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:
| Parent Directory | Children Inherit |
|-----------------|------------------|
| maze/ | Dark, twisty, grue-friendly |
| basement/ | Damp, underground, echoing |
| tower/ | Height, wind, views, vertigo, ELEVATOR |
| dungeon/ | Cells, guards, escape themes |
| garden/ | Outdoor, weather, growing |
| library/ | Books, quiet, knowledge |
| market/ | Vendors, crowds, commerce |
| department-store/ | Floors, escalators, departments |
| underground/ | Basements, tunnels, secrets |
| rooftop/ | Sky, signs, views, access |
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
| Pattern | Structure | Use Case | |---------|-----------|----------| | Twisty maze | Randomized connections | Challenge, getting lost | | Grid | Regular X/Y layout | Cities, chessboards | | Star | Hub with spokes | Crossroads, central plaza | | Loop | Circular path | Racing, time loops | | Tree | Branching, dead ends | Dungeons, boss rooms | | Web | Many cross-connections | Complex social spaces | | Tower | Vertical stack + horizontal branches | Buildings, department stores |
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
| Skill | Integration | |-------|-------------| | room | Generated places are rooms | | adventure | World generation serves the adventure | | character | NPCs generated with their locations | | worm | Worms can trigger generation by crawling |
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...