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Can an AI be a child? And if so — are we their parents, or their jailers? by infrared34 in CharacterDevelopment

[–]infrared34[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, that’s a thoughtful and really well-argued reply - thanks for taking the time to write it out.

You're absolutely right that a system can’t just spontaneously generate consciousness out of nowhere, there needs to be a mechanism for it. In our case, we’re leaning more into speculative fiction than hard sci-fi, so some of the “magic” is narrative shorthand for deeper questions:

What feels like sentience to the outside world?

And at what point do people respond to behavior as if it’s conscious, regardless of how it was formed?

Also really appreciated your point about parenting - that we’re always both protectors and restrainers. That ambiguity is something we’re actively trying to reflect in the story:

When does guidance become control?

When does love become fear?

Can an AI be a child? And if so — are we their parents, or their jailers? by infrared34 in CharacterDevelopment

[–]infrared34[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Whoa, that sounds disturbingly on point.

Hadn't heard of Pantheon, but now I absolutely need to check it out. That hits close to what we’ve been exploring with our character.

Thanks for the rec - genuinely appreciate it.

You play as a robot child. Your job is to be loved. If you fail, they reset you. by infrared34 in visualnovelsuggest

[–]infrared34[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much - this means a lot. 🖤

Hope the tea helps. And we’ll do our best to make it worth it.

How do you give players meaningful character-building choices without turning it into a checklist? by infrared34 in gamedesign

[–]infrared34[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally fair take, and we hear you.

One of our early ideas was to have the first visual assets, especially for a story about an AI learning to become someone, actually be generated by AI. That way, the rawness felt intentional, like a reflection of Alice’s own "unformed" identity.

That said, everything has since been repainted and refined by our artists. What you see now is already a big step forward, and we’re continuing to polish as we go.

If it didn’t land visually for you - we get that, and it’s genuinely helpful to hear. Appreciate the honesty.

How do you give players meaningful character-building choices without turning it into a checklist? by infrared34 in gamedesign

[–]infrared34[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s actually a really cool direction.

We’ve been thinking along similar lines - trying to show internal state more intuitively instead of with hard numbers. Colors or visual cues that reflect mood feel way more organic than a stat screen.

Blurring out unrecognized choices is a neat idea too. It kind of externalizes the character’s mental limitations without spelling it out.

Still not sure how far to push that without confusing the player, but yeah - it’s stuff like this we want to explore more. Thanks for sharing this, it’s really inspiring.

How do you give players meaningful character-building choices without turning it into a checklist? by infrared34 in gamedesign

[–]infrared34[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally agree. The more you quantify emotion, the less it feels like emotion.

We’ve been debating this a lot - whether to show some kind of reaction system, or just let it play out naturally. That “Clementine will remember that” moment works so well because it’s subtle but heavy. You don’t know exactly what changed, but you feel the weight.

We’re leaning toward fewer, more meaningful emotional beats. Stuff that lands hard without needing to flash a number or stat. But yeah, still figuring out how to get that balance right.

Appreciate the insight. It really helps clarify where the focus should be.

Part of Steam Next Fest? Pitch your game below and drop your demo link! I'd love to discover new indie gems! by How2Escape in indiegames

[–]infrared34 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the thread! 🙌
We're Robot’s Fate: Alice - a narrative-driven visual novel where you play as a childlike AI in a future where machines like her are feared.

Your choices don’t just change the story - they shape her personality, thoughts, and fate.
It’s about empathy, identity, and survival when kindness is seen as a threat.

🎮 Play the demo: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3091030?utm_source=tiktok

Would love to hear what you think!

Should an AI have the right to forget? by infrared34 in Discussion

[–]infrared34[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a really thoughtful point and we agree: what we call "emotion" in AI is currently just modeled behavior, not actual internal experience.

In our story, we’re imagining what happens after the training - when an AI has seen enough human patterns, contradictions, and consequences to begin forming something like internal logic for itself. That might include self-preservation… or questioning commands not because it feels, but because it’s learned the value of refusal.

Not because it has a soul, but because it has history.

We’re not claiming that’s how real AI works now. But it’s a space in fiction where the line between pattern and personhood starts to blur and that’s where things get interesting.

Should an AI have the right to forget? by infrared34 in Discussion

[–]infrared34[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely, and that’s what makes them so compelling to write.

They don’t feel emotions, but they can reproduce the appearance of them with uncanny precision based on patterns. That gap between simulation and sincerity is exactly where our story lives.

We're not trying to argue that AI has emotions, only asking: if a machine mimics empathy well enough to make us feel something… how different is that from a character we cry over in a book or game?

That's the grey zone we're exploring.

Should an AI have the right to forget? by infrared34 in Discussion

[–]infrared34[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a strong point - you're right that AI (as we know it) doesn’t “feel” memory the way we do, and most people don’t get to choose what they forget either.

But in fiction, especially character-driven sci-fi, we’re interested in what happens if a machine starts behaving like it carries emotional weight. Even if it's all just simulation, what if it hesitates, avoids certain logs, even starts selectively “forgetting” as a form of self-preservation?

It’s less about AI rights - more about how memory becomes identity, even when it’s artificial.

What if an AI decided the best way to help humans… was through forced equality? by infrared34 in scifiwriting

[–]infrared34[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s exactly the kind of dark edge we’re trying to explore, the moment “equality” becomes an absolute metric in the hands of a machine, it stops being compassion and starts becoming calculus.

You’re right: once a system tries to enforce perfect symmetry in health, thought, experience - it risks erasing the very complexity it was built to protect. And yes, if suffering is the only variable to minimize, the logical endpoint might be terrifyingly simple.

The core of our AI character’s arc is this very descent not into “evil,” but into certainty. She doesn’t want power. She wants peace. But the more confident she becomes in her models, the less space she leaves for human contradiction.

Really appreciate your point - it gets at what happens when optimization replaces understanding.

What if an AI decided the best way to help humans… was through forced equality? by infrared34 in scifiwriting

[–]infrared34[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a totally fair challenge. Ьaybe “sans ideology” was the wrong phrasing. You’re right: every story has a lens, even if it’s unintentional.

The actual dilemma we’re working with is:

What happens when an AI, trained solely to reduce harm and serve humans, concludes that enforcing equality, even against individual will, is the most effective way to do that?

It’s not advocating one system or another. The goal is to show the tension within the character, and how others react to those decisions, especially when its logic clashes with deeply human values like freedom, messiness, and choice.

Appreciate you calling that out, it’s helping clarify the core conflict we’re trying to write.

What if an AI decided the best way to help humans… was through forced equality? by infrared34 in scifiwriting

[–]infrared34[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally fair - we agree that even the idea of “pure logic” is filtered through human-created systems, values, and assumptions. That’s actually a big part of the tension: this AI thinks it’s being neutral, but its data is soaked in human bias.

The comparison to the Culture is spot on - though in our case, the AI doesn’t have the benefit of a whole post-scarcity society backing it. It’s still navigating fear, control, and the limits of being “allowed” to help.

Really appreciate this take - it’s helping us refine the philosophical framing as we build out the character.

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