Show HN: World Engine – Build Worlds Like Brandon Sanderson

Show HN: World Engine – Build Worlds Like Brandon Sanderson(worldengine.in)

40 points by thala 2 years ago | 12 comments

Hey HN,

After hours of re-watching Brandon’s creative writing BYU lectures[1], we converted his ideas into a framework to rapidly iterate and build sci-fi fantasy worlds.

The app is divided into 3 sections: - World: To create a unique magic system intertwined with distinct physical and cultural phenomena - Characters: To create character arcs and give them unique traits that evolve over time - Plot: To weave a series of events in this world following the character arc

We are newbie devs, any suggestions on the app improvements and usability would be great!

The idea is to capture the essence of Brandon's approach. We can't help but wonder if other 'earned insights' can be converted into similar applications for different use cases outside of fiction.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cf-qdZ7GbA&list=PLSH_xM-KC3...

dharan22 2 years ago |

The character image doesn't fit in consistently with the rest of the images. Also the character arc sometimes quotes the input verbatim. It would be better if the tool can express the idea better rather than just quoting the input literally

Nars088 2 years ago | |

True, still trying to fix that! Need to figure out how to implement 'show don't tell' with GPT

arvindnatarajs 2 years ago |

You might want to consider making the output text editable, that way I would not have to regenerate the entire response and lose what I already have

thala 2 years ago | |

We thought allowing edits might break the consistency across the flow. But thanks for your feedback we'll try to solve for this in the next update.

cat-whisperer 2 years ago |

Great stuff, interesting concept and good design, but I would be more fun if:

- There was a bit more freedom in the selection menu

- I agree with @arvindnatarajs on making the output editable and adapting the story-line accordingly

- And the instruction popups could be a bit less annoying ;)

Great stuff though!

Nars088 2 years ago | |

Thanks for the feedback (I'm a collaborator)

- We were thinking ideally the selection menu should take text input but parked that for later

Also the visualise buttons get enabled as soon as you hit generate button for the corresponding block!

PeppaP007 2 years ago |

Might wanna play around with the slider to make more continuous. Some loud & clear segregation in the modules would also make it easy for the eyes.

matthewtse 2 years ago |

Might be just my preferences, but I find the retro-pixelated font to be visually painful.

thala 2 years ago | |

Surprisingly this seems to be a common feedback from all. We wanted to go with an aesthetic that would appeal universally, but I guess we went over-the-top with it.

s_mohata 2 years ago |

Pretty cool concept, the retro UX is on the edge for me but loved to play around.

sg_2023 2 years ago |

This is a lovely concept!

vids1206 2 years ago |

Interesting concept, great to experiment with