zenstory-ai/novel-to-game

What is NovelToGame?

NovelToGame is a set of seven open‑source skills (plug‑ins) for AI coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex, or Kimi Code. The skills let you point the agent at a full‑text novel and, in a single prompt, obtain a playable game built for a target platform (e.g., a web browser). The workflow is deliberately source‑grounded:

1. Analysis – the agent reads the entire book and produces a SOURCE_BIBLE that ties every rule, character goal, and plot point to a chapter reference.
2. Concept & Design – alternative game concepts are generated, each vetted against the source bible. Directions that conflict with the novel are hard‑vetoed and recorded.
3. Art Direction & Genre Shell – the chosen genre’s “shell” (UI layout, world entry, objective tracking, etc.) is documented, with explicit notes on what is implemented, degraded, or omitted.
4. Product Brief – a one‑page requirement sheet locks the target runtime (e.g., WebGL2) and any constraints such as rights or adult‑content flags.
5. Build – the agent writes the code for the selected engine/runtime, optionally generating voice assets only if the brief approves it.
6. QA – a single automated play‑through is recorded; the run must pass six checks (launch, render, input, core loop, outcome, restart) and the results are stored in a verification.json file.

The output consists of:

• A playable build (hosted as a browser‑accessible URL in the examples).
• Full design documentation (source bible, concept decisions, game‑design tables, art‑direction guidelines, QA record).
• An adaptation workspace linking the game back to the original novel and showing the evidence for every design choice.

Why it matters

• Evidence‑based adaptation: every mechanic is justified by a citation to the novel, preventing “creative drift.”
• Agent‑agnostic: the same skill set works with any of the three supported coding agents; the heavy lifting is done by the LLM, not by a custom engine.
• No hidden services: the repo contains only the skill definitions; there is no bundled game engine or cloud GPU requirement.
• Open‑source & reproducible: all markdown design artifacts are version‑controlled, so you can inspect, modify, or re‑run the pipeline yourself.

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Quick install (for a user who already has an AI coding agent)

# Claude Code example
npx skills add zenstory-ai/novel-to-game -g -y -a claude-code -s '*'
/novel-to-game   # invoke the skill

Replace claude-code with codex or kimi-code-cli for the other agents. The skill registers globally (-g) or locally if you drop the flag.

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What you get – example outputs

Example	Genre	Playable link	Design estimate
Journey to the West – Three Borrowings of the Banana Fan	Turn‑based RPG (Fantasy Westward Journey style)	https://xiyouji.vibecoco.ai	45–90 min
Jin Ping Mei – Ledger of Desire	Galgame‑style romance ADV	https://jinpingmei.vibecoco.ai	20–30 min per route
Project Plateau – The Lost World	First‑person 3D field‑photography (WebGL2)	https://plateau.vibecoco.ai	5–10 min (single 300 s run)

Each link opens a browser‑based prototype and a folder of markdown files that show the full evidence chain.

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Core concepts (from the README)

• Every design decision cites the novel – facts are labeled immutable, adaptable, open, or conflicted.
• Genre shell documentation – the system records which genre conventions are kept, degraded, or dropped.
• Runtime‑locked brief – the build never silently switches from, say, a native engine to a web build.
• One‑run QA – the automated run proves the game launches, renders, accepts input, runs its core loop, reaches an outcome, and can restart.
• Optional voice – generated only if the brief explicitly permits it; no external TTS is used by default.

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Who might use this?

• Game designers who want a rapid, evidence‑backed prototype from a literary work.
• Researchers studying AI‑driven narrative adaptation or automated game design.
• Educators demonstrating how LLMs can generate structured software artifacts with traceable provenance.

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License & community

• MIT License – you can freely reuse, modify, and redistribute the skills.
• GitHub Discussions & Issues – the project encourages feedback on generated games and on the skill pipeline itself.

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In short: NovelToGame is a concrete, open‑source pipeline that turns a whole novel into a documented, runnable game by leveraging existing AI coding agents, while keeping every design choice tied back to the source text.