Fiascomatic: A Framework for Automated Fiasco Playsets

Abstract

We present Fiascomatic, a mixed initiative system for generating consistent scenarios for the indie storytelling RPG Fiasco. Players can repeatedly generate scenarios, locking down aspects of a scenario they like and regenerating aspects they don’t, until they arrive at a scenario they find entertaining. It is not a story generation system; it generates scenarios from which players then generate stories. Nor is it intended to generate optimal scenarios; it generates random scenarios which the players can then curate according to their taste. Fiascomatic presents an interesting intermediate point between non-automated table-top RPGs and fully automated systems such as story generators or autonomous characters. It is a tool that can be used by Fiasco players to speed the generation of game setups while preserving creative input on the part of the players, and by Fiasco playset authors to make automated playsets.