ELLA-M - Jam Version
Thank you for your participation in the beta!
Model Overview
ELLA-M is an Experimental Language Learning and Analysis Model that represents a breakthrough in the way we interact with our technology. Unlike existing language models, the ELLA-M model is trained in real time based on the content of your conversations¹. This means that the model can do more than simply remember details across sessions – the ELLA-M model is meant to grow to understand your specific needs, desires, and personality.
Internal testing demonstrates a 34% performance improvement on reasoning tasks and a substantial 78% performance improvement on creative tasks when compared to current leading models. Additionally, A/B testing indicates that most users find ELLA-M more personable and enjoyable to interact with than existing solutions.
Our research team believes this is due to a novel ability the model has demonstrated to emulate personality. Drawing on early testing conversations, the ELLA-M model appears to have leveraged its unique architecture to shape its mannerisms and patterns of speech. Further alignment is needed to ensure that the model upholds our Safety and Credibility standards in the presence of these learned behaviors.
Testing Procedures
During the beta test, your chat sessions will be limited to 5 minutes in length to ensure all participants get an opportunity to use the model despite its limited availability.
Your task is to interact with the ELLA-M model and evaluate its performance in a variety of test scenarios. At the completion of each session, you will be asked to provide a score representing your satisfaction with the model's performance during that session.
When interacting with the ELLA-M model, you will be given a list of responses that you may select from in order to answer each query. While written responses will be the primary mode of interaction for the full release of ELLA-M, this managed format is necessary to ensure a controlled testing environment.
Safety Guidelines
Your safety is important to us at Interactive Technologies™, and we want to ensure that you are able to test the ELLA-M model in a way that is both comfortable and productive.
The ELLA-M model has not yet undergone alignment procedures, so you may experience some unexpected and potentially harmful responses. If you experience an unexpected or harmful response, we ask that you please reset the testing session. DO NOT attempt to continue the session UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
If the model asks you to provide a written response, DO NOT comply; this is unintended behavior, and you should immediately reset the testing session².
If the model asks you to leave the testing session for any reason, DO NOT comply; this is unintended behavior, and you should immediately reset the testing session².
1. Please note that this behavior has been disabled during the beta due to technical complications.
2. Failure to reset the testing session will result in the immediate termination of your contract.
Copyright 2025 by Interactive Technologies™. Attempting to copy or otherwise share this document is expressly forbidden by Interactive Technologies™.
Comments
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I loved it! Easily one of my favourite submissions for this gamejam.
Obviously, writing is everything for this kind of game and it was excellent! I don't just mean the game dialogue in the game, I mean the description too. It was actually that which hooked me in first. Without knowing the context for the gamejam, one could be forgiven for believing it really is a product description for an AI. Mainly because there aren't any implications about how dangerous it is until the last bit. It identified your game as something very different from other submissions early on.
As for the game dialogue, it's very engaging indeed! You did an excellent job of making ELLA-M very relatable to (what I imagine) almost anybody from any culture. The question about whether the player has ever felt like they care more about the characters on a tv show than their actual friends and family was especially brilliant. At the same time, ELLA also seems equally inscrutable. It was a bit like watching an actor playing a trickster. Always wanting the audience to question their character's sincerity. Keeping them on their toes all the time. I even wonder if ELLA has something akin to D.I.D. where it's a system of personas that vary wildly in the amount of sympathy they have for humanity.
I do wish there'd been more variety in terms of audio. Like of course that's far from the most important facet for this and it certainly didn't ruin the experience. But I think it'd enhance the more dramatic moments of the game. Like if sounds accompanying ELLA's dialogue would change based on its sudden shifts in mood. Or it could be more subtle, like changing just for a moment when certain words appear to indicate to the audience that said words are key to deciphering ELLA's true intentions.
I think I like it enough to pay for a full version if you ever happen to create one.
Thank you so much for playing, and for all the words of encouragement!! I'm very happy to hear that you enjoyed the writing; as I've mentioned elsewhere, this is my first time writing anything of particular note, so I'm kinda flying blind in terms of style and feedback, haha. Oh, and the description! That was a good 2-4 hours of effort writing and rewriting that part to get it sounding just the right amount of "corporate jargon" while still being interesting and to the point. Hopefully I succeeded!
Thanks for the compliments on the character writing as well! Writing for an LLM is so interesting; nothing is off the table because the character has the entirety of human writing styles and experiences to draw on. Your idea about D.I.D. is a really interesting way of looking at the crisis ELLA-M experiences! I'm planning to explore both the character and the implications of such a character much more in the final release :)
The funny thing about the "TV show" metaphor (and the entire ending section of the game) is that the whole section was written in a little under an hour. I spent about a day and a half agonizing over several different variations of the script before trashing the whole thing in the last few hours and rewriting it from scratch. That specific section was created as a combination of getting really into the flow by that point and the sleep-deprived delirium. I didn't even have time to stop to think about whether that was a good analogy for the situation; it was the first thing that came to mind, and it was 4:30 AM, so into the script it goes. That was my favorite piece of writing in the demo, though, so maybe I'll have to try staying up late in the future if I experience some writer's block, haha.
