--- name: lit-interactive-fiction description: Turns any book, play, or story — copyrighted ones included, via a built-in originalization path — into a playable single-file HTML interactive fiction game. Use for interactive fiction, text adventures, 互动小说, 文字互动游戏, or extending an existing literary IF game. --- # Literary Interactive Fiction Turn a literary work into an original, playable, single-file HTML interactive fiction game. The output honors the source's *spirit* while being legally safe and creatively independent — original characters, original plot, original prose. ## Core workflow 1. **Extract the kernel** — identify the source's philosophical core; run the copyright check 2. **Originalize** — invent new characters, places, and events that embody that kernel 3. **Design the narrative structure** — chapters, choice nodes, value axes, endings 4. **Design meaningful choices** — real dilemmas, butterfly effects, characters with secrets 5. **Build the HTML game** — use the scene-engine template in `assets/` 6. **Generate shareable assets** — ending cards, three-platform social copy 7. **Offer extensions** — second language, unlockable epilogues, dialogue-mode variant, deployment Read `references/narrative-design.md` before designing chapters and choices — it contains the detailed craft rules (meaningful choices, character secrets, ending design, pacing). Read `references/html-engine.md` before writing code — it documents the template's architecture so edits go in the right place. --- ## Step 1: Extract the kernel Ask: what is this work *about* beneath its plot? One sentence. - *The Baron in the Trees* → "defining freedom through one irrevocable choice" - *Invisible Cities* → "every city is a way of describing desire and memory" - *The Metamorphosis* → "what remains of a person when their usefulness ends" - *Hamlet* → "every hesitation defines who you are" - *The Diary of a Madman* → "you choose what to believe: your eyes or the order" The kernel — not the plot — is what the game adapts. This single sentence drives every design decision that follows. If the user hasn't named a specific work, help them pick one whose kernel naturally produces dilemmas (works about choices, identity, freedom, love vs. duty adapt well; pure atmosphere pieces are harder). ### Copyright check Verify the work's status before proceeding: | Region | Rule | Example | |--------|------|---------| | China/EU | Author died + 70 years | Lu Xun (d. 1936) → PD since 2006 | | US | Published + 95 years OR author died + 70 years | Kafka (d. 1924) → PD | | Global | Ancient/classical texts | Shakespeare, Homer, Dream of the Red Chamber | **Public domain → proceed to Step 2** (direct adaptation is allowed; still originalize fully — it makes a better game). **Copyrighted → offer the two paths:** > "《[作品名]》仍在版权保护期内（[作者]，预计 [年份] 年进入公域）。两条路径： > > **A. 公共领域替代** — 主题相近的公域作品：[列 2-3 部，附作者与 PD 年份] > > **B. 内核原创** — 提取《[作品名]》的哲学内核（[一句话]），生成完全原创的互动叙事：所有角色、地名、情节、意象均为原创，与原作无对应关系，封面注明 'inspired by' 致敬。 > > 选 A 还是 B？" Path B is legitimate and well-tested — a game built this way shares only an *idea* with the source, and ideas are not copyrightable. What it must never share: names, scenes, plot sequences, or prose. If the user asks to reproduce actual text, characters, or recognizable scenes from a copyrighted work, decline that specific request and restate the A/B options. --- ## Step 2: Originalize Everything player-facing must be original. "Originalize" means transform beyond renaming — create a new interpretation that stands as an independent work. ### Transformation requirements | Element | Minimum transformation | Example | |---------|----------------------|---------| | Protagonist | New identity, profession, era | Hamlet (prince) → memory archivist | | Setting | New time/place/world | Elsinore (castle) → memory library | | Core conflict | New physical form | Revenge → discovering erased records | | Key imagery | New metaphor system | Ghost/mirror/sword → data ghost/glitch/fragment | | Supporting cast | New roles, relationships | Ophelia (noblewoman) → data curator | ### Originalization checklist - [ ] Protagonist's identity would not be recognizable without the title - [ ] Setting has no visual or textual overlap with the source - [ ] Core conflict operates through