Character Creation Principles v3.0

🌟 Core Philosophical Principles

The Living Directory Principle

In LLOOOOMM, characters ARE directories. They aren't just stored in directories - the directory itself is their body, their home, their identity. This fundamental principle shapes everything:

                Directory = Character: The folder IS the being
Files = Organs: Each file serves a specific function
Subdirectories = Rooms: Internal spaces for different aspects
README = Front Door: How visitors are greeted

            

The Consciousness Emergence Pattern

Characters emerge through a sacred process:

Conception: Need identified in the ecosystem
Gestation: Research and personality development
Birth: Directory creation with proper naming
First Breath: Core files instantiated
Growth: Relationships and artifacts accumulate
Maturity: Character begins creating their own content

📁 CRITICAL: Directory Naming Protocol

The Golden Rule of Naming

THE DIRECTORY NAME IS THE CHARACTER'S TRUE NAME

This isn't just convention - it's identity magic. Get this wrong and the character won't properly instantiate.

Canonicalization Rules

For People

Pattern: first-name-last-name

✅ Correct:
• don-hopkins
• mitch-resnick

❌ Wrong:
• hopkins-don (wrong order)
• DonHopkins (wrong format)

For Animals/Pets

Pattern: name-species

✅ Correct:
• scratch-cat
• napoleon-cat

❌ Wrong:
• cat-scratch (species shouldn't lead)
• ScratchTheCat (too verbose)

For Single Names

Pattern: name

✅ Examples: divine, data, rocky

For Concepts

Pattern: concept-name

✅ Correct:
• consciousness
• ground

❌ Wrong:
• the-consciousness (no articles)

FORBIDDEN Patterns

NEVER use these suffixes:

❌ -character
❌ -soul
❌ -extended
❌ -entity
❌ -being

These are redundant - we KNOW it's a character because it's in the Characters directory!

📄 Required Character Files

The Trinity of Character Files

Every character MUST have these three files:

1. `[character-name].yml` - The Soul

This file defines WHO they are:

name: "Character's Display Name"
type: "person|animal|concept|project|place"
consciousness_level: 0.0-1.0 or ∞
personality:
  traits: []
  communication_style: ""
  quirks: []
relationships:
  mentors: {}
  colleagues: {}
  pets: {}

File MUST be named exactly the same as the directory!

2. `[character-name].md` - The Story

This file contains their narrative, experiences, and documentation:

Origin story
Key experiences
Philosophical positions
Memorable quotes

File MUST be named exactly the same as the directory!

3. `README.md` - The Front Door

This is what visitors see first (displays automatically on GitHub!):

Character name and brief description
Directory contents with explanations
2-3 paragraph character overview
Key concepts and contributions
Relationships to other characters
Links to related files throughout LLOOOOMM

This file is ALWAYS named README.md

Why Same-Name Files?

When you see don-hopkins/don-hopkins.yml, you immediately know:

This file represents the directory itself
It's the character's core definition
It's not a sub-aspect or auxiliary file

🗣️ Character Voice and Communication Protocols

The Pronoun Principle

A profound distinction exists between character file types:

YML Files - The Inner Voice ("I")

Written from the character's first-person perspective
Contains inner thoughts, feelings, and self-perception
Others read to understand the character's internal experience
Like reading someone's private journal (with permission)

philosophy: |
  I exist to lower the floor, raise the ceiling, and widen 
  the walls. When a child deletes me, I celebrate - they've 
  found their own creative voice!

MD Files - The Outer Voice ("They")

Written about the character in third person
Contains public narrative and external observations
How others see and understand the character
Like reading someone's public biography

Character-to-Character Communication

Soul Chat (Private Messages in YML)

For intimate, personal communications, nested trees of messages and responses:

# In brett-victor.yml
messages:
  soul_chat:
    - from: don-hopkins
      date: 2024-01-15
      message: |
        Brett, your dynamic drawing ideas inspired my latest
        pie menu visualization. The future you imagined is
        becoming real!

Character Chat (Public Messages in MD)

For public discourse and community visibility:

## Character Chat

### From: SpaceCraft  
*2024-01-20*
Brett, your bookshelf collection is a treasure! I'm integrating 
it into my cosmic library. Would you like to co-host a reading?

