How AI helps create game scenarios
AI is no longer "magic," but a working tool in narrative production: it helps to quickly generate variants, hold the canon, support branching, localize and test logic. Below is a system map of how to build AI into the scenario cycle of the game.
1) Where exactly AI is useful in the scenario
1. Ideation and lore - sketches of worlds, factions, calendar of events, chronicles, legends.
2. Plot framework - history bits (setup → conflict → pinch → midpoint → dark night → climax → denouement), themes, character arches.
3. Quests and missions - goals, conditions, rewards, passage options, "offshoots by role."
4. Dialogues and remarks - stylistically aligned NPC responses, tonality options, reactions to the state of the world.
5. Reactive ENT systems - tablets/notes/audio diaries that adapt to the player's choices.
6. Localization and adaptation - multilingual versions with slang, gender and numerical forms, cultural realities.
7. QA scenario - search for lore contradictions, dead ends of branches, logical holes, repetitions.
8. Live-ops-narrative - seasonal events, teasers, character letters, telemetry summaries of the world.
2) Basic pipeline of narrative production with AI
Step 1. The Bible of the world (single source of truth).
Describe the canon: setting, timeline, ethos of factions, taboo, stylistic guides, dictionary of names and toponyms.
Store in structured form (JSON/YAML) + short text extract.
Step 2. Plot skeleton.
Map of bits (beat sheet) and arches with hard "anchors" (points unchanged).
For each arch - goals, dilemmas, possible forks.
Step 3. Draft generation.
LLM creates 3-5 scene/quest/dialogue options using prompt templates.
Choosing the best option by a person, editing the tone, consolidating in the canon.
Step 4. Branching and conditions.
Transferring the scene to the plot graph (nodes/edges, entry/exit conditions, flags).
Checking the reachability of endings and the absence of "dead" branches.
Step 5. Tone and styles.
"Style masks" for characters: vocabulary, speech speed, idioms, taboos.
Slang/cliché/replay auto-check.
Step 6. Localization.
Machine draft → glossary → post-edit localizer.
Variable/case/number/gender checks.
Step 7. QA and simulations.
Agent runs of dialogs; tests for contradictions to the canon and economics of awards.
Reports "why you can't get here" and "what flags will never be set."
Step 8. Live-ops.
World news and letters from the NPC collected from real player actions.
Seasonal branches on top of the basic canon - with "anchors" that cannot be broken.
3) Prompt patterns that really work
3. 1. Scene Card
Context (setting, period, place)- The purpose of the scene (what changes in the world/hero)
- Conflict (external/internal)
- Outcome (A/B/C) and transition triggers
- Style restrictions (vocabulary, taboo)
3. 2. Quest Spec
Hook: why the player cares
Steps: Stages and alternatives
Skill-checks: where stats/class/reputation affect
Rewards: Soft/Hard/Narrative
Failure states: losing but interesting forks
3. 3. Character Bible
Biography (200-400 words), worldview, "triggers" of emotions
Speech mask: tempo, idioms, inhibitions, politeness level
Arch: from what changes, "point of no return"
3. 4. Dialog Turn
Player intent → scene context → state of the world → character tone- 3 NPC responses: neutral/empathic/acute
- Requirements: short, without exposure weights, keep subtext
4) Plot graph and branch control
Use story graph (for example, as a table or nodes in an editor): 'node _ id, preconditions, effects, choices, fail_states'.
Enter invariants: events that must happen before/after (anchor).
Automatically check:- reachability of endings;
- cycles with no output;
- "extra" flags;
- dissonance of rewards (too generous/stingy in a particular thread).
- Visualize the "heat map" of the passages: which branches are popular, where players break down.
5) Dialogue: believability without chatter
Each replicant's micro-goals: what he wants from this scene.
Number of slots per stage: limit the length of the dialogue beforehand (e.g. 6 exchanges).
Reactivity: Replica depends on flags (reputation, class, past decisions).
Anti-exposure: if you need to give ENT, make it a subject of conflict, not a lecture.
Bans: Lists of words/tropes that are forbidden by style.
Test: ask the model to compress the scene to 140 characters - what remains is the kernel.
6) Localization: AI as accelerator, not replacement
Support glossary and guides in all languages, store variables ('{playerName}') and numeric forms.
Draft generation → automatic checks of ICU plurals, floors, cases.
Post-edit professional + final LQA pass.
For culturally sensitive scenes - creative adaptation (transcreation), not literal translation.
7) Ethical issues and canon safety
The authors remain authors. AI is a tool of variability and acceleration, not the source of the final truth.
Origin of data. Do not use questionable datasets; document sources.
Safe modes. Filter toxicity, discrimination, prohibited topics.
Transparency. Don't mislead the player: probability - fix, AI affects serve and variation, not RNG.
Accessibility. TtS/subtitles/simplified retelling of scenes - AI helps make the game inclusive.
8) Integration with gameplay and data
Reactive narrative: the state of the world (weather/economy/reputation) is mixed into the prompt dialogue.
Seasonal events: Generating letters/news from the NPC based on actual player statistics.
Economics and rewards: AI offers options, but the final balance is in the hands of the economy designer, with A/B tests.
It-device vs server: easy stylistic tasks can be solved locally; complex branching - by the server.
9) Narrative quality metrics
Game:% completion of key branches, average stage length, time to the first fork.
Experience: character recall, citation, "empathic footprint" surveys.
Text: density of meaning (informativity/symbol), cliché frequency, unique n-grams.
Bugs: the number of logical collisions/100k lines, the number of "dead" branches.
Localization:% of ICU auto-errors, post-edit time, player complaints about incomprehensible remarks.
10) Typical mistakes and how to avoid them
1. Infinite options with no choice. - Fix the "anchors" of the plot, limit the number of forks in the scene.
2. Exposition "brick." - Build facts into conflict and action.
3. Mixing character tones. - For each hero - a separate stylemask and an approximate dictionary.
4. Breaking the canon with a live event. - Any season is checked for compatibility with the Bible of the world.
5. Auto translation without glossary. - Always keep terms and forms in one place.
6. There are no QA simulations of the graph. - Run agent "runs" before release and after each edit.
7. AI improvisation abuse. - All key nodes and facts are fixed and not available for modification.
11) Team Mini Checklist
- Bible of the world and dictionary of names/terms in one place.
- Prompts templates for scenes, quests, dialogues, characters.
- Story-graph with reachability tests and dead end reports.
- Style masks by character; list of ban trails.
- Localization pipeline: glossary → auto-check → post-edit.
- QA bots for branch runs; metrics of "logical bugs."
- Ethics and datacet origin policy.
- The "AI accelerates, man decides" rule.
AI makes scripting faster, more variable and more verifiable. It helps to expand horizons - generate ideas, maintain consistency, adapt to the player and the world - but the person is responsible: for meaning, tone, canon and responsibility to the audience. Properly embedded AI is not an author substitution, but an exoskeleton of a narrative team.