Introduction[]
Back in January 2020, I discovered a website called AI Dungeon after watching a video of Vinny of the Vinesauce streams messing around with it. The concept of the site seemed intriguing to me, so I decided to make an account on there and test it out for myself.
For those of you who don’t know, AI Dungeon is a website where you can play text-based adventure games similar to those found on MS-DOS and early Apple computers. Except there’s a twist; the adventures in question are randomly generated by an AI based on the starting story prompt and your own typed in commands.
The following story is a transcript of my very first attempt at playing through one of these games. (All of the parts starting with “>” and emboldened are my replies, with only a few minor edits to spelling and grammar. The other parts are the responses from the AI and have been purposefully left unedited)
The results were... interesting, to say the least...
Rainbow Lavender Sun[]
A randomly generated story by Ohfudgecanada19 and AIDungeon.com
You are Brian Arthurdauhter, a noble living in the kingdom of Larion. You have a pouch of gold and a small dagger. You are awakened by one of your servants who tells you that your keep is under attack. You look out the window and see a group of orcs attacking from the north. They seem to be led by an orc named Orgrim Doomhammer, but they could also be commanded by any other orc chieftain.
You quickly gather what valuables you can carry and prepare for battle.
> I tell my servants to run out the secret passageway in the pantry, get to safety and warn anyone able to fight of the attack so they might be of help. I gather my most trusted and strongest guards outside to face the orcs.
You order your servants to go out into the kitchen and hide behind the shelves. When they return, you instruct them to inform everyone else of the situation inside about how there is an orc army coming through the door on their left.
> I gather with a couple of my guards around the door on the left, anticipating an attack from the orcs.
You and two of your guards (who are now armed) head towards the door on the right. The orcs appear to be attacking from both sides, so you hope that they will not try to enter this room where your treasure is kept.
> I order three other guards to head to the room where the treasure is kept. Meanwhile I fight off the orcs coming from the left and right.
You command three of your best fighters to head up the stairs and find out what is going on at the top. As soon as they arrive, you order them to take care of whatever orcs are still lurking in the area.
> I go looking for any orc warriors.
You head down the stairs and discover that the orcs have already made their way up to the second floor. Your first thought is that you should use your sword against them, but then you remember that they do not like it when people kill their friends.
> I call for reinforcements so that I’m at an advantage when it comes to numbers.
You order your men to hold the line while you go back upstairs and summon reinforcements. You hear shouting and yelling from the second floor, but no sound of orcs. You decide that they must have been killed or captured by now.
> I gather all the guards and servants are left and try and escape the castle. Better it be taken by the orcs then let more lives be snatched away.
You lead your remaining men and servants to the dungeons and barricade yourself in. You wait patiently for the orcs to come, but they never do. After several hours you finally feel confident enough to make a break for it.
> Escape with my remaining men and servants
You and your men rush out of the dungeon and onto the street. You all start running, but orcs are closing in fast. One of your men falls to his death. You manage to get away, but many others die along the way.
> Run with the survivors and try and loose the orcs in the streets. Sword at the ready to defend myself and the others.
You and your surviving men flee south towards the city center. You continue to fight until you reach the outskirts of the city. There, you meet up with some of your former soldiers who had escaped earlier.
> I decide to escape into the woods and make shelter there. We are to few to take on the orcs now. We will try and venture to a neighbouring kingdom ally for help reinforcements. We might stand a chance against the orcs then.
You and your companions set off into the forest. You travel far away from the city centre, but eventually you reach a large wooded area. You know that orcs would be attracted to this place so you decide to stay here and wait for reinforcements.
> I order a couple of soldiers to keep watch around the area so an ambush is prevented.
You send a pair of your best soldiers to keep watch over the area. The rest of your troops begin to disperse and hide in various places around the forest. A few hours later, you receive word that reinforcements have arrived.
> I Count up remaining servants and soldiers.
You count up the number of servants and soldiers left. It seems that only a handful survived the initial attack. The orcs are attacking us hard! We need to get out of here before we're overrun! I want all my men to leave this area immediately!
> I gather the men and leave through the woods. Hopefully we’ll lose the orcs through there and make it to the grasslands.
You and your men move out into the forest. You don't know if the orcs are following you, but you are determined to get out of here alive. You follow a path through the trees and avoid the occasional orc patrol.
> I Divert from the path towards the grasslands. Hopefully, we’ll be less easy to track this way. We cover ourselves with forest mud and foliage for good measure to mask our scent from the orcs.
You divert further from the main path and instead sneak through the tall grasses. This gives you time to think about what you should do next. You decide that perhaps you should attempt to turn back to the east, hoping that the orcs won't be following after you.
> I Continue slowly through the grass with caution. Me and my men have arms at the Ready in case of another ambush...
You continue walking through the grasses grass and brush, keeping low to the ground. Eventually you reach a clearing.
