| First attempt in 2023: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35770094 It was a typical roguelike kind of engine with AI-generated monsters and responses. It was okay, but far too slow, and the mechanics funneled it to being repetitive (e.g. whatever class you made up, you had a spear and a blade). Most of the players ended up playing with the character generation screen more than the game itself. Second attempt, 2025: https://smuz.itch.io/good-cop-bad-cop It's an attempt to vibe code a dialogue-runner game. It was fast enough that switching tones became a game, but not very fun and took too long to make. Attempt 3, July 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmxj20zQ7wA An actual breakthrough. It's open-ended. Make any character you can imagine, toss them into any kind of scenario. Unlike AI Dungeon's Do and Chat modes, you can just roleplay like you would in a messaging app, and the AI will handle it. There's a nice mix of algorithms here - tropes make characters more interesting than raw AI, palettes always land on something nice looking, some rules so you can't simply just disintegrate people. I feel like I should wrap this up but I've learned what I can from it. What next? I want to take the engine from #3 and make proper games by adding rules. A) Godfather sim. You're trading favors, saying the right things, dealing with criminals and family members who you can't trust. A little bit of the Disco Elysium skill system - detect lies, charm people, economics, intimidation, etc. Alternative: El Presidente sim. B) Superhero school. School is a perfect mix of training center, romance, politics, and prison. They're transitioning to heroes, but are learning to control themselves. C) Sword & sorcery. Roguelikes were fun, but I want to capture the feel you get from the Conan books. Primal poetry. Unstoppable force meets immovable object. The end of the video in #3 demoes it well - you can throw a fork at someone's heart, rip the chains off the wall, catch a blade trap, and deal with the suspense of waiting to see how AI will resolve it. Poetry is core to the Conan experience, and I feel like we can do some Tarantino-style dialogue here too. Alternatives: John Wick sim, Ghostbusters. D) Magic shopkeeper. While the rest are drama, this is cozy. Forge magic artifacts. Talk to kings and legends, change fates. If you have any suggestions or interests, I'm open to that. |