one dataset · paper, tables, graph, wiki
simgrammar the grammar of simulation

parts

3 mechanics, as Infinite Craft does them

core · 2

progression & goals

Combination discovery

Every action combines two owned elements; on a cache miss a Llama model names the result, the result is stored so every player gets the same answer, and new results earn a First Discovery label.

narrative & generation

Generative content on demand

On a cache miss, a Llama model generates the combined element's name (up to twenty tokens) and emoji; the result is written to a shared database so later requests are deterministic.

supporting · 1

progression & goals

Collection goals

Players accumulate discovered elements and First Discoveries, which mark elements no player had made before.

core loop

start with water, fire, wind, and earth -> drag two elements together -> look up the pair in the shared database -> if new, a language model names the result and picks an emoji -> result is cached for everyone -> combine the new element further

design notes

At runtime the model is consulted only on a cache miss: the game checks a global database for the unordered pair, and if no result exists, Llama 2 (later Llama 3.1) generates a short element name, capped at twenty tokens, plus an emoji; the result is stored so the same pair returns the same element to every player. The recipe graph is therefore written collectively and lazily by players and the model, and a First Discovery label marks players who triggered a generation. Pairwise combination discovery is not yet a mechanic in the taxonomy (proposal combination-discovery). It is a boundary case: there is no simulated system beyond the generated recipe graph.

appears in

the paper, 3 sections · 6 chapters · 5 episodes
paper

5. The structure of the design space

linked in this section of the paper

paper
paper

7. The technique landscape, 2019 to 2026

linked in this section of the paper

paper
paper

Appendix A. Game catalog

linked in this section of the paper

paper
catalog

The catalog

listed with its year, developer, subgenre, and number of mechanics

book
ch 2

Chapter 2. Six layers

linked from the text

book
ch 4

Chapter 4. Families

linked from the text

book
ch 6

Chapter 6. Five ceilings

linked from the text

book
ch 7

Chapter 7. What shipped

linked from the text

book
ch 8

Chapter 8. Where AI lands

linked from the text

book
ch 11

Chapter 11. What breaks

linked from the text

book
ep 3

Families across genres

on screen at 4:30 odd couples

episode
ep 5

The five ceilings

on screen at 6:44 lifting one ceiling spends another

episode
ep 6

What AI shipped

on screen at 5:51 what writes into the simulation, 7:05 replays, 7:52 close

episode
ep 7

Where AI lands

on screen at 0:00 cold open, 1:00 a rule decided once

episode
ep 10

What breaks

on screen at 1:37 same inputs, same world

episode

sources

1
Wikipedia contributors (2026). Infinite Craft. Wikipedia

provenance

runs in log/runs
2026-10-24
created2026-10-24-catalog-gdcatalog