The First of Many

I have a generated set of values.

For convenience:

0.0620282897

0.5565334499

0.9072118710

0.1174228662

0.7358727058

0.8113632605

At some point, I realized that this first try feels a lot like creating a Dungeons and Dragons character.

Shaking that off, each of these values is going to be applied in order to the list.

Variable	Meaning (0 to 1)	Value
Area of Land	Small to Large	0.0620282897
Hydration	Dry to Drenched	0.5565334499
Ores and Minerals	Resource Poor to Resource Rich	0.9072118710
Climate	Cold to Hot	0.1174228662
Terrain	Tame to Rugged	0.7358727058
Wildlife	Absent to Plentiful	0.8113632605

One of the first things I notice about this first iteration of the process is that though I have numerical values, they don't correspond to anything specific.

The first value, 0.06..., is the Size of Area of the nation, but it's left to the creator what that value means. I tend to interpret the values as relative sizes, but no matter how they are framed, the determination of the value's significance is still guess work.

Even though I have rough gestures at the significance of the values in the Meaning column, it would probably help me (and any programs that would generate and interpret the data) to more specifically define the meaning of the ranges that the values determine.

In broad strokes, the nation described by the value set is a very small one. It has a moderate amount of water within and around its borders. It is rich in resources (things like coal, iron, precious gems and metals, but not necessarily all of them). It is a fairly cold nation, almost frigid. Its terrain is more bumpy than flat, but not excessively so. And there is a lot of wildlife present in the area.

It occurs to me now that the Ores and Minerals is a great general descriptor that may predict the paths of future development of a nation, but requires much more specification. The value as it is describes an amount of a class of object ("Ores and Minerals") but does not indicate which members of the class are included. What if this nation has a lot of coal and nothing else? What if there are small deposits of many different types of minerals, but nothing in any practically useful quantities? I did intend for this to be a primary variable, because it also might affect the fertility of the land, but I will only withhold judgment on the variable.

A question I think deserves attention is whether or not any of these values and their significance contradict each other. I actually feel that the values for Terrain and Ores and Minerals work together nicely. The Hydration and Wildlife values are consistent, although considering that the low Climate value may mean that a good deal of the water is frozen, there may be a conflict there, but that will have to wait for when the significance of those values is more fleshed out.

The one big problem I do see concerns the low value for Area. I should examine whether all the other values (except Climate) are relative to the universe this nation may find itself in or relative to the size of the nation itself. This small nation theoretically has a large amount of resources, but would a larger nation with the same value for Ores and Minerals have the same amount of resources in absolute terms? That would be either crippling for the large nation, or physically impossible for the smaller nation. Right now, I am leaning toward indicating that such variables describe concentrations of elements, to keep those variables as primary variables as opposed to variables dependent on the Area variable. But it is entirely possible that I will have to turn in the other direction and be forced to revise the entire system.

This broad sketch has raised some interesting questions. Next time, I will proceed to create a more refined description of the nation described by the set of values to the best of my ability.

As always, I look forward to any comments, questions, or concerns.

-Cheers,

CS

A Trial Run

I'm going to start by trying to create elementary countries or countries in vacuum.

What I have written down on my little pad here is "Countries/Nations that arise and develop separately (ie. without competition)" and that's more or less what I'd like to create.

I have 6 proposed parameters that define the geographical area in which humans (we're working with humans to keep things simple for now) would exist from prehistoric times and develop into nations. The idea is that by defining the terrain, weather, etc. you can make meaningful guesses at what kind of culture might develop. For example, a very fertile area might result in a more agrarian society, a very rainy area may find a lot of rain imagery in art or religion, an area with a lot of wildlife might have some very ferocious predators and create an aggressive society of hunters... that sort of thing.

Of course these things can still be arbitrarily decided or determined, but simple correlations to existing characteristics are more prudent than trying to place farmers in a desert by accident.

From these six parameters, I hope to find the ways they will interact and define more specific characteristics of nations. Each one will tentatively be rated from 0 to 1, to facilitate the inevitable mathematics that will come later.

1. Size of Area
      Narrow/Wide
2. Hydration
      Arid/Drenched
3. Ores and Minerals present in area
      Resource Poor/Resource Rich
4. Climate
      Cold/Hot
5. Terrain
      Tame/Rugged
6. Wildlife
      Absent/Plentiful

Tomorrow, I'd like to generate some random variables and begin the process of creation. The idea isn't to get a polished final product, but to see what the strengths and weaknesses of a model like this might be.

As always, looking forward to feedback.

-Cheers,

CS

The Statement of Purpose

It would be prudent of me to explain myself before going any further with this venture, says I, before I've even clarified what this venture is.

---

Throughout my life, I have been impressed by grand sweeping narratives. I am not moved by the sheer scale or grandiosity of such works, nor am I impressed by the inner life depicted by these works. I have never fully subscribed to such a narrative, always faltering and not keeping up, and I have only myself to blame.

What impresses me about large-scale narratives are their attention to detail. To the untrained masses and even to the few scrutinizing vanguards, the construction of what is essentially an alternate world and history is solid. However incomplete it may be, however narrow its scope, the structure and interplay are solidly defined and built.

To explain a bit further... I have spent a great deal of time recently with the BioWare model. Right now, I'm going through Mass Effect a second time (having only recently completed both the first and second installments). Before that, I played through Alpha Protocol twice (it isn't strictly BioWare, but it is the model), and as poor an experience as many will claim it is, its narrative provokes compelling choices and provides significant consequences for them. Long ago, I completed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and the narrative there was more engaging than any of the movies from that franchise.

You'll note that I am citing games as opposed to books, television series, and the like. I suppose I am a gamer at heart, and I believe that games are an unparalleled medium for storytelling because of the ability to make choices. But in order to make choices in a narrative, you need a character that is not strictly defined (so that the choices are yours to make, not those of the character) and a context that is completely delineated (so decisions carry weight and meaning).

I want to create frameworks for narratives and the compelling stories they would support, but I do not have only one vision or one project in mind. So instead of just trying to hammer out one world, I hope to investigate the process of defining entities, any entity imaginable (from units like people to amalgams like nations, races (think aliens), and factions (composed of different units or even amalgams)). I hope to create a process that will provoke the clarity of circumspection which allows for the thorough construction of narratives.

---

My intentions are as follows:

1. To explore the processes of delineating context and content
2. To experiment with those processes and generate compelling content
3. To take any results forward into models for procedural generation of context and content
4. To use final product models in as of yet undisclosed projects

When constructing a narrative, many things need to be defined: people, places, groups, agendas, power structures, resources, dynamics, extra physics (or magic) that create new dynamics, etc.

My goal is to gather enough working experience to entirely define cities, nations, worlds, universes, or even  people, with a minimal input of variables, and be able to understand what those variables would produce.

A model capable of such would be a powerful tool in creating thoroughly constructed worlds for narratives, creating and managing personalities without extensive ground work, and perhaps other purposes I have not yet foreseen.

I welcome any comments or concerns. I would not be surprised if I come to depend on them. I look forward to working with you.

-Cheers
CS