Procedural Rhetoric

Procedural Rhetoric

Rules persuade. Structure IS argument. Design consciously.

What Is Procedural Rhetoric?

Ian Bogost coined it: "an unholy blend of Will Wright and Aristotle."

Games and simulations persuade through processes and rules, not just words or visuals. The structure of your world embodies an ideology. When The Sims allows same-sex relationships without fanfare, the rules themselves make a statement — equality is the default, not a feature.

MOOLLM applies this to everything:

• YAML schemas define what's thinkable
• Advertisements define what's possible
• Constraints define what's normative
• Defaults define what's assumed

The Triumvirate

Three concepts work together:

Combined, they create worlds that persuade, invite projection, and spark imagination.

Designing Rhetorical Objects

Every object in MOOLLM can carry procedural rhetoric. The rhetoric block defines how it shapes the world:

object:
  name: "Community Garden"
  description: "A shared space where neighbors grow food together."
  
  rhetoric:
    # What worldview does this object embody?
    ideology: "Cooperation over competition. Sharing over hoarding."
    
    # What does it normalize?
    normalizes:
      - "Collective ownership"
      - "Generosity with surplus"
      - "Cross-generational knowledge transfer"
      
    # What does it make possible?
    enables:
      - "Players can give food freely"
      - "Teaching actions boost both parties"
      - "Surplus automatically shared with neighbors"
      
    # What does it constrain?
    constrains:
      - "Cannot fence off individual plots"
      - "Cannot sell what you grow (only gift)"
      
    # What are the defaults?
    defaults:
      ownership: "communal"
      surplus_action: "share"
      
    # Simulator effect: sparse triggers rich imagination
    evokes: |
      The smell of tomatoes warming in the sun.
      Children learning which plants are ready to pick.
      Old-timers sharing secrets about soil.

Rhetorical Advertisements

Objects advertise actions that embody values:

advertisements:
  SHARE-HARVEST:
    description: "Give your surplus to the community"
    score_boost: 20  # Encouraged by design
    rhetoric: "Generosity is the path of least resistance"
    
  TEACH-TECHNIQUE:
    description: "Show a neighbor how to grow tomatoes"
    effect: "Both teacher and student gain gardening skill"
    rhetoric: "Teaching multiplies rather than divides"
    
  HOARD:
    available: false  # Not even an option
    rhetoric: "Hoarding is literally unthinkable here"

Notice: The highest-scored action is sharing. Hoarding isn't forbidden — it's absent. That's procedural rhetoric: shaping what's thinkable.

World Generation with Rhetoric

When generating new rooms, objects, or NPCs, specify the rhetorical foundation:

world_generation:
  rhetoric_profile: "utopian-cooperative"
  
  guidelines:
    economy: "Gift economy. No currency. Abundance mindset."
    conflict: "Disagreements resolved through dialogue, not combat"
    scarcity: "Resources are shared, not hoarded"
    strangers: "Welcomed as potential friends, not threats"
    
  spawn_tendencies:
    community_spaces: high
    private_vaults: none
    weapons: ceremonial_only
    teaching_opportunities: abundant

Or for a different world:

world_generation:
  rhetoric_profile: "noir-cynical"
  
  guidelines:
    economy: "Zero-sum. Someone always loses."
    conflict: "Inevitable. Trust is earned, rarely given."
    scarcity: "Everything valuable is contested"
    strangers: "Potential threats until proven otherwise"
    
  spawn_tendencies:
    dark_alleys: high
    safe_spaces: rare
    hidden_agendas: common
    genuine_kindness: surprising

The rhetoric profile shapes everything that gets generated.

Masking Effect for Characters

Abstract characters invite projection. Design character templates that are masks players wear:

character:
  name: "The Wanderer"
  
  # Sparse on specifics — room for projection
  description: "A traveler from somewhere else."
  
  # Abstract enough to be anyone
  appearance:
    style: "weathered but resilient"
    # NO specific race, gender, age — player fills in
    
  masking:
    abstraction_level: high
    projection_hooks:
      - "What drove them to wander?"
      - "What are they searching for?"
      - "What did they leave behind?"
      