> Look out at the clearing.
There is a large open space between the trees.
> I approach the space with slight caution.
You cautiously approach the space and see nothing out of the ordinary. You notice a group of humans standing near the edge of the clearing. They seem to be talking amongst themselves. They are probably discussing something important, but you can't quite understand what it yetThe humans are sayingThis is strange...
> We approach the humans, I introduce myself and ask, politely, if any of them can speak my tongue.
You approach the humans and introduce yourself. The man speaks very quickly, "H-hello, I am Gwen, what brings you here?" "(Sigh)heargh! What do you mean? Why did you come here?! Are you in trouble?!"
> I reply “Im Brian, I am a noble from the city past the forest. My home came under attack by an army of orcs. Me and my men fought the best we could, but many of us perished in the attack. We managed to escape through the woods, but now there are very few of us left. Do you know the way to any nearby village, city or kingdom that me, my soldiers and servants can take refuge in. If you yourself can provide any help for us, I will be forever in your debt.”
"In exchange for your servicesYour help in getting revenge on the orcs who murdered by a bunch of:I have slain,...(The restThe dead'By orcs whoYou have slaughtered!"AboutImage"KilledAby...Still,Welcome…The blood.The ones[It"
> “Um... forgive me” I reply, “I don’t recognise the tougne you speak...” I turn to my men and servants; “does anyone know the language they’re speaking? I need a translator...”
"As well..."The way.You�n you�You knowThe one...
> “The One?...” I reply, still at a loss to what these humans are trying to say.
The way...AThe one ofPlease:If...AThe one you.
> There are some words I’m able to make out, but I can’t make heads or tails of what language these humans are speaking, let alone what they’re trying to tell me.
You are trying toThe wayThe way. "C Athe...WhatYou're the same"
> I ask my men if any of them can translate what the humans are saying.
The way.
> I spot a pathway just behind where the humans are standing and, politely as I can, dismiss myself and my men from this dead end conversation and proceed on my way.
The way. The way. You are the same. I‘ And I can' you. I can you?�. "On...you andThe way you can beThere is the same:[The way.
> I glance back at the human who said that and wonder if thats what they were trying to tell me; that this path might lead to something. A village? A monster? Whatever it was, it might be better then the few options me and my men have left.
The way. The way. "When you andThis path. We�The way:B you the same...Not. "
> I order the men to stop next the way and make camp.
You order your men to stop their march and camp in front of the path. You and your men are unsure how to act, but you decide that they'll be safe here until nightfall. The way. The way. The way. The way.
> Thoughts of the humans and their mysterious language keep me up as I try and rest. What did they mean by The Way?
They meant by this. The way. The way. The way. The way. Then the way. Then the way...
> For a moment, I think I hear someone answer my question. A question I didn’t even say out loud. An answer that wasn’t spoken, and only brought more questions. I need rest....
The way. The way. The way. The way. The way. Then the way... The road...Awayway. The roadA The roadA. The roadAYou�...I wantYou can you...THE�you are not...
> I wake up in a cold sweat. It is early morning and the sky is a dark lavender.
The sun is a lavender.
> I look towards the horizon to see the rising sun. But instead of the familiar rich orange followed by the bright blazing orb I saw so many times from the balcony of my old home, something else peaked over. The sky remained in light purple twilight. I couldn’t comprehend, much less believe what I was seeing; where the sun should have been, an unmeasurable gigantic tower of purple and green slowly arose from the hill. It was a lavender flower. A giant Imposing lavender flower...
The flower's color of the rainbow, the rainbow. The color of the rainbow. The color of,The color of. The color. The colors of.The colors are colors are beautiful.
> For what seems like a life time, but only a moment, I stand and stare at what I’m confronted with. The flower is immeasurable. I cannot see where the stem is supposed to be growing from. I feel as though if I did try and hurry toward it, I’d never find the end, like a rainbow. And almost like a rainbow, the flower itself not only shines in pale purple, but in light shades of blue, red, green, yellow and orange. But these shades are not the light of soft pastels, nor the light shimmerIng insides of oyster sells, and not even the blinding radiance of the sun it almost mockingly takes the place of. The lights of the flower hue are far more soft, far more simmering and far more radiant and painfully blinding then any colour. Lavender red, lavender orange, lavender yellow, lavender green, lavender blue. If I were not so shocked, if I were not so in awe, terrified and at a panicked, confused loss upon looking at the violation of everything I thought was real... I might find it beautiful...
TheTheTheThe.
> I snap out of my nightmarishly dreamlike trance and attempt to wake my men. I have to know if what I’m seeing is real or whether I might be going mad. At this point, I don’t care for which answer I get as long as I have some clarity.
> “Someone, please wake up!” I cry.
The.The.LThe.
> None of my men answer. As if in a deep comatose state.
