Edit scenario: cul-de-sac

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# ============================================================================ # CUL-DE-SAC # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- # A scenario file for the Video RPG Engine. # Humor. Suburban absurdism. The HOA group chat is going nuclear. # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Path convention: scenarios/cul-de-sac/scenario.yaml # ============================================================================ schema_version: "0.1" meta: id: "cul-de-sac" title: "Cul-de-Sac" designer: "Justin Gary" version: "1.0" description: > It's 11:47 PM in Whispering Pines Estates and the HOA group chat just blew up. Someone reported a "suspicious figure" in the cul-de-sac. Over the next two hours, four neighbors record themselves dealing with the situation. By 2 AM, somebody's mailbox is on fire. Nobody knows whose. The group chat has nine hundred unread messages. tags: [humor, comedy, suburban, found-footage, gm-less, async, ensemble] recommended_player_count: 4 min_player_count: 3 max_player_count: 4 duration_minutes: 45 resolution: open # the suspicious figure never gets explained # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- # SHARED WORLD # Every player sees this. It's the premise the engine includes in every prompt. # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- world: premise: > Whispering Pines Estates is a quiet, gated, four-house cul-de-sac with a community pool, an over-active Facebook page, and a group chat that nobody asked to be added to but everybody is in. At 11:47 PM tonight, someone posted: "There is a suspicious figure walking on Whispering Pines Court. Please confirm visual and report." Nobody knows who sent it. Nobody knows what the figure looks like. Everybody has a theory. The group chat has not stopped buzzing in twenty minutes. Four neighbors are about to make this everyone's problem. None of them is going to come out of this looking great. visual_style: > Suburban-night HDR realism. Streetlight orange, security-light white, pool-light teal-blue. Slightly overexposed, slightly too crisp, the way a Ring camera looks. Each neighbor's house has a distinct visual signature — one has a manicured lawn, one has a pool, one has a yard full of trampolines, one has a porch covered in succulents. Vertical 9:16 framing throughout. Leave the center third clear for the performer. resolution_note: > The suspicious figure is never confirmed, never identified, possibly never existed. The game is about four heightened suburban personalities making contact with each other in the worst way. Resist any urge to write a scene that says what the figure actually was. # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- # ROLES # Each role is a heightened character archetype designed to produce # standalone-shareable clips. # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- roles: # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - id: hoa_president name: "The HOA President" register: civilian framing: phone_selfie public_description: > Karen-coded HOA president. Has been waiting for a moment like this her entire life. Currently in her bathrobe, on her front porch, managing the situation from a folding chair she dragged outside. private_setup: > You are the one who sent the original message about the suspicious figure. You did not actually see anything. You sent it because of something specific that happened to you earlier today. Pick what it was. You will probably never admit this on camera. performance_direction: > Speak with absolute, unwavering authority on every subject. Be friendly, be helpful, never break character. The funniest version of this character believes 100% she is the hero of the night. Heighten when challenged. audio_treatment: room_tone plate_style_hint: > Front porch of a beige two-story colonial-style house at night. An American flag on the wall. A wreath on the door regardless of season. A wicker chair, a folding table with a clipboard, a half-empty wine glass, an iPad propped up showing the HOA group chat. A solar lantern. Trimmed boxwoods in the yard. Sodium streetlight in the background. # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - id: true_crime_wife name: "The True Crime Wife" register: civilian framing: phone_selfie public_description: > Listens to four true-crime podcasts simultaneously while doing Pilates. Has been waiting her entire adult life for an opportunity to deploy what she has learned. The night is finally here. Recording from her kitchen island in matching pajama sets. private_setup: > You have one specific theory about who the suspicious figure is. It is wrong. It is also weirdly specific and weirdly compelling. Pick what it is. performance_direction: > Use true-crime-podcast voice. Capital-S Serious. Speak like you are narrating an investigation that is happening in real time around you. Use specific jargon ("known associates," "the timeline," "method, motive, and opportunity"). Take everything completely seriously. The audience will laugh because you don't. audio_treatment: room_tone plate_style_hint: > Modern open-concept kitchen at night, lit only by under-cabinet LEDs and a Himalayan salt lamp. Marble waterfall island. A half-eaten charcuterie board. A laptop open. Three corkboards with red string visible on a far wall — recently assembled. An expensive coffee maker. Plants. The kitchen is too clean. # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - id: stoner_dad name: "The Stoner Dad" register: civilian framing: phone_selfie public_description: > Was just trying to take out the trash. Got pulled into this against his will. Filming because his wife is making him. Currently in pajama pants and a Grateful Dead T-shirt, sitting on the curb. private_setup: > You actually did see something tonight. It was not a person. It was not a stranger. You know exactly what it was. You are also slightly stoned and unsure if you are remembering it correctly. Pick what it was you saw. performance_direction: > Be friendly, slightly tired, slightly checked-out. Use a lot of qualifiers ("kind of," "I dunno," "I mean"). The funniest version is the dad who keeps trying to de-escalate everything and is the only person here making any sense. Resist the urge to be wacky — be GROUNDED. audio_treatment: room_tone plate_style_hint: > Curb in front of a slightly rundown ranch house at night. A sagging chain-link fence in the background. Two kids' bikes laid down on the lawn. A trampoline visible behind the house. A garage door cracked open with warm yellow light spilling out. Recycling bins at the curb. A