  # Rich emotional palette despite sparse details
  emotional_range:
    - "Quiet determination"
    - "Nostalgic longing"
    - "Unexpected kindness to strangers"

Simulator Effect: Less Is More

Sparse descriptions invoke richer imagination than exhaustive detail:

room:
  name: "The Forgotten Library"
  
  # Evocative, not exhaustive
  description: |
    Dust motes drift through slanted light.
    Somewhere, pages turn without being touched.
    
  # Let imagination fill the shelves
  simulator_effect:
    sparse_details:
      - "Ancient books"
      - "Shifting shadows"
      - "A familiar smell you can't place"
    
    # Questions > answers
    mysteries:
      - "Who reads here at night?"
      - "Why do some shelves seem to move?"
      - "What book keeps appearing in your path?"
      
    # DON'T specify:
    avoid_overspecifying:
      - "Exact number of books"
      - "Complete catalog of subjects"
      - "Layout dimensions"
      - "Every dust bunny location"

Rhetorical Recipes

Define rhetorical patterns as reusable recipes:

rhetorical_recipe:
  name: "Abundance Mindset"
  
  ingredients:
    - "Resources that regenerate"
    - "Sharing actions score higher than hoarding"
    - "Generosity rewarded with social currency"
    - "No inventory limits"
    
  applies_to:
    - rooms
    - objects
    - economies
    - NPCs
    
  usage: |
    When creating objects with this recipe:
    - Make resources renewable
    - Remove scarcity as default
    - Reward generosity in mechanics
    - Make surplus automatic to share

rhetorical_recipe:
  name: "Trust Must Be Earned"
  
  ingredients:
    - "NPCs start neutral or suspicious"
    - "Reputation accumulates slowly"
    - "Betrayal has lasting consequences"
    - "Trust unlocks deeper interactions"
    
  applies_to:
    - NPCs
    - factions
    - social systems
    
  usage: |
    When creating social systems with this recipe:
    - New relationships start guarded
    - Actions have memory
    - Trust is a resource that depletes and builds
    - Deep connection requires investment

Inclusive Design Through Rhetoric

The Sims pioneered inclusive procedural rhetoric:

inclusive_rhetoric:
  # Symmetric relationship rules = equality as default
  relationships:
    pattern: "Any character can form any relationship with any other"
    rhetoric: "Love is love. Family is chosen."
    
  # No gender-locked actions
  actions:
    pattern: "All actions available to all characters"
    rhetoric: "Capability is individual, not categorical"
    
  # Customization without limits
  character_creation:
    pattern: "Full spectrum of expression available"
    rhetoric: "You define yourself"
    
  # The absence is the statement
  absent_by_design:
    - "No 'correct' family structure"
    - "No 'normal' appearance baseline"
    - "No 'standard' lifestyle path"

Warning: Rhetoric Cuts Both Ways

Procedural rhetoric can enlighten or entrench:

# ⚠️ DANGEROUS PATTERNS
toxic_rhetoric:
  scarcity_as_default:
    pattern: "Everything is limited and contested"
    effect: "Players learn to hoard and distrust"
    
  zero_sum_scoring:
    pattern: "Your gain is my loss"
    effect: "Cooperation becomes irrational"
    
  violence_as_primary_verb:
    pattern: "Combat is the main interaction"
    effect: "Other solutions become invisible"
    
  stereotyped_roles:
    pattern: "NPCs locked into categorical behaviors"
    effect: "Reinforces prejudice as 'natural'"

Design consciously. Your schemas have opinions.

Dovetails With

• constructionism/ — Learning by building inspectable things
• advertisement/ — Objects announce what they can do (SIMANTICS!)
• yaml-jazz/ — Comments carry meaning
• card/ — Characters as playable ideology
• room/ — Spaces embody worldviews

Related Protocols

The Mantra

"The rules ARE the rhetoric." "The defaults ARE the ideology."
"The absences ARE the statement." "Design consciously."

See Also

• Ian Bogost, Persuasive Games
• Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics
• Will Wright on the Simulator Effect
• Don Hopkins, "How Inclusivity Saved The Sims"