Following on from the last post on Gemini Storybook, I took a look at RunwayML’s Game World application. Think of it as a Choose Your Own Adventure Story, but with pictures.

You need to be a RunwayML paid subscriber to be able to use the app, which is currently in beta. Note: if you’re in the UK or Europe, I recommend trying it out in the morning as the whole thing slows massively (and frequently glitches) when the US comes online in the afternoon. US peeps, sorry, no real advice other than hopefully you get better response times once the Europe contingent log off for the day.

You can create your own game worlds.

Or play ones that other people have built

I built two worlds, (Carra and Forgotten) and was a little disappointed when the gameplay for both turned out to be almost identical. This is possibly because, while I described the worlds in some detail, I didn’t include elements of game-play mechanics, and the AI went with the ‘scrounge stuff and win a race’ as its default.

This was the prompt I gave it for one of my worlds (Carra):

Carra is a large city in an Arabian Nights-type world. It has a busy sea harbour, at the mouth of a river – which is used to transport goods, and is also the start and end point of a major overland trade route.

On its eastern side is the river, the Imperial Palace, and the Temple of the Sun. On the western side of the city is the main marketplace, the end point of the overland trade road, and the location of The Citadel – the headquarters of the Imperial army.

About two days’ travel south of Carra is the Southern Desert, with a series of oases, each large enough to support a village. This string of oases is known as The Emerald Chain. The heart of the desert is guarded by tall, jagged cliffs, inhabited by phoenixes and gryphons.

Runway revised this prompt to:

Welcome to Carra, a jewel-city nestled at the confluence of the mighty River Azmar and the vast Azure Sea. Its busy sea harbour, a labyrinth of creaking docks and bustling dhows, serves as the maritime heart of the region. The Azmar itself, wide and deep, acts as a vital artery, transporting goods from the northern plains directly into the city’s heart and marking the definitive start and end point of the legendary Overland Trade Route.

On Carra’s eastern bank, the opulent Imperial Palace shimmers with gilded domes, reflecting the golden light of the Temple of the Sun, a structure of immense spiritual and political power. This side of the city hums with the quiet dignity of imperial decree and ancient traditions. To the west, the air crackles with the vibrant energy of the Grand Souk, where merchants from every corner of the known world haggle over exotic wares at the terminus of the overland road. Looming over it all is The Citadel, the formidable headquarters of the Imperial Army, its stone walls a constant reminder of Carra’s might.

Two days’ journey south, the Southern Desert begins, an unforgiving expanse punctuated by the Emerald Chain, a series of lush oases, each supporting a resilient village. The very heart of this desert is guarded by the towering, jagged peaks of the Gryphon’s Roost, a natural fortress inhabited by fiercely territorial phoenixes and majestic gryphons. Carra is not merely a trading hub; it is the proving ground for the daring, the arena for those who seek fame and fortune in the legendary Great Desert Race, an annual contest of skill, endurance, and courage that tests competitors against the desert’s perils and each other.

In hindsight, I should have gone in and edited some of the AI-completed Advanced Options. You can play the game here if you have a paid RunwayML subscription: The Carra Game World

It presents you with choices, then generates images (usually), so you end up with what looks like an on-screen graphic novel.

Frankly, given the time and effort (and compute power/energy) it takes to generate these, I’d rather play a text-only Choose Your Own Adventure on ChatGPT or Claude. Try a prompt like this one:

You are a master of Choose Your Own Adventure stories. Create an interactive tale with about 15–20 choices, branching paths, and multiple endings. Start by asking me a few fun questions about my character, genre, and motivation, then launch into the adventure, using my answers to inform the story. At each step, give me 2–3 clear options (A, B, C) and make my choices shape the story with real consequences. Keep it vivid, dramatic, and full of twists. Begin by asking your first question!