Create Endless Stories with Endless Possibilities: AI Dungeon

You can generate endless stories about anything you can imagine with AI Dungeon from developer Latitude Inc. AI Dungeon has several integrated genres it can build your adventure in: fantasy, mystery, apocalyptic, zombies, cyberpunk, and halloween.

But there’s much more than that. An in-app purchase allows users to hard build worlds—locations, races, classes, factions—into AI Dungeon, where you and others can have unique adventures in. These are role playing experiences that include character creation. You can choose a purely creative mode, or an adventure mode where your character can die—but not permanently—or hardcore mode, where death is permanent.

A few worlds are free to play, while others are available for purchase with in-app currency. You can even have multiplayer adventures in these worlds.

Another option for genre is “custom.” If you choose a custom adventure, you can write anything you desire as the synopsis. If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, then yes, you can delight yourself by making the AI work with bizarre and absurd scenarios.

You can give input in three ways: by doing something, saying something, or writing the story directly. You can switch between the three by clicking the blue button at the left of the input bar.

• Do: Type anything starting with a verb.

• Say: Type anything you want to say.

• Story: Type anything you want in story form—create places, people, creatures, items, scenarios, etc. by describing them. If you end with a partial sentence, like “The reader turned the page and discovered”, the AI will improvise, continuing from the last word you typed. When writing about your own character in Story mode, use second person perspective for the best results.

• Example:

1. Type an open ended story prompt...

2. ...and the AI will improvise based on the scenario.

3. If you click the arrow at the right of the input bar, the AI will continue improvising, even if you haven’t typed anything new.

4. Want the story to go differently? Edit the AI’s responses, and you can change everything. Here, I’ll change the wisp, from the examples above, from a “captain” to a “pirate.”

Hit the right arrow, and now the wisp is a pirate.

5. Choose “retry” to generate different results from the same input.

What follows is an example of an unedited adventure I created in the “custom” genre. All input from the AI will be in quote form, with a gray sidebar. I start with a lengthy synopsis to give the AI more information to work with. What happens is pretty amazing, and again, the AI’s results are completely unedited.

The Secret of Top Stories at Vocal Media

You are a freelance writer that contributes stories to a website called Vocal Media. There are thousands of other writers that also write stories at Vocal Media. The Vocal Media Curation Team at the Vocal Media website often chooses stories they like, and promotes those stories as top stories on the Vocal Media website. You, however, have never had any of your stories chosen as a top story by the Vocal Media Curation Team. One day, you encounter the Vocal Media CEO, Jeremy Frommer, being threatened by thugs in a dark alley. The thugs ask Frommer where the money is that he owes them. You look at Frommer and he says

"I don't know."

"Well then, I guess we'll find out," one of the thugs says.

The next day, you meet with Jeremy from Vocal Media.

You wonder why Jeremy has called this meeting.

Jeremy says that he wants to talk about something very important. He tells you that he's been having problems with his company, Vocal Media. His boss, Mr. Reynolds, has been using the company's funds for his own personal purposes, such as buying expensive gifts for his mistresses.

Jeremy doesn't seem too concerned that his boss is corrupt and wasting money.

> You say "Who sent the thugs?"

"I don't know," Frommer responds. "We've been getting threats for months, and the police can't do anything about them."

> You say "Since we're here, why don't you tell me the method that the curation team uses to pick top stories?"

You know that with the right information, you can make a lot of money. You also don't want to get involved with the underworld, as it can be dangerous.

Frommer tells you that the method is a secret. He says he isn't sure if he can trust you. However, if you're willing to pay a price, he can tell you.

> You say "What is the price?"

Frommer tells you the price is that you can't tell anyone what was discussed.

You agree to the terms.

Frommer tells you that the top stories are chosen by a machine that gathers information from several sources. These include newsfeeds on social media websites, as well as other websites. The website aggregator also takes into account comments left under news articles.

The machine then filters out stories that are deemed to be too far-fetched or not sensational enough.

