Ghostlight/notes/ghostlight-implementation-plan.md

Ghostlight Implementation Plan

Near-Term Sequence

1. Freeze the first canonical state model. In progress.

   • Define the latent variable families.
   • Define first-class dimensions, including volatility, attachment-seeking, and distance-seeking.
   • Define canonical state versus perceived state.
   • Keep authoring outputs explainable from the state, not just generated from stylish prompt fog.
   • Maintain schemas/agent-state.schema.json, schemas/agent-state.required-fields.json, and the example fixtures as the first executable contract.

2. Freeze the first event and classifier schema.

   • Define event labels.
   • Define canonical expression labels.
   • Define listener perception labels.
   • Define mask or presentation labels.
   • Define confidence, uncertainty, and evidence accumulation rules.

3. Build the prompt projection layer for authoring.

   • Render scene and dialogue scaffolds from structured state, relevant memories, scene pressure, cultural defaults, and perceived state.
   • Keep the prompt renderer a projection surface instead of a second brain.
   • Make generated moves inspectable: why this character deflects, confesses, threatens, softens, bargains, or lies.

4. Build the first drama-scaffolding loop.

   • memory updates
   • relationship updates
   • goal pressure
   • situational activation
   • cultural and institutional pressure
   • conflict beats derived from incompatible goals and values

5. Build the first Aetheria authoring consumer.

   • use the Call of the Void slice described in AetheriaLore as the first concrete content-generation context
   • support dialogue scaffolding and procedural drama for narrated stories across the Aetheria timeline
   • do not treat an older corridor-crisis game slice as the implementation target unless explicitly revived later

Discipline

• Do not start with an MMO and call it ambition.
• Do not train a classifier before the label schema is stable enough to deserve the trouble.
• Do not let prompt-writing outrun the structured state model.
• Do not let elegant theory notes multiply faster than implementation seams.
• Do not accidentally rebuild a game slice when the requested consumer is an authoring and story-generation organ.