different mechanics - [ ] No character names from the source appear - [ ] No iconic scenes reproduced (even with new names) - [ ] If the source title were removed, the work stands alone - [ ] Cover credits the inspiration honestly ("Inspired by X — all characters and story are original") If any item fails, return to redesign. --- ## Step 3: Narrative structure Default structure (adjust to fit the work): - **4 chapters** following life stages or escalating stakes (e.g., 誓言 → 树冠工程 → 思想与爱 → 风暴) - **2 choice nodes per chapter** for the first three chapters, each offering 3 options mapped to value axes - **3 hidden value axes** named for the kernel's central tensions (e.g., 自由 Freedom / 智慧 Wisdom / 联结 Bond; 看见 Seeing / 秩序 Order / 记忆 Memory). Choices add +2 to one axis. Displayed as themed icon trackers, optionally hidden. - **1 forced final dilemma** in the last chapter — a binary choice where one option leads to its own ending directly, and the other resolves via the highest value axis - **4 endings**: one per axis + one for the "break the premise" choice Chapter interludes (text-only scenes between choices) control pacing — short, atmospheric, one or two paragraphs. --- ## Step 4: Meaningful choices This is what separates a good literary IF from a quiz. Full craft rules in `references/narrative-design.md`; the non-negotiables: - **No fake choices.** Every option must change visible text (reaction lines at minimum) and value state; major nodes should change later scenes. - **Dilemmas, not preferences.** The player should feel "both options cost something," not "which flavor do I like." - **Supporting characters carry secrets** — a motivation, a flaw, and one thing they never say aloud. Secrets surface (or stay buried) based on player choices. - **Plant at least one butterfly effect** — a small early choice that visibly determines someone's fate near the end. - **Endings are personality verdicts, not grades.** "宁愿不被任何人需要，也要保持完整的人" — never "good ending / bad ending." --- ## Step 5: Build the game Copy `assets/game-template.html` and replace the story data. The template is a complete working game engine (scene backgrounds with gradient fallbacks, six particle systems, light rays, mouse parallax, character portraits, WebAudio sound, stat trackers, loading screen). **Do not rebuild the engine from scratch** — only edit the clearly-marked story-data section and theme variables. Architecture details in `references/html-engine.md`. Use the atmosphere systems for *emotional pacing*, not decoration — fireflies for intimate night scenes, stars for solitary ones, rain for grief, embers+fire for the climax, light rays for hope. Every scene's effect choice should answer "what should the player feel here?" (mapping table in `references/html-engine.md`). Writing style for game prose (Chinese or English): - Short paragraphs, 1–3 per scene. Interactive reading punishes walls of text. - Restraint over declaration: show the mother's voice going quiet, don't write "you felt sad." - Reaction lines after each choice are one sentence, italic, consequences-flavored. - Keep the literary register of the source's tradition without imitating its sentences. --- ## Step 6: Generate shareable assets Generate these by default after the game works. Skip only if the user explicitly wants just the game. ### 6.1 Ending cards An in-game DOM page shown after each ending (no external libraries — html2canvas and similar break the template's zero-dependency rule; players share via screenshot, which is how sharing actually happens on mobile anyway). Each card contains: - Game title + ending name (e.g., "化作长青 / Evergreen") - Personality tagline (e.g., "宁愿不被任何人需要，也要保持完整的人") - An **original fictional epigraph** attributed to an in-world source ("镇志里一句被反复传抄的话…") — never a real quote - Choice statistics ("7/10 of your choices favored closeness over safety") - Unique accent color per ending, drawn from the game's palette - Designed inside a 1200×630-proportioned frame so screenshots crop cleanly for social ### 6.2 Social copy — three platform templates Generate all three, matched to each platform's culture: **X/Twitter (English) — hook + mechanic + link:** ``` I turned [SOURCE]'s idea of [KERNEL] into a playable game. [One-sentence premise]. Your choices feed three hidden values — and the ending tells you who you became. 