A FREEFORM PARSER ENGINE FOR TEXT-BASED GAMES
DEVLOGS & SUPPORT
WHAT IS TALYXR_?
TALYXR_ is a modern parser engine for text-based games built around freeform player input. Players can describe what they want to do in their own words, and talk to characters without being limited to predefined dialogue options. In other words, you can type whatever comes to mind.TALYXR_ then works out what you’re trying to do and checks whether it can actually happen in the game world.
WHAT FREEFORM MEANS
For TALYXR_, freeform basically means two things.No verb hunting
You don't have to learn a specific way to talk to TALYXR_, and you don't need to hunt for the exact way to phrase things. If you want to examine a room, pick something up, move somewhere, or try something more unusual, you can describe that action in your own words.Basically, these all mean the same thing:
> look around
> I take a good look around the room.
> Let me get a sense of my surroundings.Try anything
Freeform also means you can try things the game wasn't specifically expecting. For example:
> eat table
> I teleport to the moon.TALYXR_ should still be able to deal with those inputs, even if the answer is obviously no. If something can't be done, TALYXR_ should tell you why, instead of falling back to “I don't understand that.”
TALK TO NPCS LIKE PEOPLE
Freeform input also applies to conversations with NPCs (non-player characters). Instead of choosing from a list of dialogue options or using a fixed prompt like > ASK ABOUT DOOR, you can simply say whatever you want to say.> "What do you know about the locked door?"
> "Can you explain quantum entanglement to me?"
> "I hope you F!$%*!$ die! You filthy piece of S#!%!"The first question probably makes sense in the game. The second may have absolutely nothing to do with it. The third is just rude. TALYXR_ should still understand what you're saying and let the NPCs respond in character.That does not mean every NPC suddenly knows everything. Characters have their own knowledge, history, relationships and opinions. They can know the answer, be wrong, misunderstand you, refuse to answer, or simply have no idea what you're talking about.You are not limited to the questions I thought of beforehand.
NO, THIS IS NOT AN AI-GENERATED GAME
Yes, TALYXR_ does use language models. But no, they are not writing the story.The story, locations, characters, objects, puzzles and clues are all written beforehand. So are the descriptions and responses for normal game actions: looking at something, picking it up, opening it, moving somewhere, solving a puzzle, and so on.Language models are only used to interpret player input, or where writing every possible response beforehand simply isn't possible, especially in freeform NPC conversations. And if a model ever invents something where an authored response already exists, that's not TALYXR_ being clever. That's a bug.
AI IS OPTIONAL
Don't want to use language models at all? Turn them off.TALYXR_ is being built so the same game can still be played as a more traditional parser game. You lose freeform interpretation, and NPC conversations need authored dialogue instead, but the actual game remains the same.AI is a layer on top of the game. It isn't the game itself.
BUILT FOR MORE THAN ONE GAME
TALYXR_ isn't being built just to run a single game. I'm building it so new locations, objects, puzzles and NPCs can be added without rebuilding the whole engine every time.The same engine should eventually be able to run completely different stories too. Maybe even stories made by other people.
THE HARTWOOD UNIVERSITY MURDERS
The Hartwood University Murders is the first full game I want to build with TALYXR_. It takes place at Hartwood University, a fictional university in Oregon, and follows a third year Musical Theatre Performance student who gets pulled into a murder mystery.The tech demo I'm building now takes place in the same universe, but tells a separate, self-contained story. It gives me a smaller place to build, test and break TALYXR_ before moving on to the full game.
SUPPORT TALYXR_
TALYXR_ is an independent project and I'm currently building and funding it myself.If you'd like to help me keep working on it, you can support the development on Ko-fi. It helps with things like server hosting, model/API costs and, yes, occasionally actual coffee.
Marvin James
Founder TALYXR_
