Storytelling Tools
Build narrative capture and sharing into the system.
What Are Storytelling Tools?
The Sims didn't just let you play — it let you tell stories.
- Family Album — Capture screenshots with captions
- The Sims Exchange — Upload and download stories, families, save files
- SimShow — Record movies of your Sims
- Create-a-Sim — Model yourself and your family
The game became a platform for self-expression. Storytelling wasn't an afterthought — it was infrastructure.
MOOLLM Storytelling Tools
| Tool | Purpose | Files |
|---|---|---|
| Notebook | Collect cards, letters, photos, memories | notebook.yml |
| Letters | Two-way communication with characters | letter-to-*.yml |
| Photo Prompts | AI-generated scene visualization | *-photo-*.yml |
| README | GitHub-publishable narrative format | README.md |
| Cards | Mintable artifacts capturing moments | *-card.yml |
The Notebook
A portable container for memories, carried in inventory:
notebook:
name: "Adventure Journal"
type: container
pages:
- type: letter
from: "Mother"
about: "Setting out on the quest"
- type: card
name: "The Lamp Song"
created_in: "start/"
- type: photo_series
title: "Victory at the Treasury"
prompts: 8
- type: recipe
name: "Klingon Victory Hors D'oeuvres"
ingredients: ["blue cheese", "grue"]Letters
Two-way communication between player and world:
letter:
from: "Captain Ashford"
to: "Mother"
content: |
Dear Mother,
I found the treasure! Also I killed a grue with cheese.
You won't believe how it happened...
attachments:
- photos/victory-selfie-1.yml
- recipes/grue-hors-doeuvres.yml
- inventory: 1 gold coin
promises_made:
- "Return home safely"
- "Not waste food"
- "Write often"Promises become goals. Goals drive narrative.
Photo Prompts
AI-generated visualizations capture moments:
photo_prompt:
title: "Victory Selfie with Chalice"
scene:
location: "Treasury"
lighting: "Golden glow from treasure piles"
subject:
character: "Captain Ashford"
expression: "Triumphant grin"
pose: "Holding chalice aloft"
costume: "Battle-worn waistcoat, matching cape"
style: "Rembrandt lighting, oil painting texture"
references:
- chalice.yml # For consistent details
- costume.yml # For matching descriptionKey insight: Photos reference other objects for coherence. The chalice in the selfie should match the chalice description.
README as Narrative
Every directory can tell its story:
# The Adventure of Captain Ashford
## Chapter 1: A Letter from Mother
I woke up. I remembered who I was...
## Chapter 2: Into the Maze
Armed with lamp and lunch, I ventured forth...
## Artifacts Created
- [lamp-song.yml](./start/lamp-song.yml) — A song about my faithful lamp
- [victory-photos/](./end/victory-photos/) — The moment of triumphGitHub renders this beautifully. The README IS the narrative.
Sharing and Remixing
Fork the adventure. Change the story.
# Clone someone's adventure
cp -r adventure-2/ adventure-3/
# Reset for new protagonist
# Edit player.yml, clear markers, keep worldEvery adventure is forkable. Every story is shareable.
The STORYTELLING-TOOLS Protocol
From PROTOCOLS.yml:
STORYTELLING-TOOLS:
meaning: "Build narrative capture and sharing into the system."
origin: "The Sims — Family Album, The Sims Exchange"
in_moollm:
notebook: "Cards capture moments and artifacts"
letters: "Communication between characters and player"
photo_prompts: "AI-generated scene visualization"
readme: "GitHub-publishable narrative format"
sharing: "Fork and remix adventures"Dovetails With
- card/ — Mintable artifacts
- soul-chat/ — Character conversations
- session-log/ — Append-only history
- memory-palace/ — Spatial organization
- procedural-rhetoric/ — Story as persuasion
The Insight
*"The game became a platform for self-expression."* *"Storytelling wasn't an afterthought — it was infrastructure."*
Your adventure is not just played. It's told, captured, shared, remixed.
The README on GitHub is the Family Album. The fork is the Exchange.