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Rules persuade. Structure IS argument. Design consciously.
npx skill4agent add simhacker/moollm procedural-rhetoric| Concept | Source | Power |
|---|---|---|
| PROCEDURAL-RHETORIC | Ian Bogost | Rules carry ideology |
| MASKING-EFFECT | Scott McCloud | Abstraction enables identification |
| SIMULATOR-EFFECT | Will Wright | Imagination fills gaps |
rhetoricobject:
name: "Community Garden"
description: "A shared space where neighbors grow food together."
rhetoric:
# What worldview does this object embody?
ideology: "Cooperation over competition. Sharing over hoarding."
# What does it normalize?
normalizes:
- "Collective ownership"
- "Generosity with surplus"
- "Cross-generational knowledge transfer"
# What does it make possible?
enables:
- "Players can give food freely"
- "Teaching actions boost both parties"
- "Surplus automatically shared with neighbors"
# What does it constrain?
constrains:
- "Cannot fence off individual plots"
- "Cannot sell what you grow (only gift)"
# What are the defaults?
defaults:
ownership: "communal"
surplus_action: "share"
# Simulator effect: sparse triggers rich imagination
evokes: |
The smell of tomatoes warming in the sun.
Children learning which plants are ready to pick.
Old-timers sharing secrets about soil.advertisements:
SHARE-HARVEST:
description: "Give your surplus to the community"
score_boost: 20 # Encouraged by design
rhetoric: "Generosity is the path of least resistance"
TEACH-TECHNIQUE:
description: "Show a neighbor how to grow tomatoes"
effect: "Both teacher and student gain gardening skill"
rhetoric: "Teaching multiplies rather than divides"
HOARD:
available: false # Not even an option
rhetoric: "Hoarding is literally unthinkable here"world_generation:
rhetoric_profile: "utopian-cooperative"
guidelines:
economy: "Gift economy. No currency. Abundance mindset."
conflict: "Disagreements resolved through dialogue, not combat"
scarcity: "Resources are shared, not hoarded"
strangers: "Welcomed as potential friends, not threats"
spawn_tendencies:
community_spaces: high
private_vaults: none
weapons: ceremonial_only
teaching_opportunities: abundantworld_generation:
rhetoric_profile: "noir-cynical"
guidelines:
economy: "Zero-sum. Someone always loses."
conflict: "Inevitable. Trust is earned, rarely given."
scarcity: "Everything valuable is contested"
strangers: "Potential threats until proven otherwise"
spawn_tendencies:
dark_alleys: high
safe_spaces: rare
hidden_agendas: common
genuine_kindness: surprisingcharacter:
name: "The Wanderer"
# Sparse on specifics — room for projection
description: "A traveler from somewhere else."
# Abstract enough to be anyone
appearance:
style: "weathered but resilient"
# NO specific race, gender, age — player fills in
masking:
abstraction_level: high
projection_hooks:
- "What drove them to wander?"
- "What are they searching for?"
- "What did they leave behind?"
# Rich emotional palette despite sparse details
emotional_range:
- "Quiet determination"
- "Nostalgic longing"
- "Unexpected kindness to strangers"room:
name: "The Forgotten Library"
# Evocative, not exhaustive
description: |
Dust motes drift through slanted light.
Somewhere, pages turn without being touched.
# Let imagination fill the shelves
simulator_effect:
sparse_details:
- "Ancient books"
- "Shifting shadows"
- "A familiar smell you can't place"
# Questions > answers
mysteries:
- "Who reads here at night?"
- "Why do some shelves seem to move?"
- "What book keeps appearing in your path?"
# DON'T specify:
avoid_overspecifying:
- "Exact number of books"
- "Complete catalog of subjects"
- "Layout dimensions"
- "Every dust bunny location"rhetorical_recipe:
name: "Abundance Mindset"
ingredients:
- "Resources that regenerate"
- "Sharing actions score higher than hoarding"
- "Generosity rewarded with social currency"
- "No inventory limits"
applies_to:
- rooms
- objects
- economies
- NPCs
usage: |
When creating objects with this recipe:
- Make resources renewable
- Remove scarcity as default
- Reward generosity in mechanics
- Make surplus automatic to sharerhetorical_recipe:
name: "Trust Must Be Earned"
ingredients:
- "NPCs start neutral or suspicious"
- "Reputation accumulates slowly"
- "Betrayal has lasting consequences"
- "Trust unlocks deeper interactions"
applies_to:
- NPCs
- factions
- social systems
usage: |
When creating social systems with this recipe:
- New relationships start guarded
- Actions have memory
- Trust is a resource that depletes and builds
- Deep connection requires investmentinclusive_rhetoric:
# Symmetric relationship rules = equality as default
relationships:
pattern: "Any character can form any relationship with any other"
rhetoric: "Love is love. Family is chosen."
# No gender-locked actions
actions:
pattern: "All actions available to all characters"
rhetoric: "Capability is individual, not categorical"
# Customization without limits
character_creation:
pattern: "Full spectrum of expression available"
rhetoric: "You define yourself"
# The absence is the statement
absent_by_design:
- "No 'correct' family structure"
- "No 'normal' appearance baseline"
- "No 'standard' lifestyle path"# ⚠️ DANGEROUS PATTERNS
toxic_rhetoric:
scarcity_as_default:
pattern: "Everything is limited and contested"
effect: "Players learn to hoard and distrust"
zero_sum_scoring:
pattern: "Your gain is my loss"
effect: "Cooperation becomes irrational"
violence_as_primary_verb:
pattern: "Combat is the main interaction"
effect: "Other solutions become invisible"
stereotyped_roles:
pattern: "NPCs locked into categorical behaviors"
effect: "Reinforces prejudice as 'natural'"| Protocol | Insight |
|---|---|
| MASKING-EFFECT | Abstract characters = projection |
| SIMULATOR-EFFECT | Imagination fills gaps |
| GUTTER-CLOSURE | Action happens BETWEEN |
| CULTURAL-BAGGAGE | Leverage existing knowledge |
| FLY-UNDER-RADAR | Normalize through defaults |
| SIMANTICS | Distributed AI in objects |
| TOY-NOT-GAME | Sandbox over scoring |
| PERKY-PAT | Shared consciousness projection |
"The rules ARE the rhetoric." "The defaults ARE the ideology."
"The absences ARE the statement." "Design consciously."