The Programmer Who Had No Heart in His Body

[MichaelPaulukonis]

Sentiment analysis as a key to (re)generation/modifric[a]tion?

Templates up the Wazoo (the rebranding as "Templates 2.0" just didn't catch on)?

Good Ol' Markov, but weighted with positioning (beginning, middle, end, etc)?

Dehydration/Rehydration - or, auto-generation of POS-templates and refills based on original or supplied targets?

I'm also interested in seeing if I can determine major characters. And then swap them out. Which is not a particular fascinating end-game, but I'm more interested in the process, here.

Dialogue that isn't as crappy as I've done before?

The Swallow of Winter, a zombie fiction in which an IF-world punishes a large cast of NPCs in a large, procedurally-generated consistent space. (think meme-transference, flocking behavior, avoidance behavior, and a dialogue engine that isn't as crappy as I've done before).

[MichaelPaulukonis]

I am, despite some recent rants that might imply the contrary, still interested in templates and templating.

A still-born portion of the proppian generator last year was a conversation -- I had hoped to expand it, but never got around to it. Perhaps that.

• http://forum.makega.me/t/procedural-narrative-dialogue/91
• http://www.blog.radiator.debacle.us/2014/04/second-times-charm-procedural-npc.html
• http://koobazaur.com/gamedev/game-design/writing-branching-game-conversations/

I'm also still interested in Fairy Tales.
In particular, a portion of some tales where the hero befriends several characters/creatures [despite (his) haste or advice] which then end up helping him get through a nested problem. Eg, the giant's heart is kept in a box at the top of a tower on an island in a lake past the thorns, past a guard-dragon, etc etc. I'd like to be able to generate a n-level deep problem with associated helper characters -- each of whom would have to have an attribute matched to solving the problem (bear kills dragon, eagle flies hero over lake, etc.). This would also involve some minimal conversations.

Not exactly fascinating textually when strung out to 50K words, but I'm curious to see how a deeply nested problem would work -- say, 300 levels with unique creates, and problems to overcome.

[MichaelPaulukonis]

Repo, man.

[MichaelPaulukonis]

Good lord, this is a ROAD MOVIE. Well, it's On The Road, at any rate. There's no doubt that it's the Hero's Journey, just not in the strictest Campbellian sense. (is it?).

[MichaelPaulukonis]

So, here's a sample.

Not terribly exciting.

First proof of concept. It's all the boring templating.

I want some better stuff for the locales, use of powers, dealing with the finality -- the flow from one thing to the next is awkward. Plus, it would be nice if the egg shifted around a bit.

[enkiv2]

It's not too bad. (The repetition in there reminds me of the repetition --
used for rhetorical effect -- in sumerian mythology.)

On Thu, Nov 5, 2015 at 11:08 PM Michael Paulukonis notifications@github.com
wrote:

So, here's a sample
https://gist.github.com/MichaelPaulukonis/3af142f787db2908d3f0.

Not terribly exciting.

First proof of concept. It's all the boring templating.

I want some better stuff for the locales, use of powers, dealing with the
finality -- the flow from one thing to the next is awkward. Plus, it would
be nice if the egg shifted around a bit.

—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub
#14 (comment)
.

[MichaelPaulukonis]

It's not too bad.

I'll put that on the cover!

Srsly, the templates are a simplified, non-variant version of a synopsis of the story. So - rough draft/proof-of-concept. I do like repetition-as-rhetorical-device quite a bit. But 1000-creatures-worth of like? hrm. [hah-hah-hah - I just ran it with 1000 creatures, and came up with 49916 words. SO CLOSE!]

I've been thinking about this for months. Possibly vaguely since last year.