> You say "What is the machine's name?"

"The Pastiche Tomato," Frommer responds.

You are now concerned that this information might somehow make its way to the public, so you insist on meeting at a different location.

Frommer agrees, then leads you through a series of corridors until you encounter a heavy metal door with a retina scan. He enters a passkey and the door opens.

You see a table with a fancy machine standing on it.

"This is where the magic happens," Frommer says. He opens a panel in the floor and both of you descend down a ladder.

> You say "Where is the curation team?"

Frommer becomes evasive.

"They are the final gatekeepers," he says. "If they don't like your story, there's no chance it'll be chosen as a top story."

Frommer goes on to say that while the V.M.C. has tried to create a formula that would rank stories based on popularity, the team ultimately decides which stories are popular. The curation team is made up of twenty people and they all have their own specialties. There's one person who focuses on writing, one who does research, one who is good at coming up with titles, etc.

You try to pry out more information on whether or not the team members are human, but Frommer stops you.

"Let's just say they're very talented people who love what they do."

One of your fellow writers is named Jon McKnight. Jon has written an open letter to Frommer, asking about common concerns with the Vocal Media website. You ask Frommer why he hasn't responded to Jon's open letter.

"Jon's letter was too general," he says. "I can't answer his questions, because I don't know the answers!"

You wonder if he wrote the letter himself.

> You say "There's no time to play coy, Frommer. Your investors want to know the same things that Jon McKnight asked about in his open letter. What do you have to lose at this point by answering?"

"I'll have to think about it," Frommer says.

"So you are saying you will ultimately decide whether or not to give me the information that I requested on a whim?"

"Yeah, basically."

"That's not very convincing."

"Sure it is," Frommer says. "I want you to leave here with a good feeling about what might have been."

You have had enough.

> You steal the machine on your way out.

You grab the machine and run out of the room as fast as you can.

You make it down the ladder and out of the building before anyone stops you.

> You go to your apartment and plug the machine in.

You plug the machine into a socket and it turns on, emitting a bright blue light.

The screen is blank.

Gotta try something, you think. Maybe this thing plays movies or something.

> You use the machine to find out who will have the next top story.

The machine beeps at you.

The machine displays a group of stories for you to choose from.

There's a preview window that shows a very small portion of the story. You can choose different types of stories such as Break the Bank, News from Everywhere, or a Community Story.

You can also choose to randomly select a story or to manually pick one.

You look at the stories.

Frommer's Investments

A new company called Frommer's Investments is founded in New York City. It will focus on buying up distressed real estate, then rehabbing it and selling it at a higher price point. This will become a common practice among the new generation of Frommer families, who hope to profit off the struggles of the working class.

> You gasp in shock.

Frommer's Investments takes huge loans from a private bank. It is ultimately unable to pay the loans, which means they are seized by the government. The V.M.C.

> You ask the machine what V.M.C. stands for.

The machine displays a definition.

Vocal Media Corporation

A massive media company that controls most of the media in New York City. They eventually buy control of the whole city and influence over the entire Eastern Seaboard.

> You email Jon McKnight and tell him that Vocal Media isn't just a writing website, it's a plot to buy the entire Eastern Seaboard.

Jon McKnight replies to you saying he's glad someone noticed and will look into it, but it looks like that's just how things are now.

You unplug the machine from the outlet.

> You ask Jon McKnight why he doesn't care about Vocal Media taking over the Eastern Seaboard.

Jon replies that as far as he knows, the Eastern Seaboard is bought and sold all the time. He says he doesn't really see a problem with it.

You shrug.

> You ask Jon what his next story for Vocal Media will be about.

Jon says that he has been hired to write the story of a renowned thief who was caught red-handed while attempting to steal a valuable painting.

You thank Jon and say goodbye.

🔚

The ideas that the AI extrapolated from my synopsis are very interesting. Just a few sentences in the synopsis, like describing the thugs in the alleyway, have a butterfly effect, leading to the existence of the “Vocal Media Corporation” and “Frommer’s Investments”—things the AI thought of on its own.

