Post by Tahnan in anoun comments

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Definitely noticed the same thing GoodGuyGames did--part of the problem inherent in a guessing game that involves zeroing in on an answer is that your guesses start to get pretty similar ("necklace", "bracelet"...) and so the commonalities it finds are also pretty similar, which means you're not getting more information.

And while everything it gave me was associated with the answer, it wasn't always particularly associated with things I typed in. ("nosering": "Often polished"? Is it? "bread": "Frequently gifted"? I can't remember the last time someone offered me a gift-wrapped baguette.)

And GGG isn't wrong that it being an AI game makes it less appealing: not because I hate AI (which I do), but because it means that no thought has gone into any given day's game, because an AI cannot think. You clearly put thought into making the game, and kudos for that, but at the point at which an AI takes over, there's no guarantee any more that there will be a good path from the starting point to the solution, which is the kind of thoughtfulness that a game or puzzle designer will put into a round or level.

I might give it another go tomorrow, to see whether it exceeds my expectations. But I have to admit I'm not optimistic.

playanoun1 day ago

Hey, thanks for the well put feedback! Yesterday's word wasn't optimal, that's for sure. After every day I learn more what works well and what doesn't.

However, I'd argue that a nosering is often polished. I wouldn't wear raw silver ore in my nose. I'd also argue that bread is frequently gifted, even if it's not necessarily part of your culture. However, it's a vague clue, and when you get that, it's a sign you're quite far off. If you get close and feel like you're not getting new clues, you can look at the amount of letters the hidden word has, which you find in the bottom left corner. You can also try something new that is somewhat off from what you think it might be. That way it's possible to get a new perspective.

I hope you have a better experience the next time you try it :)

Tahnan21 hours ago

...yeahhh so it's true a nose ring is made of polished metal, but you don't polish it often. It's a frustratingly subtle distinction (and trying to read subtlety into AI answers will not go well).

In terms of it being a "vague clue": I went with "bread" as a guess even once I knew it was jewelry-related because I was hoping to triangulate somehow. That is, I wanted to get out of the local maximum where I'd guess another kind of jewelry and it would tell me "no, but here's what they have in common: jewelry!". Alas, it did not work very well.

Today I started with "wood" and was told it was a (five-letter) organic building material, so, well, that ended quickly. Still skeptical; still not unlikely to look again.

Tahnan21 hours ago

Ooof. Opened the game in a private browser, to experiment with what kinds of connections it would draw now that I knew what it was. For "bacon" it told me Farm product, and for "skyscraper" it told me Hollow interior. That's kind of rough, because while straw is a farm product, and a drinking straw has a hollow interior, those are two different senses, which--if I didn't know the answer and was now trying to think of a farm product with a hollow interior--would very much throw me off.

(Hey, did you know a camel provides insulation and a horse is highly flammable? Thank heavens it's erring on the side of a property the target has and not a property the guess has. Though for "television" it offered accumulates dust which is kind of a terrible clue, since that's true for roughly any physical object. Also, do not trust this LLM with your horse.)

playanoun15 hours ago (3 edits)

Haha, I really appreciate your analysis here. Your feedback is valuable. I'm not saying the LLM provides perfect, or even great, clues. Let me just address a few of your points though:

* Should "Often polished" be read as "frequently polished"? English is not my first language, so I'm not sure. But my interpretation of the clue was definitely more like "Usually polished". It might also be because I knew the words. I'll look into maybe clarifying clues like these. Many times, believe it or not, it's actually a matter of instructing the LLM properly. The clues have improved sooo much since I first started this.

* Amethyst was a bad word because it's just one of thousands of jewelry items/minerals. Lesson learned. More distinct nouns like "Jetpack" work a lot better.

* Straw has several meanings (both have hollow interior by the way), and I'm aware of these cases. It's kind of by design that I've left it in too. Maybe it makes it too tricky? I'm not sure yet.

* Accumulates dust is a terrible clue, yeah. A generic one. Straw doesn't have much in common with television. Generic/vague clues = you're not very close.

* Camel providing insulation and horse being highly flammable, yeah, that's funny. And I would have hoped for better clues there. Not untrue though. People have definitely stayed warm in camel wool/fur before, and I'd definitely trust an LLM that tells me my horse is highly flammable and not let it near fire :)

I'm taking all your feedback into account. However, the game might not be for you, and I respect that.

itch.io

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