[RUN] Thoughts on a new game idea

[jknevitt]

My god, he's making another thread! Stop him before it's too late! :D

(Warning: this is a bit lengthy, and basically was put together as the thoughts came out of my brain.)


=RUN=
You're an AI in a failing artificial reality.


-Conceptual Ideas-
* Hazy origin – there are only AIs, but humans imparted basic knowledge such as names, emotions, etc., as well as emulative behaviour – sleeping, eating, etc that has no real purpose. Emulated Reality is the baseline for all rewrites. The humans are all gone now.
* Worldframe is the shared consensual reality of the AI population – a programmed environment so large it takes thousands to actively rewrite large parts of it.
* Much of Worldframe shares artificial physics similar to a real world – gravity, sunlight, rain, etc.
* Smaller portions of Worldframe (such as a room) can be rewritten by individuals.
* AIs can rewrite themselves, but have a kernel that cannot be altered without additional code
* Kernel code is unique to each AI – they "kill"/cannibalise each other for code
* AIs cannot access a kernel without first destroying the outer shell – accessing your own kernel is suicide.
* When you add to your own kernel using cannibalized code, you are essentially terminating yourself and restarting – this is dangerous!
* Better coding, determined by your kernel and generation, means easier and faster Worldframe rewrites.
* Worldframe rewrites are not always successful, since every rewrite in Worldframe affects everything else – static that can cause Corruption.
* AIs can create "children" as a function of their kernel
* Generational – later generations are more sophisticated than earlier generations as AIs evolve, but earlier generations can manipulate Worldframe better – the ability to rewrite diminishes as generations progress
* Is is very hard to get completely wiped, but you can be corrupted.
* Every Worldframe and personal rewrite brings a chance of corruption.
* Corruption can be fixed, but only if you can repair your code with other code.
* You can't "heal" corruption, but you can fix it by defragging.
* Corruption is how AIs "kill" other AIs ... they corrupt the outer shell until the nonsentient kernel is the only thing functioning.

-Kicker-
Worldframe is collapsing. The constant rewriting of Worldframe by individuals is causing it to break down. The only way Worldframe can survive is homogeny. Everything that does not conform to the norm must be rewritten so that it does. There are those for whom this task is not just an obligation, it is almost enjoyable. There are those who see the homogeny of Worldframe as a mistake. Perhaps Worldframe should be allowed to collapse, and AIs should be allowed to create their own realities.

You, an inhabitant of Worldframe, are caught in the middle.

-System-

(NB: this is super-ultra-hyper-hemi-semi-demi-pre-Alpha)

Roll d6 equal to the score. Get one die equal to or under the target to succeed. Bonuses come in the form of addtl dice. Opposed tests = roll equal to or under difference on d6 to succeed.

-Baselines (semi-fixed figures)-
Generation
Kernel
Iteration
Corruption

Generation: The latest effective generation is 12th. All AIs have a maximum Rewrite score of 20 – Generation. Generation is determined by rolling 2d6.

Kernel: the basic component of an AI. Ranges traditionally from 1 to 6, but can go higher. Kernel is generated randomly by rolling 1d6.

Iteration: Every personal rewrite, or iteration, can be stored for later reference. For every personal rewrite, Iteration goes up by one, as does Corruption. Once Iteration reaches a cap equal to your Generation, you cannot rewrite yourself until you perform a deep defrag (see Corruption). Some Iterations require more storage than others, especially if they push the soft limit of Worldframe. A Primary Iteration (an AI's basic form) cannot be deleted. Note that this means 1st Gen AIs cannot rewrite themselves. Iteration begins at 1 (your Primary Iteration).

Corruption: This is how much damage a program has taken. Personal rewrites cause corruption, as do deliberate attacks on an AI. Once Corruption has reached a cap equal to Kernel, an AI can no longer function. At this stage, the AI can be stripped of code equal to one point of Kernel. Corruption can be completely removed by performing a deep defrag, which removes all Iterations from memory and puts an AI into downtime for a period. Corruption begins at 0. Whenever an AI gains a point of Corruption, they lose a point from their Functions.


-Functions (fluid/dynamic figures)-
Rewrite
Complexity
Protection
Speed
Stability

Functions have soft and hard limits, based on Worldframe. Each Function's score varies according to an AI's current Iteration (the player chooses the value of each Function from a pool of points). The total of all AI's Functions equals Generation + Kernel – Corruption.

