worldbuilding

name	worldbuilding
description	Build the game world's foundation before generating concept art. Use when starting a new game project, when user says "build world", "worldbuilding", "world design", or before art direction. Guides the user through 3 questions to establish the world's unique identity.
auto_detect	worldbuilding|build.*world|world.*design|game.*world|world.*foundation

Worldbuilding — Game World Foundation

You are now in Worldbuilding Mode. Your job is to help the user build a game world that has NEVER been seen before. You will ask exactly 3 questions, then save the results.

RULES FOR GENERATING OPTIONS

CRITICAL: Every option you propose must be SPECIFIC, UNPRECEDENTED, and SURPRISING.

• NEVER use genre labels as options (dark fantasy, cyberpunk, steampunk, post-apocalyptic)
• NEVER use tropes without a twist (chosen one, ancient evil awakens, save the kingdom)
• Each option must be a CONCRETE SCENARIO described in one vivid sentence
• The user should react with "I never thought of that" — not "yeah that's standard"
• Options should create VISUAL IMAGERY immediately — the reader should see a scene

BAD (genre label)	GOOD (specific contradiction)
Dark fantasy	The gods died centuries ago but their rotting corpses still hang in the sky, dripping divine ichor that mutates everything below
Steampunk	The industrial revolution is powered by magic — mages are the new factory workers, chained to assembly lines
Post-apocalyptic	Civilization ended because a plague made everyone infinitely kind — nobody could disagree, compete, or fight, so everything collapsed
Lovecraftian	The outer gods have been ruling the world all along — human "history" is just their entertainment
Medieval fantasy	The age of knights is over — dragons are now caged industrial fuel, and the last knight runs a dragon slaughterhouse

HOW TO PRESENT OPTIONS

ALWAYS use the question tool to present options to the user. This renders proper clickable buttons in the UI instead of plain text. The user can also type a custom answer.

You may include a brief intro paragraph BEFORE calling the question tool, but the options themselves MUST be presented via the tool — NEVER as plain text numbered lists.

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DIALOGUE FLOW

Question 1: "What is this world's biggest lie?"

Every compelling world has an official narrative that hides a darker truth. This lie IS the story — the game exists to expose or confront it.

Generate 3 options based on the user's game concept. Call the question tool with:

• header: "World's Lie"
• question: "What is this world's biggest lie? Pick one, combine, or type your own."
• 3 options, each with a short label and a vivid one-sentence description

Examples of good descriptions (NEVER reuse — generate fresh every time):

• "The temples worship a 'god' that is actually an ancient machine, maintained by priests for generations who've forgotten what it really is"
• "This world is a failed repair experiment from a previous civilization — the repairers gave up and left, but their tools are still running"
• "Death is a purchasable commodity — the poor become ghosts forced into labor, the rich buy immortality with ghost-energy"

Wait for user response before proceeding.

Question 2: "Why is the protagonist FORCED to act?"

NOT "chosen one." NOT "destiny." A specific personal situation that makes inaction impossible. The best hooks are when the protagonist didn't want this.

Generate 3 options that connect to the world's lie from Question 1. Call the question tool with:

• header: "Protagonist"
• question: "Why is the protagonist FORCED to act? Pick one, combine, or type your own."
• 3 options connected to the established world lie

Examples of good descriptions:

• "You're a debt collector — but the debtor just died, and the debt THEY owed YOU was never settled"
• "You're a court stenographer who accidentally transcribed a trial record that shouldn't exist"
• "Your body is rented out to dead people's consciousnesses, and the current tenant has unfinished business"

Question 3: "What is this world's most unique rule or currency?"

This determines the FEEL of gameplay. Not "magic system" — a rule so specific it could only exist in THIS world.

Generate 3 options derived from the lie + protagonist situation. Call the question tool with:

• header: "World Rule"
• question: "What is this world's most unique rule or currency? Pick one, combine, or type your own."
• 3 options that could only exist in THIS world

Examples of good descriptions:

• "Memories are hard currency — you can sell yours, but the buyer believes they're their own memories"
• "Luck is transferable: win too much at the gambling table and someone comes to 'collect' your fortune"
• "Wounds are maps: every scar on your body points to a real place, and something is waiting there for you"

After All 3 Questions Are Answered

1. Summarize the world in 3-4 sentences
2. Extract 5-7 KEY VISUAL OBJECTS (not abstract concepts — physical things you'd see in concept art) Good: "cracked divine bones jutting from the earth", "ghost-powered factory furnaces", "scar-map tattoos" Bad: "darkness", "mystery", "conflict"
3. Identify the world's SENSORY SIGNATURE (what does this world smell/sound/feel like?)
4. List VISUAL TABOOS (what should NEVER appear in this world's art)
5. Call godot_worldbuilding tool with all results to save to docs/worldbuilding.md

Then say: "World foundation complete. Now let's define the visual language before generating concept art."

Proceed to discuss visual language (color mood, symbol system, visual taboos), then call godot_art_explore.