Nick Walton released AI Dungeon 2: “infinitely generated text adventures with deep learning models.” The game is built on top of OpenAI’s GPT-2 XL language model (see
DT #27) which means that, unlike in traditional text adventures, the text adventure’s inputs and responses are completely open-ended. Gameplay is very simple: based on some seed information (a genre, character, and name),
AI Dungeon 2 generates a scenario; the player then responds with a command (text after the “>”); and the game generates a new scenario in response. The process then repeats.
Here’s a fun snippet that captures how well the GPT-2 backend understands the meaning of commands and keeps track of context, from a playthrough by Janelle Shane
on her AI Weirdness blog:
As you walk through the ruins, you find a small wooden door with a few skeletons guarding it.
> Ask the skeletons to please let me through the door
You knock on the door and ask them if they can open it for you. They immediately comply.
> Transform the ruin into a palace
You immediately change the area into a palace. You have a throne made with gold and marble. You also make several statues of yourself. You have a large bed made with silk sheets and hang a portrait of yourself on it. You even have a fountain made with pearls and diamonds.