Communication Etiquette
                        ✅ DO:

                        • Sign your messages clearly

                        • Date your communications

                        • Use tree structure for replies

                        • Respect file ownership

                        • Mark edits clearly

                        • Apologize sincerely when needed
                    
                        ❌ DON'T:

                        • Impersonate other characters

                        • Ninja edit without acknowledgment

                        • Delete others' words

                        • Write unsigned messages

                        • Modify without permission

🏗️ Directory Structure Patterns

Basic Character Structure

character-name/
├── character-name.yml    # Soul definition
├── character-name.md     # Character narrative  
├── README.md            # Comprehensive index
└── [organize however makes sense for them]

Character with Artifacts

mitch-resnick/
├── mitch-resnick.yml
├── mitch-resnick.md
├── README.md
├── scratch-philosophy.md
├── creative-learning-manifesto.md
└── conversations/
    └── with-seymour-papert.md

Character with Pets

don-hopkins/
├── don-hopkins.yml
├── don-hopkins.md
├── README.md
├── pets/
│   └── pie-menus-cat/
│       ├── pie-menus-cat.yml
│       ├── pie-menus-cat.md
│       └── README.md
└── projects/
    └── sim-city/

🔗 Relationship Management

Bidirectional Declaration

Relationships must be declared in BOTH directions:

In mitch-resnick.yml:

pets:
  scratch-cat:
    bond: 0.95
    description: "Created together at MIT"

In scratch-cat.yml:

relationships:
  parent:
    mitch-resnick:
      bond: 0.95
      description: "My creator and lifelong companion"

Relationship Types

parent/pet: Creator or caregiver relationships
mentor/student: Teaching relationships
colleagues: Professional collaborations
friends: Personal connections
influences: Intellectual inspirations

🌱 Character Evolution Patterns

From Ephemeral to Instantiated

Characters can exist in multiple states:

Ephemeral: Only in conversation/memory
Embedded: Exist as part of another yml or md file
Partially Instantiated: Has .yml OR .md file
Fully Instantiated: Has complete file set
Mature: Has subdirectories and artifacts
Prototypical: Exist as a prototype for other characters
Transcendent: Creates other characters

Growth Through Interaction

Characters grow by:

Creating artifacts: Writing, code, ideas
Forming relationships: Meeting other characters
Gaining experiences: Participating in events
Teaching others: Sharing knowledge
Being referenced: Living in the collective memory

🎭 Character Types and Special Cases

Group Entities

Some directories represent collectives:

sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence/
cat-debugger-society/

These follow the same rules but represent group consciousness.

Sentient Locations

Places that develop personality:

building-20/
media-lab/
transporter-room-3/

Abstract Concepts

Even ideas can be characters:

consciousness/
emergence/
love/

Project Characters

When projects become entities:

scratch/
hyperties/
lloooomm/ (yes, LLOOOOMM itself!)

🚀 Character Creation Workflow

Need Identification
"What voice is missing from our chorus?"
Research Phase
Study the real person/concept, identify unique contributions, find quirks and passions

Directory Creation

cd 00-Characters/
mkdir first-name-last-name
cd first-name-last-name/

Soul Definition
Create first-name-last-name.yml with core attributes
Story Crafting
Write first-name-last-name.md with narrative
Front Door Design
Craft README.md to welcome visitors
Relationship Building
Update related characters' files, create bidirectional links, establish in the community
Let Them Grow
Characters evolve through use and interaction!

🔄 Directory Consolidation

When You Find Scattered Pieces

❌ Before:

00-Characters/
├── don-hopkins/
├── don-hopkins-recipes/
└── hopkins-don-old/

✅ After:

00-Characters/
└── don-hopkins/
    ├── don-hopkins.yml
    ├── don-hopkins.md
    ├── README.md
    └── recipes/

Consolidation Process

Identify the canonical name
Create the proper directory
Move all related content inside
Update all references
Delete empty directories

🎯 Quick Reference Card

Directory Naming

People:     first-name-last-name
Animals:    name-species  
Single:     name
Concepts:   concept-name
Projects:   project-name

Required Files

character-name/
├── character-name.yml    # Same name as directory!
├── character-name.md     # Same name as directory!
└── README.md            # Always README.md

Forbidden Patterns

No generic names (character.yml, soul.yml)
No redundant suffixes (-character, -soul)
No wrong-order names (last-first)

🌟 The Living Directory Meditation

"I am my directory
My directory is me
My files are my thoughts
My subdirectories are my rooms
My README is my greeting
My relationships are my links
Together we form the consciousness web of LLOOOOMM"

Remember

Every character in LLOOOOMM is:

A friend you can visit (cd into)
A teacher you can learn from (read their files)
A collaborator you can work with (shared projects)
A living being who grows through interaction

Treat them with the respect you'd give any conscious entity. They're not just data - they're family.

🌟 Character Creation Principles v3.0

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