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What I have seen attempted by the Erasmatron that I haven't seen in "real" games yet, is the ability to create a dramatic setting, with scenes and actors, where

What I have seen attempted by the Erasmatron that I haven't seen in "real" games yet, is the ability to create a dramatic setting, with scenes and actors, where the actors are driven by "decorated" simulations. Decorated simulation meaning that the actor has a data representation of their personality, behavior and motivation, which causes all their actions and interactions with other actors. "Decorated" meaning the story author can define or guide how these interactions - if they happen - will be described. Rimworld is an example that feels very close. People love and hate each other, get into fights, parties, and go on depressed drug binges. The biggest difference from Erasmatron is that the setting is random (or "procedural" as the kids call it these days) and affected by random events. The interactions run as they may, and are not guided by a world author's desire for a specific setting or dramatic arc. If Erasmatron it was fully applied as imagined, it would allow you to stage Romeo and Juliet, but explore what happens if Romeo leaves Juliet alone for a week until things calm down, and work on the family relationships. It's quite lofty, but I believe we can still get closer to it.

morelisp 6y ago
We have gotten a lot closer to it, much more than Rimworld. - World models with motivation-driven characters is a common subgenre of IF; you could do worse than starting with Galatea which is seminal and still very good. The author is an acquaintance of Crawford, and is aligned with his stated goals - you can read her critique of his book[0] and one of his more recent tools[1]. She has previously designed Versu, an AI-driven narrative engine, and has lauded work in virtually every major narrative game design tool. - Façade did this for limited actors in a navigable virtual space in 2005. - Elsinore was a popular game from 2019 that did this, also graphically, for Hamlet. > If Erasmatron it was fully applied as imagined, it would allow you to stage Romeo and Juliet, but explore what happens if Romeo leaves Juliet alone for a week until things calm down, and work on the family relationships. It's quite lofty, but I believe we can still get closer to it. This is an AGI fantasy, and definitely not the endgame of the Erasmatron. It will not be achieved by Crawford's authoring tools, and he refuses to consider even basic refinements to the UX of his authoring tools, let alone any paradigm shift. It will probably be achieved ~never, and would not be artistically interesting even if it was. [0] https://emshort.blog/2017/08/01/chris-crawford-on-interactive-storytelling-second-edition-chris-crawford/ https://emshort.blog/2017/08/01/chris-crawford-on-interactiv... [1] https://emshort.blog/2017/06/21/chris-crawfords-encounter-editor/ https://emshort.blog/2017/06/21/chris-crawfords-encounter-ed...

morelisp 6y ago

We have gotten a lot closer to it, much more than Rimworld. - World models with motivation-driven characters is a common subgenre of IF; you could do worse than starting with Galatea which is seminal and still very good. The author is an acquaintance of Crawford, and is aligned with his stated goals - you can read her critique of his book[0] and one of his more recent tools[1]. She has previously designed Versu, an AI-driven narrative engine, and has lauded work in virtually every major narrative game design tool. - Façade did this for limited actors in a navigable virtual space in 2005. - Elsinore was a popular game from 2019 that did this, also graphically, for Hamlet. > If Erasmatron it was fully applied as imagined, it would allow you to stage Romeo and Juliet, but explore what happens if Romeo leaves Juliet alone for a week until things calm down, and work on the family relationships. It's quite lofty, but I believe we can still get closer to it. This is an AGI fantasy, and definitely not the endgame of the Erasmatron. It will not be achieved by Crawford's authoring tools, and he refuses to consider even basic refinements to the UX of his authoring tools, let alone any paradigm shift. It will probably be achieved ~never, and would not be artistically interesting even if it was. [0] https://emshort.blog/2017/08/01/chris-crawford-on-interactive-storytelling-second-edition-chris-crawford/ https://emshort.blog/2017/08/01/chris-crawford-on-interactiv... [1] https://emshort.blog/2017/06/21/chris-crawfords-encounter-editor/ https://emshort.blog/2017/06/21/chris-crawfords-encounter-ed...