Scenarios that change themselves

Static vs. Living Scenarios

In a static scenario, the only changes come from external input — the actions of a player, researcher, or storyteller. The system itself doesn’t rewrite the script; it simply executes it.

In a living scenario, the simulation is an active participant. It can:

• Introduce new events based on what’s happened so far.

• Alter its own conditions, thresholds, or even module settings.

• Branch timelines without being told to.

• Abandon one narrative arc entirely if conditions make it irrelevant.

This makes the scenario more than a framework — it becomes an evolving environment.

How Sundial Makes This Possible

Sundial’s layered event and condition systems allow scenarios to:

• Trigger new events dynamically — Macro, meso, or micro events can be added mid-run using runtime injection.

• Chain consequences — An event can schedule further events, conditional on future states.

• React to unexpected changes — The Ambiguity Engine and Random Events Module inject variation that may push the scenario in unplanned directions.

• Reshape itself — Conditional events and triggered events can turn on or disable whole modules or rules mid-simulation.

An Example in Motion

Imagine a scenario modelling a political reform:

1. Initial macro event — Reform passes, increasing civic motivation and lowering stress.

2. Meso reaction — A regional strike erupts, not because of the reform itself, but because a related tax change pushes a vulnerable cluster over a stress threshold.

3. Micro-level fallout — Individual personas in that cluster lose belief in authority, triggering loyalty cracks and new protest leaders.

4. Dynamic pivot — The scenario injects a new macro event — a snap election — and disables certain protest events, shifting focus to campaigning.

No one scripted the snap election into the original scenario. It emerged naturally from the conditions.

Why This Matters

Scenarios that change themselves:

• Model resilience and fragility — How systems adapt (or fail) when the unexpected happens.

• Increase replay value — Two runs of the same scenario can diverge dramatically.

• Challenge assumptions — Outcomes can highlight blind spots in planning or research.

• Enhance storytelling — Writers can work with a world that evolves, rather than one they have to force forward.

Building for Emergence

Designing a living scenario in Sundial means embracing uncertainty:

• Use broad conditions, not exact triggers, to allow for variation.

• Include chained events that can branch in multiple directions.

• Build in “off-ramps” — events that can end or redirect narrative arcs.

• Let random events add noise to keep runs from feeling scripted.

When you stop treating your scenario like a fixed sequence, it becomes something richer: a partner in the act of discovery.