docs(workshops): archive wiki review workshop (4 rounds + lead interview)
Long-term content strategy workshop: 300-world generator model, cultural ingredients menu, three-system NPC architecture (9 patterns x 6 motivations), Sacred/Profane/Middle Kingdom framework. 9 agents across 4 rounds plus lead interview establishing the production path from hand-authored Sova to generated 300 worlds. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Claude Opus 4.6
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# Workshop Brief: Wiki Review & Content Standards
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## Locking Down the Foundation
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**Project:** The Settled Reach (D-021)
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**Date:** 2026-02-12
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**Called by:** Jeroen
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**Participants:** PAULA (librarian), MELLANIE (librarian), MIRI, GESTALT, GORE, NIGEL, OZZIE, TYRE, QATUX (documenter), SI (work prep)
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---
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## Context
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Sprint 2 just produced `docs/wiki/` — 45 files covering the full knowledge vocabulary for v0.1 (ticket #368). This includes NPC profiles (17 NPCs across 3 tiers), location pages, faction pages, technology/contraband references, knowledge system vocabulary (FactIds, entity attributes, relationship states), and an authoring guide.
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Before we commit this as canonical and build YAML content files on top of it (#299, #300, #309), we need to review it as a team. Paula and Mellanie served as the primary authors and can explain the reasoning behind structure and content decisions.
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**What this wiki represents:** The single source of truth for all game content. Every NPC profile, every location description, every knowledge fact flows through here before becoming engine-readable YAML.
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---
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## Topic 1: Direction Check — Are We Building the Right Game?
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**The question:** Does this wiki, as written, describe the game we actually want to make?
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Review the wiki holistically. Check that:
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- The NPCs, triangles, and contradiction arcs create the asymmetric-information drama we designed
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- The two-character proof (smuggler vs. detective) produces genuinely different experiences
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- The tone matches "quotidian-with-undertow" — comfortable enough to be complacent, tight enough that extra income is tempting
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- THE FRIEND pattern (Kael/Sera) delivers the emotional gut-punch we designed in D-034
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- The knowledge vocabulary (FactIds, relationship states, confidence levels) can express everything the narrative needs
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**Key files to review:**
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- `docs/wiki/npcs/index.md` — roster + triangle diagrams
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- `docs/wiki/npcs/kael-davan.md` — Tier 1 FRIEND reference
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- `docs/wiki/npcs/sera-venn.md` — Tier 1 FRIEND reference
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- `docs/wiki/knowledge/relationship-states.md` — contradiction arcs
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- `docs/wiki/knowledge/fact-catalog.md` — FactId vocabulary
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**Questions:**
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1. **Gore:** Does this capture what the game is fundamentally ABOUT? The philosophical questions, the identity tensions?
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2. **Gestalt:** Do the 5 triangles create interesting decisions? Are any mechanically redundant?
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3. **Ozzie:** Reading these profiles — does any NPC make you feel something? Which ones fall flat?
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4. **Paula/Mellanie:** Where did you make trade-offs or compromises during authoring? What would you change with more time?
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---
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## Topic 2: Style Guides for Repeatability
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**The question:** If someone new joins the project and needs to write an NPC profile, a location page, or a faction entry — can they produce something consistent with what exists?
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We need explicit style guides that make the wiki reproducible. Not just "here's an example, follow it" but documented conventions.
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**What needs a style guide:**
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- NPC profiles: axis definitions, voice sample format, dual-lens structure, triangle role notes
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- Location pages: what sections, what detail level, how to cross-reference NPCs and factions
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- Faction pages: structure, relationship to locations, political positioning
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- Technology/contraband: detail level, gameplay integration notes
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- Knowledge entries: FactId naming, confidence progression examples, prerequisite format
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**Questions:**
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1. **Mellanie:** What conventions did you follow (or wish existed) when writing monologue-guide.md?
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2. **Paula:** Are the Tier 1/2/3 templates documented well enough to replicate? What's implicit that should be explicit?
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3. **Gestalt:** What mechanical constraints should be in the style guide? (e.g., "every NPC must have a routine axis because the schedule system reads it")
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---
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## Topic 3: Regional Style Guide — Pattern + Krenn System Brief
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**The question:** How do we ensure naming and cultural flavor feel historically cohesive rather than generic sci-fi?
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**The vision:** When gates opened, people didn't just mix uniformly everywhere. There are clusters — groups with enough cultural cohesion and financial clout to settle together. Some regions feel distinctly American, Egyptian, Thai, Peruvian, Maya, Aboriginal, or any combination. Corporations add another layer — they may have a heritage or an ethic that shapes naming. In most places, first/last names and location names follow existing real-world patterns. In some places, new naming conventions emerged (the "Star Wars" feel — genuinely novel names from cultural mixing over centuries).
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**Scope for this workshop:** NOT a full set of regional briefs. We need:
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1. **A pattern/template** for regional style guides — what a style guide for any region should contain
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2. **One filled brief** for Krenn System / Sova Transit District — the v0.1 location, fully specified
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3. **Naming principles** — how real-world naming patterns evolve over ~180 years of space settlement
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The pattern should cover:
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- Dominant cultural heritage(s) of the region
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- Naming conventions (first names, family names, place names, business names)
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- Language echoes (what words from heritage languages survive in daily speech?)
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- Corporate presence and its naming influence
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- How the naming has drifted from Earth-origin patterns (180 years of evolution)
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- Aesthetic markers (architecture, food, dress — things that inform environmental text)
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**Questions:**
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1. **Miri:** What cultural cluster makes sense for Krenn System? What does 180 years of drift look like?