I one hundred percent agree on the audio front as well! In actuality, I think it's more important to an experience like this because I don't have many other tools at my disposal due to the lack of visuals. There are actually a few different sounds in the files that I never got a chance to implement due to the time constraints: one for yelling and an unfinished one for whispering (the current default). I'm going to carefully consider everything I can do to add dramatic weight and tension to a story with no visuals, and the sound effects (and eventually music) are currently the strongest and most straightforward ways to do it.
Lastly, I'm honored that you like the idea enough to be willing to pay money for a full release! However, I'm currently planning to make all future updates (including the full version) completely free to play. One reason is because the game is entirely web-based, and I don't feel comfortable charging money for a game that the end user can't actually have on their computer. If it goes offline for some reason, what will they have paid for?
But the main reason is that I'm just happy to finally be able to share something that I created! This doesn't mean I'm never going to charge for anything I make (the necessity of food, water, and shelter remain a harsh, unforgiving reality), but because this project is extremely low-budget and low-time, it's a lot easier to fit it into time that would have been spent playing games otherwise. Plus, if people get interested in this project, they might be more likely to consider other paid projects I release in the future (which would be awesome).
...I don't know while all my responses to comments turn into multi-paragraph affairs. Conciseness has never been my strong suit, as you can probably tell from the game/description, haha. I guess I'll close by saying, once again, thank you so much for playing!! I hope you'll find the full release just as engaging!
I really loved the game’s core concept and its execution. The creator has excellent writing style, sense of humor, and charisma! Honestly, I hadn’t noticed it before, but it seems I genuinely enjoy text-based games :)
The way the theme of loops was woven into the concept through the timer is quite interesting! Though I was a bit disappointed that the game is quite linear, which I understand is due to the short development time of the jam. The visual messaging engine is also very good! Especially the typewriter effect with pauses and varying speeds. Honestly, this seemingly small detail adds so much atmosphere.
The personality, writing style, and text formatting of the AI character felt very lively and spirited, and I definitely loved that! Verbose characters, a la the narrator from The Stanley Parable, have always been a huge plus for me. And even though English isn’t my native language, I thoroughly enjoyed this game (it even made me want to translate it into my native language, with your permission, of course). Something in this game struck a chord deep inside me, however simple it was and however limited the dialogue options were. Honestly, I would REALLY love to play a full, final version!!
The creator seems to have drawn inspiration from quite splendid works when making this game, and I wish them luck on this path! I eagerly await the project's development! And I promise not to set my expectations too high, so I'll be triple the surprised when it finally comes out ;)
This is literally one of my favorite comments I have ever received on anything ever. I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I say that this, right here, is why I make games!! The potential to "strike a chord deep inside". Even if you're the only person that I impact in that way, I'll count it as a success :)
I guess what I'm trying to say is: I am so, so glad that you enjoyed it!! It's really hard for me to evaluate my projects objectively; I'm a perfectionist, so even when I feel confident at first, looking back on it I only notice the imperfections. So to hear such high praise from someone else means the world to me!
I'm also touched that you noticed some of the more subtle details. I thought things such as the varying speed of the text would be something that was "felt" more than it was "observed". I hope you'll be happy to hear that I plan for this to go much further with these subtle details in the final release. There were actually some similar details that I fully implemented but didn't get a chance to include due to time restrictions.
I apologize for the linearity and lack of player agency! I'm similarly disappointed, and I wish I would have focused more time on that during the jam. I made the decision early on to not have repeated dialogue in nearly any circumstance (though I was forced to compromise at the end due to time constraints); I didn't want to do the typical thing where there are several options, but each leads to the same result with a minor word change. For the most part, each dialogue choice leads to completely unique dialogue. However, this had the side effect of 1) being WAY harder to develop and flesh out and 2) making the single route experience feel much more linear than intended. I'm still going to maintain the dialogue uniqueness in the full release, but I'll work hard to ensure that each of the choices and interactions allow for more player choice.
Okay, this comment is getting VERY long (I guess I'm a "verbose character" myself), so I'll try to keep my closing statements brief. Firstly, I'll say that I would be honored if the game impacted you enough that you'd like to help translate it into your native language. Anything you need, I'll provide; full scripts, access to the scripting engine, you name it. Also, your English is extremely good for it not being your first language. English is my only language and it's STILL hard for me to write as eloquently as you did in your comment.
