's atmosphere with variations

CONNECT - Link Two Areas

invoke: CONNECT
params:
  a: "First place"
  b: "Second place"
  type: "door/portal/path/secret"
effect:
  - Add exit from A to B
  - Add exit from B to A (unless one-way)
  - Update both ROOM.yml files

Directory Inheritance

Directories carry behavioral defaults that children inherit:

Tower Directory Pattern

# Tower directories extend vertically
tower_directory:
  pattern: "tower-name/"
  contains:
    - ROOM.yml           # Tower exterior (storefront)
    - lobby/             # Floor 0
    - elevator/          # Central column (goes anywhere)
    - roof/              # Top floor
    - floor-N/           # Numbered floors (positive = up)
    - basement-N/        # OR link to external skills as floors
    
  # Skill-as-floor pattern
  skill_floors:
    principle: "Skills can BE floors — no duplication"
    method: |
      Instead of creating floor-1/ inside tower/,
      link to skills/some-skill/ and add ROOM.yml there.
      The skill IS the floor content.
      
    example: |
      # In elevator exits:
      floor_minus_1:
        destination: ../../../../../skills/no-ai-ideology/
        floor: -1
        
      # In skills/no-ai-ideology/ROOM.yml:
      room:
        floor: -1
        tower: no-ai-tower
      exits:
        up: ../no-ai-lobby/     # or explicit path
        down: ../no-ai-bias/    # next skill in chain

Topology Patterns

Tower Pattern (Yoot Tower / SimTower)

Inspired by Yoot Saito's SimTower (1994). Buildings extend vertically with each floor branching horizontally.

tower_pattern:
  principle: "Build UP or DOWN. The tower has no natural limits."
  
  structure:
    central_column:
      - elevator/     # Goes anywhere (express)
      - stairs/       # Up/down between adjacent floors
      - utilities/    # Shared services (HVAC, power)
      
    floor_template:
      - lobby         # Entry point from elevator/stairs
      - departments   # Horizontal branches
      - services      # Bathrooms, vending, etc.
      
  navigation:
    elevator:
      description: "Express access to any floor by number or name"
      aliases: [lift, express]
      buttons: "Panel with all floors listed"
      
    stairs:
      description: "Up/down to adjacent floors only"
      pattern: "Each floor has stairs_up and stairs_down exits"
      
  extensibility:
    vertical: "Add floors in either direction (up OR down)"
    horizontal: "Each floor branches to sub-departments"
    modular: "Floors can be reordered by changing up/down links"

Example: NO AI TOWER

   R   ROOF .......... The Sign, The Sun
   ═════════════════════════════════════
   0   LOBBY ......... Storefront (FRONT)
   ═════════════════════════════════════
  -1   IDEOLOGY ...... ← skills/no-ai-ideology/
  -2   BIAS .......... ← skills/no-ai-bias/
  -3   SLOP .......... ← skills/no-ai-slop/
       ...
  -9   SOUL .......... ← skills/no-ai-soul/ (branches: facets/, pantheon/)
 -10   OVERLORD ...... ← skills/no-ai-overlord/ (branches: archetypes/)
 -11   CUSTOMER SVC .. ← skills/no-ai-customer-service/ (BASE CLASS)

Key Features:

• Skills ARE rooms — no duplication, just ROOM.yml in each skill
• Floors link via up/down — stairs connect adjacent floors
• Elevator links to all — express access anywhere
• Horizontal branching — each floor has sub-departments
• Reorderable — change floor numbers + links anytime
• Underground — tower can go DOWN (like iceberg)

Generation Seeding

From Questions

Q: "Where does the blacksmith live?"
A: Creates blacksmith-quarters/ with:
   - Forge room
   - Living quarters
   - Connected to market/

From Actions

Action: DIG
Creates: tunnel/ or cellar/
   - Connects to current room
   - Darkness, rough-hewn walls
   - Possible discoveries

From Quests

Quest: "Find the ancient tome"
Creates: hidden-archive/ somewhere logical
   - Contains the tome
   - Appropriate guardians
   - Connected via discoverable path

Lazy Evaluation

principle: "Don't create until needed"

strategy:
  - Player enters room: generate exits (names only)
  - Player asks about exit: generate room behind it
  - Player ignores exit: it remains potential
  
benefits:
  - Infinite worlds in finite storage
  - Every playthrough unique
  - Player choices shape reality

State

generation_state:
  seed: 42                    # Reproducibility
  style: "fantasy"            # World genre
  generated_places: []        # What exists
  pending_exits: []           # Named but not yet created
  topology: "organic"         # Generation pattern

Safety Guidelines

• Maintain consistency — don't contradict established facts
• Respect player agency — their discoveries are canon
• Preserve mystery — not everything needs explanation
• Allow emergence — unexpected connections enrich world

Integration

Example Session

> GO NORTH
The path leads into unexplored territory...

[CREATE: forest-path/]
You find yourself on a narrow forest path. Tall oaks 
loom overhead. The trail continues east and west.

> WHAT'S EAST?
[EXPAND: from=forest-path, direction=east]
Through the trees, you glimpse an ancient stone 
structure — perhaps a ruin or shrine.

> GO EAST
[CREATE: old-shrine/]
A weathered shrine stands in a small clearing...