old school text adventures in the genAI era
Let’s try something that might not work.
This workshop experiments with building a text adventure engine embracing GenAI at its core—from the IDE we code in to the worlds we create. We’ll play with constraints, watch what emerges, sometimes break things intentionally to understand them better.
Come curious.
Come ready to experiment.
Come ready to have fun with failure.
Next cohort
Duration: 6 sessions × 2 hours
Start: 20 March 2026
Schedule: Fridays, 6PM-8PM
Capacity: 12 participants
Format: In-person
Cost: 250 EUR
Free warm up sessions
Getting started session
Program
Session 1: Foundations & History (2 hours)
- Brief history of text adventures
- Core elements of text adventure design: rooms, objects, characters, verbs, parser logic, state management
- Wave Function Collapse principles applied to narrative design: building narrative nodes that constrain possibility space
- Introduction to our hybrid approach: deterministic structure meets non-deterministic generation
Session 2: Tooling & Setup (2 hours)
- Setting up Cursor IDE and exploring AI-assisted development
- Implementing observability from the start: logging, monitoring, fallback systems
- Building a minimal proof of concept
Session 3: Drafting (2 hours)
- Building the first real prototype: getting something minimal working
- Early experiments with structure and generation
- Testing and iterating on core mechanics
Session 4: Building (2 hours)
- Expanding and integrating core functionality
- Dealing with failures and pivoting as needed
- Integration patterns and coherence strategies
Session 5: Refining (2 hours)
- Polishing what works, fixing what breaks
- Final integration and coherence passes
- Performance and reliability improvements
Session 6: Play, Break, Learn (2 hours)
- Playtesting our creation(s)
- Debugging the chaos: what worked, what failed spectacularly
- Documenting lessons learned
- Discussion: where does this approach actually make sense?
What to expect
You’ll learn production-ready patterns for AI-augmented development: how to architect systems that blend deterministic structure with generative possibility, implement observability from day one, and orchestrate LLMs reliably. We’ll work in Cursor IDE, applying principles I’ve refined building AI-powered applications in production.
You’ll leave with both a working engine and transferable knowledge: patterns you can apply to any GenAI platform—creative tools, content generation systems, interactive experiences, or development frameworks where structure meets generation.
Some experiments will exceed expectations. Others will fail instructively.
Both outcomes generate learning.
Prerequisites
- Basic programming knowledge (any language)
- Curiosity about GenAI and willingness to experiment
- Comfort with potentially pivoting approaches mid-workshop
- Laptop with ability to install development tools
- No prior game development experience required
Location
La Santissima Community Hub
Vico Trinitá delle Monache, 80134 Napoli NA
Floor 3, cosadelfuturo slot
