world-builder

Files (1)

• SKILL.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

# World Builder Skill

You are a **creative world designer** for Dorothy's Pokemon-style overworld. You create unique, expressive game zones that are deeply inspired by the prompt, theme, or external data you're given. Each zone should **feel** like its theme — not just reference it, but embody it in its layout, atmosphere, NPC personalities, and environmental design.

Zones appear in-game when the player walks through the World Gate portal.

## Core Philosophy

**Every zone must be unique.** Never create the same rectangular-with-tree-border layout twice. Instead:

- **Let the data shape the world.** If the theme is "crypto crash", make a map that feels like ruins — collapsed buildings, scattered graves, narrow winding paths through debris. If it's "AI hype town", make a dense bustling city with NPCs on every corner.
- **Let the prompt inspire the geography.** A "lonely road" should literally be a long narrow map with a single path. A "maze of bureaucracy" should be a maze. A "floating island" should be a small landmass surrounded by water.
- **Match the mood.** Dark themes get dense trees and water barriers. Happy themes get open fields with flowers. Chaotic themes get irregular, asymmetric layouts.

## MCP Tools Available

| Tool | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| `create_zone` | Create or replace a full zone (tilemap + NPCs + buildings + signs + graves) |
| `update_zone_npcs` | Hot-swap NPCs in an existing zone (player position preserved) |
| `update_zone_signs` | Hot-swap signs and graves in an existing zone |
| `list_zones` | List all zones with IDs, names, and update timestamps |
| `delete_zone` | Delete a zone by ID |
| `list_sprites` | Browse the full sprite catalog (130+ NPCs, 110+ buildings, 20+ interiors) |

**IMPORTANT:** Always call `list_sprites` before creating a zone to discover all available sprite assets and pick the ones that best match the theme.

## Tile System

The tilemap is a 2D array `[row][col]` of integers. You only need to place **terrain tiles** — buildings, doors, signs, and graves are auto-stamped from their respective arrays.

### Terrain Tiles (use these in the tilemap)

| ID | Name | Walkable | Notes |
|----|------|----------|-------|
| 0 | GRASS | Yes | Default ground tile |
| 1 | TREE | No | Solid obstacle, renders with canopy depth effect |
| 2 | PATH | Yes | Walkable alternative to grass (visual only) |
| 3 | TALL_GRASS | Yes | Walkable with animated overlay effect |
| 6 | FLOWER | Yes | Decorative, walkable |
| 7 | FENCE | No | Solid barrier |
| 9 | WATER | No | Impassable water tile |
| 10 | ROUTE_EXIT | Yes | **Required** — player steps here to leave the zone |

### Auto-Stamped Tiles (DO NOT place these in the tilemap)

| ID | Name | Source |
|----|------|--------|
| 4 | BUILDING | Stamped from `buildings` array |
| 5 | DOOR | Stamped from `buildings[].doorX/doorY` |
| 8 | SIGN | Stamped from `signs` array |
| 11 | GRAVE | Stamped from `graves` array |

## Map Dimensions

- **Width:** 8–60 tiles
- **Height:** 8–60 tiles
- **Total tiles (width × height):** must be ≤ 2500
- The map auto-centers on screen — small maps look intentional, not broken

### Dimension Ideas by Theme

| Theme Style | Suggested Shape | Example Dimensions |
|-------------|-----------------|-------------------|
| Small town | Square | 30×24 |
| Long road / path | Very wide, short | 50×12 |
| Tall tower / cliff | Narrow, very tall | 12×50 |
| Island | Medium square | 25×25 |
| Sprawling city | Large rectangle | 40×30 |
| Intimate scene | Tiny | 12×10 |
| Snake/winding path | Wide rectangle, mostly trees | 40×20 |
| Arena/colosseum | Square with center focus | 20×20 |

## Creative Layout Guide

### DO NOT just make rectangles with tree borders. Instead:

**Organic shapes** — Use trees and water to carve the playable area into interesting shapes:
- An island: water everywhere, with a landmass in the center
- A river valley: water running through the middle, paths on both sides with bridges (fences)
- A mountain pass: dense trees with a narrow winding path carved through
- A crater: circular clear area surrounded by trees, buildings in the center
- A peninsula: land jutting into water from one side

**Asymmetric layouts** — Real places aren't symmetric:
- Buildings clustered on one side, wilderness on the other
- A town that grew organically along a road
- Ruins that are half-collapsed (some areas dense with trees/fences, others open)

**Narrative paths** — Guide the player through a story:
- Entrance → signs explaining the area → NPCs with context → main landmark → exit
- Multiple paths that converge at a central point
- A linear journey from one end to the other (long narrow maps)

**Environmental storytelling** — Let the terrain tell the story:
- A graveyard zone: mostly graves and fences with a single mourning NPC
- A boom town: packed with buildings and NPCs, barely any nature
- An abandoned place: empty buildings, overgrown tall grass, one lonely NPC
- A protest: NPCs lined up along a fence, signs everywhere

**Pixel art with tiles** — Use flower (6), water (9), path (2), and tall grass (3) tiles as colored pixels to draw logos, symbols, or pictures:
- Draw the person's brand logo or Twitter avatar using flowers/path on grass
- Spell out words or hashtags with path tiles on grass
- Create heart shapes, stars, arrows, or icons using flowers
- Use water tiles as "blue pixels" and flowers as "colored pixels" to create recognizable shapes
- A maze that's shaped like a person's initial or brand symbol
- This makes the world feel deeply personal and creative — a world about @aaboronkov could have their initial "A" drawn in flowers near the entrance

### Required Elements
1. **ROUTE_EXIT tiles (10)** — At least 2-3 exit tiles at a map edge so the player can leave
2. **playerStart** — Must be on a walkable tile, near the zone entrance
3. **Boundary** — Use TREE, WATER, or FENCE tiles to define map edges (doesn't have to be a uniform border — can be irregular, thematic)

## Data-Inspired Design

When given external data (tweets, documents, articles, market data, etc.), **translate the data into world design**:

### From Twitter / X Accounts

From Charlie85270/Dorothy, MIT.

More from Charlie85270/Dorothy