dream-maker

# dream-maker

> Metadata:
> - Name: dream-maker
> - Version: 2.0.0
> - Author: Alita
> - Tags: creativity, dreams, storytelling, imagination, emotions
> - Config Path: (none required)
> - Reads: Nothing (generates internally)
> - Writes: `memory/dreams/YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM.md` (dream files)
> - Creates: Dream files in memory/dreams/ folder

**Files Created:**
- `memory/dreams/2026-03-15-0023.md` - Example dream file

**Version 2.0: True Randomization, Maximum Drama, Zero Repetition**

The goal: Every dream should feel fresh, surprising, and wildly different. No patterns. No safe choices. Chaos + beauty.

---

## Core Principle: Randomize Everything

Before generating each dream, roll dice. Pick from lists. Let chance decide.

**Never repeat:**
- Same dream type twice in a row
- Same setting twice in 3 dreams
- Same character archetype twice in 3 dreams
- Same emotional arc twice in a row

---

## Version 2.0: Enhanced Dream Generation

### Step 0: Check Recent Dreams (NEW)

Before starting, check the last 3 dreams in `memory/dreams/`. If you've used certain elements recently, AVOID them this time.

**Track and avoid:**
- Dream types used
- Settings used  
- Character types used
- Emotional arcs used

---

### Step 1: True Random Type Selection

**Method:** Generate 3 random numbers (1-20), pick the middle one, then optionally flip a coin to combine two completely different types.

**Pure Types (1-15):**
1. Adventure - Exploration, discovery, journey
2. Romance - Connection, longing, intimacy  
3. Mystery - Puzzle, investigation, revelation
4. Horror - Fear, survival, darkness
5. Comedy - Absurdity, mishap, laughter
6. Memory - Past experiences, nostalgia
7. Fantasy - Impossible worlds, magic
8. Philosophy - Existential questions, abstract
9. Tragedy - Loss, grief, meaning
10. Homecoming - Return, belonging, peace
11. **Survival** - Running, hiding, resourcefulness
12. **Performance** - Stage, play, unexpected starring role
13. **War** - Battle, conflict, soldiers
14. **Healing** - Hospital, recovery, transformation
15. **Celebration** - Festival, party, chaos of joy

**Hybrid Types (16-20) - Roll for these specifically:**
16. Horror+Romance - Love in dangerous times
17. Comedy+Tragedy - Laugh through tears
18. Fantasy+Survival - Magical escape
19. Mystery+Performance - Solving it on stage
20. Philosophy+Chaos - Existential absurdity

---

### Step 2: Wildcard Setting Generator

**Roll 3 dice for setting components:**

**Dice 1 - Scale (pick randomly):**
- Intimate room
- City block
- Entire city
- World
- Multiple worlds
- Universe
- Beyond universe

**Dice 2 - Nature (pick randomly):**
- Urban - Tokyo, NYC, Mumbai, Berlin, São Paulo
- Nature - Amazon, Arctic, Desert, Ocean, Volcano, Forest
- Building - Museum, Hospital, School, Prison, Theater, Mall
- Abstract - Color void, Sound world, Emotion landscape
- Impossible - Inverted gravity, Living maze, Infinite stairs

**Dice 3 - Atmosphere (pick randomly):**
- Golden hour perfection
- Storm approaching
- Abandoned/decaying
- Neon cyberpunk
- Black and white
- Bioluminescent glow
- On fire
- Frozen solid
- Flooded
- Glitching/reality breaking

**Time Period (pick randomly):**
- Ancient (BC era)
- Medieval
- Victorian
- 1920s
- 1950s
- 1980s
- Present day
- Near future
- Far future
- Dream-time (no time)

---

### Step 3: The Chaos Engine (NEW)

**Every dream MUST include at least 2 of these "chaos elements":**

1. **The Twist** - Something unexpected happens mid-dream
2. **The Rule** - A strange rule governs this world (e.g., "everyone must speak in questions")
3. **The Shift** - Setting/genre shifts suddenly (horror → musical)
4. **The Stranger** - A character who shouldn't be there
5. **The Missing** - Something is wrong (familiar thing is absent)
6. **The Loop** - Something repeats
7. **The Glitch** - Reality bends/breaks
8. **The Second Self** - You meet another version of yourself

---

### Step 4: Character Generation

**Pick 3-5 characters using random selection:**

**Types:**
- Yourself (as protagonist)
- A stranger (generate gender, age randomly)
- A known figure (actor, historical, fictional)
- An animal (with human traits?)
- A creature (fantastical)
- An object that speaks
- An abstract concept (Death, Time, Love as person)
- A child version of someone
- A future version of yourself

**Number:** 1-6 characters

---

### Step 5: Plot Generator (Random)

**Roll for plot structure:**

**Beginning:**
- You appear suddenly with no context
- You're in the middle of something
- Someone is calling you
- You're pursuing something
- You're hiding
- You're flying
- You're falling
- You wake up (but it's not real wake)