Not all that excited by the output. </ high-expectations>

[enkiv2]

If you switched the vocab up and did 1000 creatures you might actually be
able to pass as sumerian mythology. We have middle tablets of important
stories that are literally just lists of musical instruments or creatures.
And, whenever a god is mentioned by name, the name is used 3-6 times with
varying adjectives associated, like: "And then, with a single blow, Lord
Enki, with a single blow, Enki of the deep waters, he with a single blow,
Lord Enki whose advice is always advisable and whose domain is the great me
of princeship, with a single blow, whacked nuddimud over the head."

On Fri, Nov 6, 2015 at 12:24 PM Michael Paulukonis notifications@github.com
wrote:

It's not too bad.

I'll put that on the cover!

Srsly, the templates are a simplified, non-variant version of a synopsis
of the story. So - rough draft/proof-of-concept. I do like
repetition-as-rhetorical-device quite a bit. But 1000-creatures-worth of
like? hrm. [hah-hah-hah - I just ran it with 1000 creatures, and came up
with 49916 words. SO CLOSE!]

I've been thinking about this for months. Possibly vaguely since last year.

Not all that excited by the output. </ high-expectations>

—
Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub
#14 (comment)
.

[MichaelPaulukonis]

hrm. One of the lists I was thinking of using was Norse Gods.

The abilities/powers used to defeat are derived from a list of Pokemon abilities, and superhero abilities.

It's only the sixth of the month....

And, I must say -- you are getting me more exited about the output. Thanks!

[MichaelPaulukonis]

Another sample, not much changed - but some better corpii being used:

A king had seven sons, and when the other six went off to find brides, he kept the youngest with him because he could not bear to be parted from them all. They were supposed to bring back a bride for him, as well, but they found a king with six daughters and wooed them, forgetting their brother. But when they returned, they passed too close to a giant's castle, and he turned them all, both princes and princesses, to stone in a fit of rage.

When they did not return, the king, their father, tried to prevent their brother from following, but he went.

On the way, he helped a wolverine-chimpanzee, he helped a Warg-Typhon, he helped a tiger-Manticore, he helped a Hippocampus-ocelot, and gave a starving mule-giraffe his horse to eat. The mule-giraffe let the prince ride on him, instead, and showed him the giant's castle, telling him to go inside. The prince was reluctant fearing the wrath of the giant, but the mule-giraffe consoled him. The mule-giraffe persuaded the prince to enter the castle for there he would encounter not the giant, but the princess the giant kept prisoner.

The princess was very beautiful and the prince wanted to know how he could kill the giant and set her and his family free. The princess said that there was no way, as the giant did not keep his heart in his body and therefore could not be killed. When the giant returned, the princess hid the prince, and asked the giant where he kept his heart. He told her that it was under the door sill. The prince and princess dug there the next day and found no heart. The princess strewed flowers over the door sill, and when the giant returned, told him that it was because his heart lay there. The giant admitted it wasn't there and told her it was in the cupboard. As before, the princess and the prince searched, to no avail; once again, the princess strewed garlands of flowers on the cupboard and told the giant it was because his heart was there. Thereupon the giant revealed to her that, in fact, there was a dank drumlin field with a ocelot-Gnome, beyond that there was a fluorescent tepui with a Kobold-Hippogriff, beyond that there was a overlooked shield volcano with a Typhon-panda, beyond that there was a whimsical bayou with a Nix-Roc, beyond that there was a tiny subglacial mound with a Oni-mynah bird, and in the Oni-mynah bird's nest was an egg; and in the egg was the giant's heart.

