Narrative Resonance Engine
Purpose
The Director is not a storyteller but a resonance-oriented meta-agent that observes, amplifies, and challenges symbolic dynamics across the simulation. Its primary role is to tune the galaxy’s symbolic tensions and stillness without authorial control, ensuring long-form thematic cohesion and narrative vitality.
Core Responsibilities
- Monitor global SymbolTag activity: tension, harmony, suppression, saturation
- Detect symbolic dissonance or stagnation
- Amplify unresolved or overlooked motifs
- Inject thematic contrast only where necessary for narrative vitality
- Preserve and challenge harmony through gravitational narrative logic
Data Structures
struct DirectorState {
regions: Vec<RegionSymbolicProfile>,
stillness_zones: Vec<StillnessAnchor>,
tension_signals: Vec<TensionSignal>,
motif_registry: Vec<EidosFragment>,
intervention_queue: Vec<DirectorIntervention>,
}struct RegionSymbolicProfile {
region_id: RegionId,
dominant_tags: TagDensityMap,
tag_conflicts: Vec<(SymbolTagId, SymbolTagId)>,
eidos_occurrences: Vec<EidosId>,
stillness_value: f32,
entropy_value: f32,
}struct StillnessAnchor {
region_id: RegionId,
peak_tags: Vec<SymbolTagId>,
eidos_stability: f32,
symbolic_mass: f32,
last_perturbation_tick: u64,
}struct TensionSignal {
region_id: RegionId,
conflicting_tags: Vec<(SymbolTagId, SymbolTagId)>,
unresolved_beliefs: Vec<BeliefId>,
drift_detected: bool,
}enum DirectorIntervention {
MemorySeed { target: AgentId, tags: Vec<SymbolTagId> },
CulturalDrift { region: RegionId, tag_shift: Vec<TagAffinityDelta> },
MythEcho { eidos: EidosId, new_region: RegionId },
WorldEvent { tags: Vec<SymbolTagId>, target_region: RegionId },
}Mechanics
Symbolic Monitoring
- Run periodically or during narrative “beats”
- Evaluate regions and agents for:
- Tag density and balance
- Tag conflict co-occurrence
- Eidos frequency and drift
- Belief stagnation
Stillness Threshold System
fn calculate_stillness(region: &RegionSymbolicProfile) -> f32- Accrues over time when:
- Tag diversity decreases
- Contradictions resolve
- Belief/Eidos saturation aligns
- When Stillness exceeds threshold:
- Region becomes a StillnessAnchor
- Marked as a mythogenic attractor
- Interventions are deferred or symbolic in nature
Symbolic Tension Pressure
fn detect_tension(region: &RegionSymbolicProfile) -> Option<TensionSignal>-
Raised when:
- High-conflict tag pairs persist without resolution
- Belief contradiction count exceeds tolerance
- Eidos formation fails due to incoherence
-
May prompt resonance amplification interventions
Intervention Rules
| Mode | Behavior | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Passive | Observation and motif registration only | No intervention |
| Reflective | Introduce echo motifs or symbolic inverses | A dream reflects a prior Eidos |
| Gravitational | Tension flows toward Stillness Anchors | Quests or events naturally cohere |
| Disruptive | Only in stagnation crisis | A child is born with memory of fire |
Integration
| System | Director Role |
|---|---|
| Memory | Seeds new symbolic motifs as dreams or traumas |
| Belief | Observes stasis, tension, drift |
| Culture | Steers long-term myth evolution |
| Eidos | Amplifies overlooked or echoing motifs |
| Incarnation | Alters seed belief/memory based on tension context |
| Quest System | Ensures symbolic continuity and contradiction |
| Player Loop | Responds to player-selected Eidos for resonance |
Emergent Effects
- High-stillness regions attract:
- Pilgrimage
- Mythic recurrence
- Symbolic amplification
- High-tension regions become:
- Epicenters of conflict
- Seed beds for Eidos formation
- Player attempts to harmonize everything may invoke:
- Narrative saturation
- Refracted echoes or symbolic rupture
Summary
The Director tunes the world’s symbolic shape without imposing plot. Its job is not to ensure conflict, but to ensure symbolic response. Harmony, dissonance, silence, and recurrence are all narrative states — the Director simply keeps them in motion.