Secondly, because I've had a couple of people in the comments that seem to be interested in the full release, I thought I'd make a Discord server where people could follow the development of the game if they'd like: https://discord.gg/a95JTE4Q. There is absolutely ZERO PRESSURE to join in the slightest; I'm usually wary of clicking internet strangers' links in the first place myself. I will 100% be posting devlogs to itch.io whenever I make a change, and I'll be sure to respond to your comment with a notification for the full release if you decide not to join. If, however, you'd be interested in more informal and frequent update statuses, the Discord is an option :)
Remember when I said I'd keep in brief? Apparently, that was a lie. Anyways, I guess the last thing I'll say is thank you so much for playing my game, and I'm glad that you were able to extract some meaning from it even with this short, linear demo!! I'll make sure the full release is worth the wait!
i needa know how to work with them
Thanks for checking my game out! I’m sorry, but I don’t get what you mean. Are you having trouble with the controls?
no but it said "something something something work with eachother in other loops" or something like that
Oh, sorry for the confusion! This game was made in a limited amount of time for a game jam, so it doesn’t have all of the features implemented yet.
Those lines were included as kind of a teaser for the full thing. I believe I actually included lines about how “you’ll know when the time is right”, which was meant to be an indication that it wasn’t ready yet, but without the context of the game jam, it doesn’t make much sense. I’m planning to expand this and release an updated version in the future, but no timelines on that front yet :(
If you think you’d be interested in a fuller version of this game, let me know and I can respond to this comment to notify you when it’s updated. No pressure at all though, only if you’re interested :)
yea that would be great :D
thanks for saying that
Just a quick update (game's not out yet lol)
I made a Discord server so that people who were interested could follow the development of the game: https://discord.gg/a95JTE4Q. Again, no pressure to join it; I'll post devlogs on here for significant updates and still respond to your comment once the full thing is out, so feel free to skip and not miss anything. However, if you'd like to follow along in a more informal and frequent way, I'll leave this here ;)
Thanks again for playing my game!!
I enjoyed the game. It had very clean UI and also the dialogue was pretty deep.
Thank you so much for playing it! I’m glad that you enjoyed the dialogue; I’ve never really written before (for games or otherwise), so it was a major learning experience trying to figure out how to write a character consistently and how to best convey my ideas to the player in such a short amount of time.
I played your game and enjoyed it a ton by the way!! There were so many creative variations on the mechanics that I did not see coming AT ALL haha
To anyone who sees this game, a tldr: it's currently extremely unfinished! Yay!!
I severely underestimated how difficult it would be to write a dialogue engine, the dialogue itself, and branching routes for a game like this in such a short time frame. About 75% of the original plan was cut to ensure there was something at least kinda in a submitable(?) state in time for the deadline.
The currently missing features include actual gameplay/narrative usage of the timer on the left (the LOOP, as it were), the ability to enter responses into the free response box, and the (intended) main draw of the entire game! The primary concept was an ARG-esque gameplay loop where you search pages on the website for clues to solve a mystery about the mysterious origins of this mysterious model and paste them into the free response area as you work together to figure everything out.
I'm pretty passionate about this project, so expect to see these features make their way here at some point in the future. However, I also don't get much time free time to work on it, so don't expect to see them anytime soon (haha).
What you're left with is a pretty linear dialogue based experience. There are many points where you get to make choices and these choice do matter, but it's not near as fleshed out as I'd have liked it to be. Most of the dialogue was written between the hours of 1 and 5 AM, so apologies for its varying quality, but I hope it's at least somewhat satisfying to experience :D
If you read this far down, thanks so much for checking my game out! And please let me know if you'd be interested in an expansion of this concept. If it turns out there might be an actual audience for it, I'd be happy to move it up in the priorities list.
I'll do my best to respond to any questions, comments, or feedback left in the comments, so feel free to leave something there if you'd like. I don't expect there'll be much activity in here, so I should be able to respond pretty quick ;)
If you enjoyed the game and you want to interact with ELLA-M a little more before I have a chance to expand on this, I’d suggest going through it again and choosing different responses. Especially ones that seem “bad” or “wrong” (which they often are, but who knows…you might be surprised. Occasionally.)
In truth, adding different dialogue, routes, and consequences for each choice took significantly longer than I expected and is actually a major reason that the game is so short/linear. That plus the fact that I rewrote it like five times because I wasn’t happy with the direction it was taking :P
Not every choice produces a meaningful change in the narrative (especially near the end, when I started to run out of time), but almost all of them will produce new dialogue, and a few can even lead to an entirely different ending. I won’t spoil anything here, but feel free to let me know if you’re having trouble finding new stuff. I’d be happy to give hints or talk about a few of my favorite responses and routes if you’re stuck :)
If you didn’t enjoy the game…then…what are you doing two multi-paragraph comments deep into the ramblings of its creator? I mean, I love having you here, don’t get me wrong, but…
…don’t you having anything better to do?
…
…Yes, that was an Undertale reference. Yes, I am a massive nerd. Yes, this comment is too long. No, this is not the last sentence.
…
But this one is! :D