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2. **Gore:** How does cultural identity connect to the game's themes? Should the player notice heritage, or is it ambient?
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3. **Paula:** How do naming conventions affect NPC authoring? Do the current 17 NPCs already follow a pattern?
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4. **Mellanie:** What environmental text (signs, menus, graffiti) changes based on regional culture?
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---
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## Topic 4: Wiki Taxonomy Hardening
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**The question:** How do we prevent name collisions, ambiguity, and organizational confusion as the wiki grows beyond v0.1?
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Current issue: "The Terminal" could exist in multiple systems. "Maintenance Corridors" is generic. We already moved locations to `locations/krenn-system/` for disambiguation, but this needs a principled approach.
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**Specific concerns:**
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- Location names that recur across systems (terminals, bars, maintenance areas)
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- NPC names that could collide (common first names in a larger roster)
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- Faction presence varying by system (Commission operates everywhere, Ring is local)
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- Technology that has different names in different cultures (same device, local slang)
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**Questions:**
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1. **Tyre:** What nesting scheme scales? `locations/{system}/{station}/` or `locations/{system}/`? How deep before it's unwieldy?
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2. **Miri:** How do we handle the fact that v0.2+ adds more systems? Do we restructure, or namespace from the start?
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3. **Paula:** Do NPC pages need system prefixing, or is the NPC roster per-district sufficient?
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---
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## Topic 5: Content Directory Structure & Moddability
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**The question:** How does this wiki structure translate to actual game content directories, and how do modders extend it?
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The wiki is the authoring source. But the game needs content in engine-readable format (YAML → parsed at load). The directory structure of the game's `content/` directory matters for:
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- Load order (which files override which)
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- Mod packaging (modders add/replace content packs)
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- Hot-reloading during development
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- Content validation (schema checks)
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**Questions:**
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1. **Tyre:** Propose a `content/` directory structure that mirrors the wiki but serves the engine. How does a mod overlay work?
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2. **Gestalt:** What content is per-district vs. global? (e.g., FactIds are global, NPC profiles are per-district, faction descriptions are global but presence is per-district)
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3. **Nigel:** What does a mod look like? "Add a new NPC to the bar" — what files does the modder create?
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4. **Tyre:** How does content validation work? Schema per content type, or one schema?
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---
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## Topic 6: Randomizer, Procedural Generation & PC Briefs
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**The question:** How do we leverage the wiki patterns for procedural variation, and how does a player character fit into NPC structures?
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**The PC-as-NPC concept:** "The Customs Detective" and "The Smuggler" exist as NPC archetypes in multiple districts/stations. When the player starts a game, they get assigned an existing NPC with a name, relationships, and surroundings — then that NPC is "upgraded" to a PC. The NPC's existing brief becomes the player character's starting knowledge, relationships, and position.
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**Randomizer integration:** If locations have style guides and NPCs follow templates, a randomizer can:
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- Generate new NPCs from tier templates + regional naming conventions
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- Create new triangles from relationship patterns
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- Vary which NPC becomes THE FRIEND (from a pool of candidates)
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- Shift contraband types, faction pressures, economic conditions
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**Questions:**
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1. **Nigel:** What makes the second playthrough feel different? Name 3 things the randomizer should vary.
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2. **Gestalt:** How does "PC is an upgraded NPC" work mechanically? What data transfers? What's generated?
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3. **Gore:** Does procedural generation dilute the authored moments, or amplify them?
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4. **Ozzie:** What's the "wow moment" when a player realizes their character has a pre-existing life in this place?
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5. **Paula:** What NPC template fields are required for PC upgrade? Which are optional/generated?
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---
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## Workshop Format
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**2 rounds.**
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**Round 1 — Topic responses.** Each participant addresses the topics in their domain. Provide concrete proposals, not just observations. If you see a problem, propose a solution.
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**Round 2 — Synthesis.** Cross-pollinate. Respond to each other's proposals. Produce:
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1. Decisions to record (new D-entries or amendments)
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2. Style guide documents to create
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3. Regional brief for Krenn System
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4. Content directory structure proposal
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5. New tickets for SI to create
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6. Amendments to existing wiki pages
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## Expected Outputs
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- **Style guide template:** Reusable pattern for NPC, location, faction, technology wiki pages
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- **Regional style guide pattern:** Template for any region's cultural naming/flavor guide
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- **Krenn System regional brief:** Filled-in style guide for v0.1 location
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- **Wiki taxonomy rules:** Nesting and naming conventions document
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- **Content directory structure:** Proposed `content/` layout with mod overlay spec
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- **PC-as-NPC spec:** How player character briefs integrate with NPC templates
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- **Ticket list:** New tickets from workshop decisions (SI creates post-workshop)
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- **Decision amendments:** Updates to existing decisions based on workshop findings
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---
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## Source Material
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Participants should read before responding:
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- **Wiki index:** `docs/wiki/index.md`
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- **NPC roster:** `docs/wiki/npcs/index.md`
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- **Kael profile (Tier 1 reference):** `docs/wiki/npcs/kael-davan.md`
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- **Sera profile (Tier 1 reference):** `docs/wiki/npcs/sera-venn.md`
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- **Relationship states:** `docs/wiki/knowledge/relationship-states.md`
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- **Fact catalog:** `docs/wiki/knowledge/fact-catalog.md`
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- **Monologue guide:** `docs/wiki/authoring/monologue-guide.md`
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- **Decisions:** `decisions/content.md`, `decisions/scope.md`, `decisions/perception.md`
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- **Previous workshops:** `docs/workshops/content-gap-analysis_v0_1/`, `docs/workshops/v01-gap-analysis/`
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