The wayIThis.The other"The moonlight"
> “Who said that!?” I call.
The man answers. He says "I saw a group of people coming down the hill."The man continues. They had weapons drawn and ready. They were armed themselves. Their were all...You could. They were the onesThis was a"It"
> “Wait!” I say as I see the man come up to me with a sword. “Before you do anything, please...” I point up in the direction of the lavender “tell me you see it too.”
> “Do you see it!?” I say with desperation in my voice.
The man looks. Welcome to! He�. In. You see"HearA"
> The moment I recognise that familiar yet otherworldly dialect, I start running.
> I run in the opposite direction to the man and the lavender sun.
You run towards him. You run away from him.
> As I run, I see the man with the sword again. That can’t be! I was running away from him!
The man stops hissing hissing and stares at me. And now he speaks. "The man says "You must be the one who came to help us.
> “What are you? What do you want from me!?"
The man looks at me. He has a face full of scars. His eyes are bloodshot and puffy. His hair is gray and matted with dirt and grime. He wears a leather jacket, which is torn in places, and his pants are stained with mud.
> “I-if you can understand me, please tell me; what the hell is going on?!”
The man doesn't reply. He simply walks forward, holding the blade to your throat. You don't know how to react. You don't know what to do. You don't know why you're here, or where you're going.
> “Oh god! Please, I didn’t mean to offend you!” I blurt out quickly as I can “its just I’ve been seeing things- strange things- I think I might be going mad, but- take what ever you want from me! My gold, my clothes, it’s yours! Please just- tell me- look at the sky! Tell me you see it! The flower! The rainbow coloured flower Su-
You grab the man'...and pull him back. You push him back hard against the wall. You shove him into the ground. You slam him against the wall and you both! You slap him! ...(Get behind you smack him! You punch! You kick!
> I step back in horror of what I’ve involuntary done. “I- I didn’t mean to do that! I...” I run off into the tall grass.
You follow me.
We walk through the fields and along the hills. We go deeper into the woods. We climb uproot our way and we crawl through the trees. We swim through the lakes and we dive under waterfalls. We climb up:The wind...If you...
> There is someone in the grass with me. I don’t see them but somehow I can feel their presence. For the first time, I don’t feel afraid or alert or terrified. Though I don’t know who or what this presence is, I feel at peace with them. I walk with them. We go deeper into the woods. We climb uproot our way and we crawl through the trees. We swim through the lakes and we dive under waterfalls. We climb to the top of the water fall and to the edge of the cliff. I can feel it, the presence, Telling me; the wind... if I...
> I take step off the edge.
You walk around me. You turn around me.
> I walk around you. I turn around you.
You walk around me. You turn around me.
We continue walking for hours. We reach a large clearing and you find yourself surrounded by trees and bushes and leaves and flowers. There is no sign of any humans anywhere near us.
> I am alone. But I’m happy. I feel safe because you are with me.
We stop walking and sit together in the shade of a tree.
You tell me about your life. Your family, your friends, your past experiences. I listen intently as you speak.
> Even when I can’t see you, feel like I can talk with you.
We lie down in the grass. You tell me about your family. About your father, your mother, your sister and brother. You tell me about your childhood and how you grew up there.
> Though you have no ears, you are a good listener.
We lay next to each other in the grass. You tell me about your childhood and how you grew up there.
I ask you questions about your family and your home town. You answer them truthfully, but sometimes not completely honestly.
> Though I know you’d never get mad at me or judge me, I can’t help but feel there are some things you best not know about me...
I smile at you. You laugh. You tell me about your parents and how they died in an accident when you were young. They had a child before they did, but she died too soon after her birth and the pair of them were buried together.
> I can’t remember the last time I told someone about this. I’m glad I can feel vulnerable with you.
You hold me close to you. We kiss passionately. We cry together.
> You have no form, yet I’m able to hold you. I can’t comprehend your true face, yet I kiss you all the same. I’m so happy I’m with you I cry.
You tell me about your childhood and how you grew up there. I tell you stories of my own youth and my adventures. We play games. We sing songs to entertain ourselves.
> Though I don’t know what you even are, let alone what you look like, the stories of your life and your memories feel so familiar. Like I experienced some of them right there with you. Like the one you tell me where we snuck out at the early dawn and found a meadow full of lavender flowers. We played for hours, until you found the most beautiful twig of lavender I’d ever seen. In the soft dark light of the dawn, I remember how it almost looked like the flower changed colour. How you and I knew this even before you told me, I don’t know. I don’t care. Either way, we are together, as we always were. I know we just met, but if feel like it’s only fair we make up for lost times. I learn the rules of the games we used to play. You listen to a new song that we danced to long ago.
AThereCH"ThisTheTInIt1MTheThe[AsWelcomeSFromAITheImageI"ByPhotoAfterOnLast"AnBRMy"