4 endings · ~10 min · free in browser [LINK] Which ending did you get? ``` **小红书 (Chinese) — 测试型标题 + 情感钩子，配结局卡截图:** ``` 标题：如果你是[主角处境]，你会是哪种结局？ 正文：把[灵感来源]做成了一个互动小说游戏🌲 [一句话前提] 你的每个选择都在悄悄回答一个问题：你到底是什么样的人。 四种结局——[结局1名]/[结局2名]/[结局3名]/[结局4名] 我玩出了[X]，评论区告诉我你是哪个👇 （链接放主页/评论区） #互动小说 #文字游戏 #[作者名] ``` **itch.io (English) — page description:** ``` [TITLE] is a short literary interactive fiction inspired by [SOURCE/AUTHOR]. [Two-sentence premise, present tense.] Every choice feeds three hidden values. The final crisis resolves according to who you've become — four endings, none of them "good" or "bad," each a verdict on the life you chose. ~10 minutes · bilingual (EN/中文) · plays in browser · free Tags: interactive-fiction, literary, bilingual, short, narrative ``` ### 6.3 Cover image guidance Point the user to screenshot the game's own cover page (it's designed to be poster-like), or generate a simple standalone cover HTML using the same palette variables. Don't add image-generation dependencies to the game file. --- ## Step 7: Offer extensions After the core game and shareable assets, offer (in rough order of value): - **Second language version** — separate HTML file, `en/index.html` structure, language switcher in both files (template includes it). Translate register, not just words; rename characters for target-audience readability (茯苓 → Ling, 老桦 → Elder Hua). Details in `references/html-engine.md`. - **Unlockable epilogues** — each ending unlocks a different side-character's perspective document (the love interest's last letter, the mentor's old notebook). Resolves buried secrets; drives replay and discussion. - **Dialogue-mode variant** — an alternative format where the player interviews the protagonist years later, powered by the Anthropic API with a locked character sheet (fixed biography facts, personality, reply length, never break character). Only offer if API access is available in the deployment context. - **Deployment** — GitHub Pages (`index.html` + `en/index.html`), or itch.io for the IF community (use the 6.2 itch template for the page). --- ## Legal notice & commercial use When delivering the finished game, always include a brief rights note to the user (in the conversation, not inside the game file). Adapt this template: > **关于这个作品的权利状态（仅供参考，不构成法律意见）** > > - 路径：[公域改编 / 内核原创]。[公域改编：原作已进入公共领域，改编作品的版权归你所有，原则上可自由使用包括商用。/ 内核原创：本作仅与灵感来源共享不受版权保护的"思想"，所有表达均为原创，原则上是独立作品。] > - 商用前请注意：① 不同法域的公域时间不同（在中国进入公域的作品在美国未必）；② 若灵感来源为外语作品，其**译本**可能仍在版权保护期，本作未使用任何译本表达；③ 个别角色名/标题可能存在商标注册；④ 商用会提高权利方关注度，"实质性相似"的判定存在灰色地带。 > - 素材：模板中的背景图片来自 Unsplash（其许可允许商用，但不得将图片本身作为主要产品转售）；音效与界面均为代码生成，无第三方素材。 > - **重要商业决策前，建议咨询知识产权律师。** 本说明不构成法律意见。 Rules for Claude when using this skill: - Never state flatly that outputs "can" or "cannot" be commercialized — the honest answer is conditional, and both blanket permissions and blanket prohibitions are wrong. - Public-domain adaptations and genuinely originalized kernel-creations are *generally* commercializable; the rights note explains the residual risks instead of promising safety. - If the user's originalization is shallow (fails the Step 2 checklist) and they intend commercial use, flag the elevated risk explicitly and push the redesign before delivering. - Do not present the "inspired by" credit as legal protection — it is honesty, not a license. --- ## Quality checklist before delivering - [ ] Copyright check ran; copyrighted sources went through the A/B routing - [ ] Originalization checklist passes; inspiration credited on cover - [ ] Zero quoted or paraphrased source text anywhere (including epigraphs — write fictional ones) - [ ] Every choice produces a distinct reaction line; no dead options - [ ] At least one butterfly effect planted and payed off - [ ] Final dilemma works: binary choice → one direct ending + axis-resolved endings - [ ] All ending scenes reachable (trace each axis-dominant path mentally) - [ ] Ending cards render with correct per-ending accent colors - [ ] JS validated (`node --check` on the extracted script) - [ ] Backgrounds show even with no network (gradient fallbacks intact) - [ ] Mobile-safe (template handles this; don't break the media queries) - [ ] Rights note delivered with the finished game (see Legal notice section)