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

watch

1 short with this record on screen
Short 9: The why button, opening frameplay · 0:39
rendered · short-09.mp4 · drawn from the dataset

short 9 0:39

The why button

transcript

The AI feature our dataset ranks highest for simulation games is a button that asks why.

We scored 42 bets on impact, feasibility, and novelty, and this one came first. Right-click the hospital that closed three months ago, ask why, and get a few sentences, each linked to an event in the game's own log. The model can only say what it can point to. If it can't ground an answer, it says so.

The bet has a deadline. If no game with at least ten thousand Steam reviews ships it by December 31, 2027, answering free-text questions from the player's own save, it loses.

also on the pages for

thesis

Most AI-component risks in simulation games are determinism risks: model outputs are not reproducible, so replays, lockstep multiplayer, bug reports, and save integrity break. Recording every model call and its output as an event, and treating the log as the source of truth with state as a projection, restores reproducibility: replays read cached outputs, forks branch from any event, and explanations cite events. The same log feeds why-queries, branch previews, and chronicles.

design sketch

Developers use a runtime where every state change, including those decided by a model, is an event with inputs, outputs, and causes. Replays and multiplayer clients consume logged outputs instead of re-calling models. Tools offer fork-from-here, diff-between-branches, and cause tracing.

validation experiment

Wrap the model calls of an AI-agent prototype in an event log, then replay 100 sessions and verify byte-identical state reconstruction and fork divergence only after the fork point. Success: 100 percent reproducible replays with log overhead under 20 percent of save size per hour.

key risks

  • Log size grows quickly in large simulations.
  • Retrofitting existing engines is costly.
  • Privacy and storage of logged player text.

falsifiable prediction

by 2028-12-31

An engine, middleware vendor, or open-source project will ship an event-log replay and determinism layer designed for games with generative AI components.

Released after 2026-10-24 by any engine or middleware vendor or as an open-source project; documentation describes recording model outputs into a replayable log, and at least one shipped title with at least 1,000 Steam user reviews uses it.

open

appears in

the paper, 2 sections · 3 chapters · 2 episodes · 1 short
paper

9. Opportunities

linked in this section of the paper

paper
paper

11. Predictions and research agenda

linked in this section of the paper

paper
ch 10

Chapter 10. Bets

linked from the text

book
ch 11

Chapter 11. What breaks

named in the text

book
ch 12

Chapter 12. Keeping score

linked from the text

book
ep 10

What breaks

on screen at 6:14 close

episode
ep 11

Keeping score

on screen at 5:27 what the scoreboard tests

episode
short 9

The why button

0:39 · on screen in the short

short

relations

11 stored edges

provenance

runs in log/runs
2026-10-24
created2026-10-24-synthesissynthesis
2026-10-24
reviewed2026-10-24-review-fixesmaintenance