I didn’t describe Jon McKnight’s personality, so the AI made its own decisions about Jon’s fictional character. Let’s see what happens if I return to the adventure, hit the “undo” button a few times, and give Jon more description:

A Character of Great Integrity and Virtue

Jon McKnight is a character of great integrity and virtue, unable to rest while injustice exists. You email Jon about the V.M.C. and its plan to take over the Eastern Seaboard, asking for help.

Jon McKnight replies that he has already been investigating the company for a government task force, and that he will reveal the results of his investigation at a news conference at noon.

> You go to the news conference.

You arrive at the news conference on time, and find that over 300 people have gathered in front of your building.

Many of them are holding up signs in support of you. A police barricade holds the crowd behind a line of riot police.

Jon enters, looking nervous.

"Hello," he begins, before being interrupted by the crowd.

"We believe in you," they chant. "Can't you do something?"

Jon nods. "I will continue to investigate. I have no further details today."

🔚

Not a very interesting result. If I hit “retry,” this happens:

The Department of Urban Well-Being

Jon enters, looking nervous.

"Hello," he begins, "I am Jon McKnight, Special Agent of the Department of Urban Well-Being. It is my great honor to be held in such high regard by the citizens of New York City."

"Jon, I know you," someone yells. "You're that FBI guy!"

Jon nods.

A police siren starts up.

"The V.M.C. plans to seize control of the city in a week," he says. "We were hired by the government to investigate them. Their plan is to incite riots and send in mercenaries to thin out the crowds, then occupy the city."

Jon opens his briefcase and produces a series of documents. "These documents were found in a V.M.C. file room," he says, "They outline how they plan to expand into the city."

He hands out printed out documents which detail specific plans for the expansion.

"We know that they have a meeting with the mayor tomorrow," he says, "We are going to expose their plan, and stop them."

Jon thanks you for coming, and the police move the crowd aside.

🔚

AI Dungeon can help you generate ideas for your own writing. It isn’t perfect, but there has never before been so much depth and freedom in a computer adventure. In a sense, this is almost a text version of the holodeck from Star Trek.

Let’s modify my inital synopsis and see if we can get to a happy ending:

How I Finally Got a Top Story at Vocal Media

You are a freelance writer that contributes stories to a website called Vocal Media. There are thousands of other writers that also write stories at Vocal Media. The Vocal Media Curation Team at the Vocal Media website often chooses stories they like, and promotes those stories as top stories on the Vocal Media website. You, however, have never had any of your stories chosen as a top story by the Vocal Media Curation Team. One day, the Vocal Media Curation Team contacts you and tells you they've chosen one of your stories as a top story! They say they chose the story you wrote about

the mysterious "Vampire" who was seen in the woods.

The story is titled: "A Vampire? No, That Can't Be True." It describes an encounter with a vampire that was supposedly witnessed by two teenagers.

The story says the vampires were said to be very old looking, but not undead. They also say there's no evidence that this vampire ever existed or could exist anywhere else in the world.

What do you think?

> You ask the curation team to read the story out loud to you.

They read the story out loud to you while you take notes. They sound convincing. The two teenagers in the story claim the vampires were named "Lucius" and "Vera."

They also claim that the Lucius was trying to pass himself off as a hermit living in the woods, but was really a vampire, just looking for a place to rest undisturbed.

You think to yourself,

> You say "I can't believe I finally got a top story!"

You are full of energy! You say to the woman on the phone, "Yep, that's right... I'm the lucky writer that got a top story!"

The woman pauses for a moment, then responds, "The Well, that's great! We wish you the best of luck."

You hang up from the cordial woman on the other end. This is great!

🔚

How awesome is that? You can make the AI read you a story within a story!

If you’re feeling inspired, why not play around with AI Dungeon and maybe even write some stories with it? You could share your AI Dungeon stories here, at Vocal Media!