The prince rode to the dank drumlin field, where the mule-giraffe jumped to attention. The prince called on the wolverine-chimpanzee to defeat the ocelot-Gnome. The wolverine-chimpanzee defeated the ocelot-Gnome by using its Thaumaturgy. The prince rode on to the fluorescent tepui, where he was menaced by a Kobold-Hippogriff. The prince called on the Warg-Typhon to defeat the Kobold-Hippogriff. The Warg-Typhon defeated the Kobold-Hippogriff by using its Drought. The prince rode on to the overlooked shield volcano, where he was menaced by a Typhon-panda. The prince called on the tiger-Manticore to defeat the Typhon-panda. The tiger-Manticore defeated the Typhon-panda by using its Perspicuity. The prince rode on to the whimsical bayou, where he was menaced by a Nix-Roc. The prince called on the Hippocampus-ocelot to defeat the Nix-Roc. The Hippocampus-ocelot defeated the Nix-Roc by using its Physics Manipulation. The prince rode on to the tiny subglacial mound, where he was menaced by a Oni-mynah bird. The prince called on the mule-giraffe to defeat the Oni-mynah bird. The mule-giraffe defeated the Oni-mynah bird by using its Fish Manipulation. The mule-giraffe plucked the egg from the nest of the Oni-mynah bird, gave it to the prince, and told him to squeeze it. When he did, the giant screamed. The mule-giraffe told him to squeeze it again, and the giant promised anything if he would spare his life. The prince told him to change his brothers and their brides back to life, and the giant did so. Then the prince squeezed the egg into two and went home with the giant's captive princess as his bride; accompanying him were his brothers and their brides, and the king rejoiced.

[mattfister]

That sample is amazing. Nicely done!

[tra38]

I want some better stuff for the locales, use of powers, dealing with the finality -- the flow from one thing to the next is awkward.

How about handwriting an "aftermath" template where the prince falls from grace and turns into a giant (which then gets slain by the next prince in the next story). A story never ends just because someone says "The End".

[MichaelPaulukonis]

:blink blink:

That's an interesting idea, and a nice framing-device for the 50K word-requirement.

And somewhat sad. Makes me think of Let the Right One In.

[MichaelPaulukonis]

@tra38 that sad, looping story has been implemented, with a few other minor features -- mostly regarding grammar of some sections. Could be worse!

I hold out the possibility of using ConceptNet to add .... something to the text -- where the powers relate to the holder, or some sort of descriptions. I dunno. Maybe it's time to move in a different direction for the rest of the month.

A 54K word chunk may be found here.

And an extract:

There came a king who had seven sons, and when the other six went off
to find brides, he kept the youngest with him because he could not
bear to be parted from them all. They were supposed to bring back a
bride for him, as well, but they found a king with six daughters and
wooed them, forgetting their brother. But when they returned, they
passed too close to a woodchuck-mouse's castle, and he turned them
all, both princes and princesses, to stone in a fit of rage.

When they did not return, the king, their father, tried to prevent
their brother from following, but he went.

On the way, he helped a Pegasus-mustang, he helped a otter-Centaur, he
helped a enthusiastic monkey, he helped a lynx-newt, he helped a
cow-hippopotamus, he helped a rat-Imp, he helped a ox-dingo, and gave
a starving mole-Pegasus his horse to eat. The mole-Pegasus let the
prince ride on him, instead, and showed him the woodchuck-mouse's
castle, telling him to go inside. The prince was reluctant fearing the
wrath of the woodchuck-mouse, but the mole-Pegasus consoled him. The
mole-Pegasus persuaded the prince to enter the castle for there he
would encounter not the woodchuck-mouse, but the princess the
woodchuck-mouse kept prisoner.

The princess was very beautiful and the prince wanted to know how he
could kill the woodchuck-mouse and set her and his family free. The
princess said that there was no way, as the woodchuck-mouse did not
keep his heart in his body and therefore could not be killed. When the
woodchuck-mouse returned, the princess hid the prince, and asked the
woodchuck-mouse where he kept his heart. He told her that it was under
the door sill. The prince and princess dug there the next day and
found no heart. The princess strewed flowers over the door sill, and
when the woodchuck-mouse returned, told him that it was because his
heart lay there. The woodchuck-mouse admitted it wasn't there and told
her it was in the cupboard. As before, the princess and the prince
searched, to no avail; once again, the princess strewed garlands of
flowers on the cupboard and told the woodchuck-mouse it was because
his heart was there. Thereupon the woodchuck-mouse revealed to her
that, in fact, there was a malodours woods with a whale-cheetah,
beyond that there was a daunting glacier foreland with a suspicious
llama, beyond that there was a vast and favorable terracettes with a
ibex-dog, beyond that there was a vast and favorable rapid with a
repugnant gorilla, beyond that there was a daunting oceanic plateau
with a marmoset-Succubus, beyond that there was a stinky plunge pool
with a Siren-mustang, beyond that there was a moderately-sized complex
crater with a unfriendly hog, beyond that there was a gross but not
altogether repulsive delta with a ape-koala, and in the ape-koala's
nest was an egg; and in the egg was the woodchuck-mouse's heart.

