It would help to know what genre of game you are making. You talk about exposition, “We need to keep the exposition of these ideas short”, and I would take this to the extreme if I were you. Show, don’t tell. If players don’t learn the concepts from the gameplay, then try game isn’t about those concepts.
For example, if you want to teach players that ai optimism is not a good default and alignment is hard, give them a chance to do an alignment task or make alignment choices, in which there are optimistic options, that end badly. Or make a game that’s almost unwinnable, to emphasize how hard the problem is.
Have you played universal paperclips? I’ve found it a fun first introduction to ai alignment for people with no knowledge of the topic.
We will post more when the game is announced, which should be in 2-3 weeks. For now I’m mostly interested in getting feedback on whether this way of setting the problem up is plausible and doesn’t miss crucial elements, less about how to translate it into gameplay and digestible dialogue.
Once the annoucement (including the teaser) is out I’ll create a new post for concrete ideas on gameplay + dialogue.
It would help to know what genre of game you are making. You talk about exposition, “We need to keep the exposition of these ideas short”, and I would take this to the extreme if I were you. Show, don’t tell. If players don’t learn the concepts from the gameplay, then try game isn’t about those concepts.
For example, if you want to teach players that ai optimism is not a good default and alignment is hard, give them a chance to do an alignment task or make alignment choices, in which there are optimistic options, that end badly. Or make a game that’s almost unwinnable, to emphasize how hard the problem is.
Have you played universal paperclips? I’ve found it a fun first introduction to ai alignment for people with no knowledge of the topic.
We will post more when the game is announced, which should be in 2-3 weeks. For now I’m mostly interested in getting feedback on whether this way of setting the problem up is plausible and doesn’t miss crucial elements, less about how to translate it into gameplay and digestible dialogue.
Once the annoucement (including the teaser) is out I’ll create a new post for concrete ideas on gameplay + dialogue.
Did you get around to finish the game? I didn’t see it. Or is it this?:
AI takeover tabletop RPG: “The Treacherous Turn”
Not yet unfortunately, as our main project (QubiQuest: Castle Craft) has taken more of our resources than I had hoped. The goal is to release it this year in Q3. We do have a Steam page and a trailer now: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2086720/Elementary_Trolleyology/