RetroAI Quest — Reviving Classic Text Adventures with AI-Driven Gameplay

Raptors is excited to announce the end of the RetroAI Quest Hackathon. Participants were challenged to create AI-powered text adventure games inspired by the classic interactive fiction of the 1980s. This global event gathered talented developers, engineers, and storytellers who showcased exceptional creativity and technical skill.

✯ Global Collaboration

Participants from various countries collaborated virtually on Discord, resulting in a collection of impressive projects. The submissions showcased technical excellence and innovative solutions in AI-driven storytelling, demonstrating the exciting possibilities of blending retro game design with modern AI technology.

✯ Notable Projects

AI Integration:

• Verdictum — This AI-powered detective game dynamically generates plots based on player-provided scenarios, featuring real-time AI suspect interrogations. Players navigate through multiple locations, analyze evidence, and question AI characters.
• EpochExplorerAI — Players become time travelers who can communicate with their past selves, making decisions that alter history.
• 3-days — This project focuses on introducing users to Kazakh culture, although it does not incorporate AI elements.

User Experience:

• Aventra — This AI-driven text adventure combines classic interactive fiction with modern AI using OpenAI for dynamic responses and DALL-E for visual enhancements. Players shape the narrative through text commands, interacting with AI-generated characters and environments.
• RetroAI-Quest — This terminal-based game offers a retro aesthetic with modern AI storytelling. Players navigate dynamically generated narratives with natural language commands.
• Lost — Set in a dystopian future, this interactive text-based adventure uses ASCII art and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to create an immersive experience.

Story and Choices:

• Intra — This hybrid text adventure blends LLM capabilities with a traditional game engine, combining open-ended AI interactions with a structured game world.
• Quantum Paradox: The Infinity Nexus — Set in a fractured multiverse, players must make choices that ripple through timelines.
• Man of Mayhem — A retro 2-D text-based adventure where players guide the hero through challenges, making crucial decisions that shape the story.

Other innovative projects like Scripted Stealth and GUESS IT are also worth mentioning.

Top Honors:

• Overall Winner — Intra by Team Me Myself and I, stood out for its unique blend of LLM flexibility with a grounded game world.
• Second Place — Verdictum by Team Verdictum Team, impressed with its dynamic AI-driven detective gameplay.
• Third Place — RetroAI-Quest by Sanjay, charmed with its classic terminal interface and AI-powered storytelling.

Congratulations to Ian Bicking, the sole participant and winner with the project Intra. Ian is a skilled programmer with experience at Mozilla and Brilliant.org.