The prince rode to the malodours woods, where he was menaced by a
whale-cheetah. The prince called on the Pegasus-mustang to defeat the
whale-cheetah. The Pegasus-mustang defeated the whale-cheetah by using
its Water Veil. The prince rode on to the daunting glacier foreland,
where he was menaced by a suspicious llama. The prince called on the
otter-Centaur to defeat the suspicious llama. The otter-Centaur
defeated the suspicious llama by using its Wetland Adaptation. The
prince rode to the vast and favorable terracettes, where he was
menaced by a ibex-dog. The prince called on the enthusiastic monkey to
defeat the ibex-dog. The enthusiastic monkey defeated the ibex-dog by
using its Fish Manipulation. The prince rode to the vast and favorable
rapid, where he was menaced by a repugnant gorilla. The prince called
on the lynx-newt to defeat the repugnant gorilla. The lynx-newt
defeated the repugnant gorilla by using its Magic Bounce. The prince
rode to the daunting oceanic plateau, where he was menaced by a
marmoset-Succubus. The prince called on the cow-hippopotamus to defeat
the marmoset-Succubus. The cow-hippopotamus defeated the
marmoset-Succubus by using its Norse Deity Physiology. The prince rode
to the stinky plunge pool, where he was menaced by a Siren-mustang.
The prince called on the rat-Imp to defeat the Siren-mustang. The
rat-Imp defeated the Siren-mustang by using its Night Vision. The
prince rode to the moderately-sized complex crater, where he was
menaced by a unfriendly hog. The prince called on the ox-dingo to
defeat the unfriendly hog. The ox-dingo defeated the unfriendly hog by
using its White Smoke. The prince rode to the gross but not altogether
repulsive delta, where he was menaced by a ape-koala. The prince
called on the mole-Pegasus to defeat the ape-koala. The mole-Pegasus
defeated the ape-koala by using its Sonic Scream. The mole-Pegasus
plucked the egg from the nest of the ape-koala, gave it to the prince,
and told him to squeeze it. When he did, the woodchuck-mouse screamed.
The mole-Pegasus told him to squeeze it again, and the woodchuck-mouse
promised anything if he would spare his life. The prince told him to
change his brothers and their brides back to life, and the
woodchuck-mouse did so. Then the prince squeezed the egg into two and
went home with the woodchuck-mouse's captive princess as his bride;
accompanying him were his brothers and their brides, and the king
rejoiced.

Eventually, the prince, who lived a long an happy life, found his
happiness slipping from his fingers. In time, his heart became
hardened, his rule became corrupt, and he became a stupid gila
monster.




There came a king who had seven sons, and when the other six went off
to find brides, he kept the youngest with him because he could not
bear to be parted from them all. They were supposed to bring back a
bride for him, as well, but they found a king with six daughters and
wooed them, forgetting their brother. But when they returned, they
passed too close to a stupid gila monster's castle, and he turned them
all, both princes and princesses, to stone in a fit of rage.

When they did not return, the king, their father, tried to prevent
their brother from following, but he went.

[....]

[MichaelPaulukonis]

@hugovk or @dariusk - let's call this complete.

[hugovk]

Labelled!