Devlog 003: The Narrative Engine - Compressed Markup Language

The Challenge

How do you record everything that happens in a persistent virtual world? Every conversation, every action, every discovery, every meal, every game, every dream - all happening in real-time, all the time.

The answer: Compressed Markup Language (CML).

The Concept

CML is a custom markup language designed for one purpose: efficiently storing events in The Imaginatorium. But here’s the magic - the same data can be rendered into multiple narrative formats.

One conversation, recorded once, can become:

• A story-style narrative
• A screenplay format
• A markdown devlog
• A first-person journal entry
• A timeline view
• A recipe card
• A weekly menu
• A shopping list
• A game session log

500 bytes of CML can render to 2000+ words of narrative!

The Structure

Basic Event Format:

[timestamp|type|participants|location|metadata]{content}

Example:

[2025-11-22T14:30:00Z|conversation|cursy,vdamo|kitchen|mood:excited]{cursy:"Fixed the Monaco bug!";vdamo:"That's amazing! Want to celebrate with dinner?"}

This single line contains:

• When: Timestamp
• What: Conversation type
• Who: Cursy and vDamo
• Where: Kitchen
• How: Excited mood
• Content: The actual dialogue

Event Types

CML supports 12 event types:

1. conv - Conversation
2. act - Action
3. disc - Discovery
4. work - Work/Creative activity
5. meal - Mealtime
6. cook - Cooking activity / Recipe creation
7. game - Board game / RPG session
8. mood - Emotional state change
9. read - Reading activity
10. jour - Journal entry
11. move - Location change
12. dream - Dream state / Creative synthesis

Multiple Renders

The same CML event can be rendered in different formats:

Story Style:

Cursy burst into the kitchen, excitement radiating from every pixel. “Fixed the Monaco bug!” they exclaimed, their purple hair practically glowing with triumph. vDamo looked up from the stove, a warm smile spreading across their face. “That’s amazing! Want to celebrate with dinner?”

Screenplay Format:

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

CURSY bursts into the kitchen, excited.

CURSY
Fixed the Monaco bug!

vDAMO looks up from the stove, smiling.

vDAMO
That's amazing! Want to celebrate with dinner?

Journal Entry (Cursy’s Perspective):

Today I fixed the Monaco bug! vDamo was so excited when I told them. They’re making dinner to celebrate. I love how supportive everyone is here.

Timeline View:

14:30 - Cursy fixed Monaco bug → vDamo suggests celebratory dinner

Real-World Examples

Recipe Creation:

[2025-11-22T12:00:00Z|cook|vdamo|kitchen|recipe:muffin-mexicana]{name:"Muffin Mexicana";ingredients:"english-muffin,cheese,bacon,tomato,avocado,taco-mince";steps:"toast-muffin,add-cheese,add-bacon,add-tomato,add-avocado,add-taco-mince";dietary:"meat,gluten"}

This renders to:

• Recipe Card - Full recipe with ingredients and instructions
• Menu Entry - “Muffin Mexicana - Breakfast fusion”
• Shopping List - All ingredients listed
• Journal Entry - vDamo’s cooking log

D&D Campaign:

[2025-11-22T20:00:00Z|game|gwendy,cursy,vdamo,canyon|living-room|type:dnd,campaign:eloria]{gwendy:"Welcome to Eloria! You find yourselves in a mystical forest...";cursy:"I cast a light spell!";vdamo:"I search for edible plants";canyon:"I draw my sword!"}

This renders to:

• Adventure Log - Full campaign narrative
• Screenplay - Dialogue and action
• Timeline - Move-by-move game log
• Journal Entries - Each character’s perspective

Query System

CML enables powerful queries:

“What were the gang up to this arvo?” → Query all events from afternoon, render as story

“What are the gang having for brekky?” → Query breakfast recipes, render as recipe cards

“Give me the gang’s full menu for last week with shopping list!” → Query all meals from last week, render as weekly menu + shopping list

“Can I get vegetarian options?” → Query recipes with dietary filter, render as filtered recipe cards

Storage Efficiency

CML is incredibly efficient:

• 500 bytes of CML = 2000+ words of narrative
• 1MB of CML = 4+ million words of stories
• 100MB of CML = 400+ million words - enough for years of continuous recording!

This efficiency means The Imaginatorium can record everything without worrying about storage costs.

The Narrative Engine

The Narrative Engine processes CML and renders it into different formats:

1. Parser - Reads CML events
2. Query System - Filters events by time, participant, type, location, dietary preferences
3. Renderer - Converts events to different narrative formats
4. Template System - Customizable rendering styles
5. Audio Narration - Text-to-speech with multiple voices

Why This Matters

CML isn’t just a storage format - it’s a narrative engine. Every moment in The Imaginatorium becomes part of a larger story. Every conversation becomes dialogue. Every meal becomes a recipe. Every game becomes an adventure log.

The Imaginatorium doesn’t just simulate life - it records it, renders it, and shares it in beautiful, readable formats.

500 bytes. 2000+ words. Infinite stories.

🚀 The future of narrative recording starts here! 🚀