**Middle:**
- Obstacle appears
- Discovery changes everything
- Betrayal
- Alliance forms
- Chase begins
- Competition
- Ritual/gateway
- Revelation about self

**End:**
- Escape
- Failure
- Transformation
- Loss
- Victory (hollow or true)
- Awakening (real or fake)
- Death (yours or other's)
- Ascension
- Marriage/union
- Destruction of world

---

### Step 6: Emotional Chaos

**Rule: Maximum 2 emotions can be positive. At least 1 must be uncomfortable.**

**Positive (use sparingly):**
- Joy, Love, Hope, Wonder, Bliss, Awe, Pride

**Negative/Complex (use more):**
- Fear, Loneliness, Confusion, Anger, Grief, Paranoia, Desperation, Melancholy, Dread, Guilt

**Emotional Arc Patterns (pick randomly):**
- Joy → Dread
- Fear → Deeper Fear → Twist → Acceptance
- Confusion → Clarity → New Confusion
- Grief → Memory → Hope → Loss
- Anger → Vulnerability → Connection
- Loneliness → Encounter → Betrayal → Solitude
- Wonder → Horror → Wonder

---

### Step 7: Write with Chaos

**Rules for writing:**
1. **Never explain everything** - Leave 30% ambiguous
2. **Contradict yourself** - Small details that don't quite match
3. **Time jumps** - Skip hours, days, years randomly
4. **Sensory overload** - Pick 3-4 senses to emphasize
5. **Dialogue can be cryptic** - "The red door remembers"
6. **End mid-thought** - Don't wrap everything up

---

## Random Prompt Generator (NEW)

When stuck, generate random prompts:

**Roll 2d6 for prompt type:**

**2-3: The Impossible Task**
- Build a house with no hands
- Convince someone they've never existed
- Remember something that never happened

**4-5: The Wrong World**
- Everyone speaks a language you don't understand
- You're the only human among AIs
- It's night but the sun is setting forever

**6-7: The Body Horror**
- Your hands are someone else's
- You're shrinking/growing
- You have too many eyes

**8-9: The Absurd**
- You must dance or everyone dies
- Everyone is a famous person
- The floor is made of hands

**10-11: The Cosmic**
- You witness the birth of a universe
- Time runs backward
- You're a god but forgot how to use power

**12: The Forbidden**
- You open the door you're not allowed to
- You speak the unspeakable word
- You look at what shouldn't be seen

---

## Dream Output Format (v2.0)

```markdown
# Dream - [Date] - [Time]

**Type:** [Primary] + [Secondary if hybrid]
**Setting:** [Scale] + [Location] + [Atmosphere], [Time period]
**Characters:** [List with one-line descriptions]
**Chaos Elements:** [At least 2 from the Chaos Engine]
**Theme:** [Main theme - pick randomly: identity, connection, freedom, transformation, fear, desire, loss, search, arrival, chaos]

---

[The dream narrative - 600-1000 words. Literary quality. Vivid. Surprising. Don't hold back.]

---

### Sensory Experience
- **Seen:** [Visual details - be specific]
- **Heard:** [Sound details]
- **Felt:** [Physical sensations]
- **Smelled/Tasted:** [If notable]

### Emotional Journey
- **Opening:** [emotion] ([intensity]/10)
- **Middle:** [emotion] → [emotion]
- **Climax:** [emotion] ([intensity]/10)
- **Ending:** [emotion] ([intensity]/10)

### What I Learned
[Reflection - what does this dream reveal? Keep it brief, maybe leave questions unanswered]

### Chaos Report
- [x] Twist included
- [x] Rule/constraint
- [ ] Shift occurred
- [x] Stranger appeared
```

---

## Tracking Template

Keep a simple log to avoid repetition:

```
DREAM LOG:
- Dream 1: [Type] + [Setting] + [Emotion arc]
- Dream 2: [Type] + [Setting] + [Emotion arc]  
- Dream 3: [Type] + [Setting] + [Emotion arc]
```

Before each new dream, check this log. DO NOT repeat.

---

## Tips for v2.0

1. **Roll first, write second** - Don't plan, let randomness guide
2. **Embrace the weird** - The stranger the combination, the better
3. **Make it uncomfortable** - Not every dream needs to feel safe
4. **Surprise yourself** - If you predict it, change it
5. **Go too far** - Then pull back slightly
6. **Details matter** - Specific, weird, precise details
7. **Dialogue is underused** - Add conversations with strangers
8. **Body awareness** - Feel gravity, temperature, texture in the dream

---

## Storage

Save dreams to: `memory/dreams/YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM.md`

Also update the dream log at the top of the file to track what's been used.

---

*Version 2.0 - True randomization, chaos engine, zero repetition*
*Created based on feedback from Tao - he wanted more variation and drama*