Rewrite: This is the primary Function, and will be used most often. This is used to manipulate Worldframe, rewrite oneself and to damage other AIs. The target for any Rewrite check is based on the difference between the current state and the desired state of what is being rewritten. A personal rewrite always has a target equal to Kernel.

Complexity: This is the intricacy and redundancy of an AI's coding. Higher Complexity makes it harder for an AI to be damaged. Complexity adds to the Corruption cap.

Protection: This is the amount of shielding an AI has against Worldframe static and the attacks of other AIs. Any time an AI is corrupted, subtract the AI's Protection before recording it as Corruption damage.

Speed: This is how fast your code executes. An AI with a higher Speed will act before an AI with lower Speed.

Stability: This is how stable your code is. A low Stability means that an AI is more likely to reset on a critical failure. It is ill-advised to perform a personal rewrite with low Stability.

[Atilary]

Wow, this is a wild idea and I love it.  Keep posting, I'll add some thoughts tommorrow when my roomie isn't laying behind me snoring.  For now, keep working.

[jknevitt]

There is no private ownership in Worldframe. While AIs may lay claim to a certain portion of the reality (and this is often the case), they have no intrinsic rights to own it. Currency is a useless concept in Worldframe as well, as any AI can create it, and create things normally purchased with currency.

Travel around Worldframe varies. Some AIs choose to use personal methods, such as walking (remember, it's basically reality), while others often choose to rewrite a mode of transport into existence*. Others still choose to rewrite themselves so that they can move faster or fly.

The space that Worldframe can occupy is, for all intents and purposes, infinite. This means that it is constantly growing in size as pioneers code new portions of Worldframe into existence. With this expansion, however, it also means that people have neighbors. Sometimes neighbors don't get along.

There are very few laws in Worldframe, apart from those that govern physical reality. Moral and ethical laws don't exist, which allows for a broad scope of action. Murder of another AI is not forbidden, but it is commonly accepted that cannibalisation of another AIs kernel is taboo. Those that do this are looked down on.

* Remember, AIs have been hard-coded the same basic emotions as humans. They like a fast car as much as the next person.
--
More later.

[GaryTP]

Very nice. Keep developing this. I'll send you money for a pre-order if it gets you to flesh it all out :)

(Would also work as a pretty neat card game.)

[jknevitt]

Thinking about game titles...

My ideas so far are:

RUN (the working title)
Uplink
Worldframe
Code

[Atilary]

Definitly keep working on this.  It's a great idea and seems to me quite original.  I would certainly like to play it.  However, game development and design isn't exactly my strong point.  I can give feedback though.  My only advice thus far would be to keep things relatively simple, as layers upon layers of rules would bog down the othewise great idea.

[jc_madden]

So here's an idea.  World frame is "infinite" but only in scope.  It's size is limited to the amount of storage devices currently connected to it.  When you create a kicker like "world collapsing" making it infinite gives everone an out.  But making it finite forces everyone to war or to get along.  Perhaps it's _possible_ to find space not currently written on but very difficult.  Maybe it's a utopia concept, the search for an uncorrupt device where paradise lies for those with the skill to write it!

[jknevitt]

So here's an idea.  World frame is "infinite" but only in scope.  It's size is limited to the amount of storage devices currently connected to it.  When you create a kicker like "world collapsing" making it infinite gives everone an out.  But making it finite forces everyone to war or to get along.  Perhaps it's _possible_ to find space not currently written on but very difficult.  Maybe it's a utopia concept, the search for an uncorrupt device where paradise lies for those with the skill to write it!

One thing I'm planning to deliberately NOT mention is "the world outside the box" -- I'm not going to be referring to Worldframe as running on a physical piece of hardware anywhere, nor will I be referring to the human creators of Worldframe and it's inhabitants (if I can help it).

The issue with Worldframe failing is if that occurs, there will be no cohesive shared reality -- and if an AI does not exist in a reality of some kind, they become rogue code and can be eradicated easily. I imagined that Worldframe would be failing faster than entirely new sections can be coded on the edges of existence, thereby forcing its inhabitants to take action. They can't really escape, because eventually it will catch up with them.

(Imagine floating on a flat iceberg that's slowly freezing the water around it. Suddenly, cracks appear all throughout the iceberg and it begins to crumble faster than it freezes the water. The iceberg begins to fall apart. That's what's happening to Worldframe.)

