Recently, I've become quite fascinated by the idea of AI-generated texts. My first real encounter with this — outside of much earlier attempts such as ELIZA and its various clones in the '80s — was with Talk to Transformer, which is a ton of fun to play with. Today, though, I was informed of the existence of AI Dungeon, an attempt to allow you to play an AI-generated piece of interactive fiction.
Here are the results of my initial adventure; anything with a ">" before it is me; everything else came from the AI.
You are Pierre, a wizard living in the kingdom of Larion. You have a staff and
a spellbook. You finish your long journey and finally arrive at the ruin you've
been looking for. You look around and see that it's not much different than
when you left it years ago. The only thing is now there's a large group of orcs
standing outside the ruins
> look at orcs
You turn to face the orcs who stare back at you with their big red eyes. They
all start moving forward towards you.
"What do you want?"
They don't answer right away. Instead they all move together as one
> read spellbook
You quickly grab the book off the ground and begin reading through it. It seems
like it has a lot of information on magic spells. You find a few pages about
fireballs, but nothing else. You try some other spells, but nothing comes to
mind
> cast fireball on orcs
You raise your hand up into the air and fire a fireball at the orcs. The fireball
explodes into flames, causing them to scream out in pain. A few of them run
away from the explosion, while others just stand there looking scared
> talk to orcs
The orcs slowly approach you. "We need help". One says.
"I'm sorry," you say. "But we can't go any further".
"Why not? We're not bad people".
> ask orcs about help
"Can I get you anything?"
"No".
"Well then, good luck".
> enter ruin
You walk down a long corridor that is filled with rubble and broken furniture.
You see several torches illuminating the room. There is also a door here, which
you open and step inside. Inside the room is dark except for two candles burning
in a small altar
> examine altar
You notice a large piece of parchment lying on the floor. You pick it up and
read:
Dear friend,
I am writing this letter because I know you will be able to help me. My name
is Kivan, and I live in the city of Nalin
> look at candles
You look at the candles and see that they are glowing red hot. They seem very
bright and burning.
> take candles
You take the candles and put them over your head. You feel cool air blow over
your face. This feels nice, so you continue to use the candles until you hear
a voice call out to you.
> listen to voice
You turn around and see a man wearing a hooded cloak standing before you. He
looks older than you would expect someone to be, but he still looks quite handsome.
"Hello," he says. "My name is Prince Valanar".
> ask valanar about himself
"Prince Valanar, my father was killed by an orc raiders. I was only nine years
old at the time".
> ask valanar about orcs
"Yes, orcs".
> ask valanar about the city of Nalin
"Nalin is a great city. It's home to many noble families, and its citizens are
kind and generous".
> give parchment to Valanar
"Here".
> ask Valanar about parchment
"This is a letter to my son, Pierre".
> tell Valanar I am not his son
"Oh, no. I'm sure you must think of yourself as such".
> leave ruins
You walk along the path leading to the ruins. You pass a group of soldiers patrolling
the area. They look bored, but they don't make too much noise. You pass another
group of soldiers patrolling the path ahead of you. They look bored, but they
don't make too much noise either
> continue on path
You continue walking along the path. Eventually you come across a large structure
made entirely of stone. It is made of white marble and is taller than most houses
in the village. On top of the building sits a tall statue of a knight holding
a lance and shield
> enter structure
You climb up onto the roof of the structure and peer inside. It appears to be
a library, though bookshelves line the walls. Books cover almost every surface,
including tables and chairs. Most of the books are in ancient languages, but
there are also some modern ones
> read books
You carefully search through the shelves of books. You find a couple of interesting
books, but none of them interest you. You decide to search through the rest
of the bookshelves. As you do so, you notice a small wooden box sitting on a
table nearby
> look inside box
You open the box and pull out a small leather pouch. Inside the pouch is a silver
ring. It is a ring engraved with a cross.
> wear ring
You put the ring on your finger and press it against the side of your nose. You
breathe deeply and close your eyes. Suddenly, you feel a sharp pain shoot through
your nose. You gasp and drop the ring
> examine ring
You stare at the ring in disbelief. It seems like it should hurt, but it doesn't.