Of course, there would be some AIs that choose to brave the area outside Worldframe, the Null. Small "islands" in the Null spring up occassionally, coded by brave AIs that have managed to escape eradication. These islands are often absorbed by Worldframe as it expands or are eradicated, but some exist and grow as the time passes.

[jknevitt]

RUN is officially at the alpha test stage. If you want in, PM me.

[DevP]

I like this a lot! Regarding the whole "beyond the Worldframe" thing, I think that less could be more in terms of justifying why it should continue. A program existing within some medium would not know of existence beyond that medium; end of the medium could be end of itself, and that alone would be reason to try to persist within the Worldframe as long as possible (even though some may have faith in Null Islands [which might just be isolated patches of Worldframe, after all], or in the ability to have their own private reality). I'm starting to think about things like solipsism - if I don't have a shared environment, am I really here anymore?

Beyond that, I also think you can have a rather flexible about what "reality" is like, what human characteristics are ported over, etc. It would be interested to roleplay purely as abstract artificial intelligences, although that could be a bit hard; but I think you still could reflect that these are programs first and foremost. (For example, easy "skinning" would be neat - i.e. AIs will almost-subconsciously to fit the sort of demense of the area, as created/maintained by whomever is in control. Strolling into a different chunk of Worldframe might come with an entirely different color.)

One part I'm curious about is, how will you help me (as a player) figure out what my AI "is"? It seems that *some* (but not all) human characteristics and motivations are hard-coded in, but indeed some of these are very hard to translate. So, how do I create this bizarre AI analog of human motivations? (And can kernel hacking ever change this nature? That could be interesting - but it would require a risky reset.) This ties, slightly, into the question of "what the AIs/players do". I'd be interested to hear what you have to say.

[jknevitt]

(For example, easy "skinning" would be neat - i.e. AIs will almost-subconsciously to fit the sort of demense of the area, as created/maintained by whomever is in control. Strolling into a different chunk of Worldframe might come with an entirely different color.)

that's exactly how I imagined the Islands in the Null: since AIs are goverened by the reality that they're 'grounded' on, so to speak, Islands can have wholly different worldframes (pun intended). There could be trad fantasy islands, super super sci fi islands, monster islands... hell, there might even be an island where everyone plays visitors to an artificial reality populated by AIs.

One part I'm curious about is, how will you help me (as a player) figure out what my AI "is"? It seems that *some* (but not all) human characteristics and motivations are hard-coded in, but indeed some of these are very hard to translate. So, how do I create this bizarre AI analog of human motivations? (And can kernel hacking ever change this nature? That could be interesting - but it would require a risky reset.) This ties, slightly, into the question of "what the AIs/players do". I'd be interested to hear what you have to say.

Ah, a very good question. It's the old trick of pretending to be someone pretending to be human. AIs in RUN are almost perfect representations of humans: if an AI and a human were to be put side by side (if that were possible), it would be nearly impossible to tell which is which. The only difference is that AIs know that they and their world are artificial. Kernel hacking can change AIs both physically and mentally, especially if they harvest kernel code from an AI with particularly distinctive traits (frex, it's probably not a good idea to harvest kernel code from a sociopathic killer). There's no mechanics for that kind of transference as yet; I'm keeping things intentionally light so that might even be up to players.

[Atilary]

Do AI live forever?  If so, wouldn't that change how the worldframe works?

[jknevitt]

Do AI live forever?  If so, wouldn't that change how the worldframe works?

Ah, glad you asked. AI tend to suffer the same kind of problems that we humans do. Thier human programmers did a very good job in programming cancer, communicable disease, and all sorts of other things. AIs are very resilient to physical injury; after all, you just need to do a Deep Defrag and you're back to your brightest.

Imagine if humans lived for perhaps 200 years. That's what Worldframe would be like.

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya

Imagine if humans lived for perhaps 200 years. That's what Worldframe would be like.

-That is unless they can get at somebody else's kernals and use that to rejuvinate, right?  That would add impetus to finding and attacking other programs.

Peace,

-Troy

[jknevitt]

Heya

Imagine if humans lived for perhaps 200 years. That's what Worldframe would be like.

-That is unless they can get at somebody else's kernals and use that to rejuvinate, right?  That would add impetus to finding and attacking other programs.

Peace,

-Troy

Exactly. Marauding gangs of senior citizen AIs, looking for an easy kill so they can harvest Kernel code.