Instead, you feel slightly nauseous. You try to wipe the taste off your tongue,
but it is difficult. You begin to shake violently and vomit
> cast healing spell
You quickly cast a healing spell on yourself. The effects last for a few minutes,
but eventually you calm down. When you regain consciousness, you realize that
you are back in the forest. A large tree has fallen from the sky and landed
right next to you
> look at tree
You look at the tree and see that it is dead. You wonder if it fell due to bad
weather or something similar. You can't remember now. You look around and see
a large group of soldiers marching towards you. They all appear tired and hungry
> talk to soldiers
You approach one of the soldiers and speak to him. He nods in response and speaks
to you in a language you recognize as Common. He tells you that he is part of
the army sent to capture you
> ask soldiers why they want to capture me
The soldier replies that they need to capture you so they can interrogate you.
> ask soldiers why they want to interrogate me
The soldier replies that they want to question you about the whereabouts of a
certain book.
> ask soldier about book
The soldier tells you that they need to know where the book is so they can get
it back.
> ask soldier which book they are looking for
The soldier tells you that they are looking for a book called 'The Book Of Shadows'.
> tell soldier I will find the book for them
You nod and say goodbye to the soldier before leaving the forest.
> inventory
Your equipment consists of:
Ring – Silver
A dagger – Steel
An iron sword – Iron
A Leather pouch containing several gold coins
You arrive at the gates of the city of Nalin. There are two guards standing outside.
One of them looks tired and hungry
> talk to guards
You approach the guard who looks tired and hungry. He asks you what you want
and you explain that you would like to speak to someone who can help you find
the book.
> ask guards about book
The guard tells you that he knows nothing about the book, but he thinks that
it might be somewhere near the town of Rask.
> ask guard about Rask
The guard says that he knows nothing about Rask either, but he thinks that it
might be somewhere near the town of Varsakken.
> ask guard how to get to Varsakken
The guard tells you that he knows nothing about Varsakken either, but he thinks
that it might be somewhere near the town of Ligruv.
> enter city
You enter the city of Nalin. You see a large crowd gathered around a huge statue
of a giant. The people seem very excited by this event. You wonder if they are
celebrating something important
> ask crowd about what is happening
They all start speaking at once. Some of them are very excited, while others
are very nervous.
> look at statue
You look at the statue and notice that it is covered in blood. You don't understand
what is going on, but you assume that it must be some sort of great victory.
> ask crowd about statue
Everyone starts talking at once. Most of them are very excited, while others
are very nervous.
> go to tavern
You walk into the tavern and sit down. The bartender greets you warmly. She tells
you that she is glad to see you again. She then begins telling you about her
life and the history of the tavern.
> listen to bartender
She tells you that the tavern was originally built by an elf named Eirik. After
his death, the tavern became owned by another elf named Jarlaxle. In time, Jarlaxle
died and the tavern passed to another elf named Kivan
> ask bartender about Kivan
The bartender tells you that Kivan is the owner of the tavern. He also mentions
that he is currently traveling through the wilderness and hasn't been seen since
yesterday morning.
> ask bartender about The Book of Shadows
The bartender tells you that the book is located in the basement of the tavern.
> thank bartender
You thank the bartender and leave the tavern.
> enter tavern basement
You enter the basement of the tavern. You hear a lot of noise from within. You
begin to panic. What could possibly be going on?
> search for The Book of Shadows
You search the basement and you find nothing. You realize that you are trapped
inside the tavern. You quickly run out of the tavern and try to call for help.
> look around
You look around and see no one nearby. You decide to return to your room.
> go to sleep
You wake up in the night and you are still unable to contact anyone. You decide
to go back to your room.
> leave room
You head back to your room and lock yourself in. You think about what happened
last night and you realize that you were right. It seems that you are trapped
in the tavern. You hope that you can escape soon.
> call for help
You call for help and you hear a voice coming from outside. You open the door
and you see a man dressed in black clothes. He has a long beard and wears a
hooded cloak. He looks very scary.
> talk to man
You tell him that you need help escaping. He tells you that he doesn't know anything
about such things, but he will try to help you.
> ask man about The Book of Shadows
He tells you that he doesn't know anything about the book, but he thinks that
it might be somewhere near the town of Rask.
At this point the game crashed and I was unable to input any more commands. But I have to say — I was well and truly intrigued!
Give it a go for yourself at http://www.aidungeon.io/