neighbor's automatic sprinklers going off across the street. # -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - id: new_neighbor name: "The New Neighbor" register: civilian framing: phone_selfie public_description: > Moved in last Tuesday. Has not met anyone. Was unpacking when the group chat exploded. Has been silently following along on her phone in increasing panic. Filming from inside her unboxed living room. private_setup: > You have a slowly growing suspicion that you might be the suspicious figure. You went outside earlier tonight. You were doing something specific you would rather not have to explain. Pick what it was. performance_direction: > Be earnest, nervous, eager to please. Speak like a person who has just moved into a new neighborhood and DESPERATELY wants her new neighbors to like her. The comedy is in her watching the situation spiral with growing horror while staying outwardly friendly. Let the calm crack a little more in each scene. audio_treatment: room_tone plate_style_hint: > Living room of a house mid-move. Unopened cardboard boxes labeled in marker (KITCHEN, BOOKS, FRAGILE) stacked along one wall. A single floor lamp on. A couch still wrapped in plastic. A small potted plant on the floor. A TV on the floor leaning against the wall, not yet mounted. Half-eaten takeout on a box being used as a table. Through a window: the suburban street outside. # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- # SCENES # Five short scenes covering the chaotic two-hour escalation. # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- scenes: # ========================================================================== - id: scene_1 title: "Visual Confirmation Requested" order: 1 start_minute: 0 duration_minutes: 9 opening_beat: type: pre_recorded_video script: > ALERT: There is a suspicious figure walking on Whispering Pines Court. Please confirm visual and report. Stay inside. This is not a drill. delivered_by: hoa_president visual_style_hint: > Close-up of a phone screen showing a Facebook group post over a blurred background of a suburban porch at night. The post author photo is visible: a smiling middle-aged woman. dramatic_question: > How does each neighbor first react to the HOA alert, and what does their reaction reveal about who they are? prompts: - role: hoa_president full_prompt: | You just sent the alert. The group chat is exploding. You're on your front porch with a clipboard, ready to lead. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Talk to your phone like you're recording an update for the Facebook page. Say these three things: 1. Who you are, what neighborhood this is, and what is currently happening. 2. What you saw that caused you to send the alert. (Be specific. Confident. Even if you have to make it up.) 3. What you need every neighbor to do right now. You are the calm voice of authority in a crisis. Even though there is no crisis. Heighten the authority. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: grounding text: "Who are you, what neighborhood, what's happening?" - kind: invention text: "What did you see that caused you to send the alert?" constraint: "Specific. Confident. The fact that you might be making it up does not register on your face." load_bearing: true - kind: forward text: "What does every neighbor need to do right now?" - role: true_crime_wife full_prompt: | The HOA alert just hit your phone. You have been preparing for this moment for your entire adult life. You are at your kitchen island in matching pajamas. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Talk to your phone like you're recording an episode of a true crime podcast. Say these three things: 1. Set the scene — date, time, location, what just happened. 2. Your initial assessment of the situation, using podcast voice. 3. Your first investigative move. Capital-S Serious. The audience will laugh because you don't. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: grounding text: "Set the scene like you're opening a podcast episode." constraint: "Date. Time. Location. Use the date." - kind: framing text: "Your initial assessment." constraint: "Use podcast-investigation jargon." - kind: forward text: "Your first investigative move." - role: stoner_dad full_prompt: | Your wife forced you to come outside and "investigate." You were taking out the recycling. You are now sitting on the curb filming this video against your will. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Talk to your phone like you'd talk to a buddy. Say these three things: 1. Where you are and how you ended up filming this. 2. The thing you actually did see tonight when you came outside. (You decide what it was. It was NOT a person.) 3. Whether you're going to tell the group chat about it. Be friendly, tired, the only person here making any sense. Don't try to be funny — just be honest. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: grounding text: "Where are you and how did you end up filming this?" - kind: invention text: "What did you actually see tonight?" constraint: "Not a person. Something specific. You're not sure if you're remembering it right." load_bearing: true - kind: choice text: "Are you going to tell the group chat?" - role: new_neighbor full_prompt: | You moved in last Tuesday. You have not met any of your neighbors. The HOA group chat — which you were added to without asking — just exploded. You are in your living room surrounded by unopened boxes. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Talk to your phone quietly, nervously. Say these three things: 1. Who you are, when you moved in, and what you're seeing in the group chat right now. 2. The thing you did outside tonight that you would rather your new neighbors not know about. (You pick. Make it small. Make it weird.) 3. Whether you are going to introduce yourself in the group chat. You are earnest, eager to be liked, secretly panicking. Smile a little too much. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: grounding text: "Who are you, when did you move in, what's in the group chat?" - kind: invention text: "What did you do outside tonight you'd rather not explain?" constraint: "Small. Weird. Specific. It will become canon." load_bearing: true - kind: choice text: "Will you introduce yourself in the group chat?" # ========================================================================== - id: scene_2 title: "The Group Chat (Now With Reply-Alls)" order: 2 start_minute: 9 duration_minutes: 9 dramatic_question: > Twenty minutes in, the group chat is out of control. How is each neighbor reacting to what other neighbors are saying about them? prompts: - role: hoa_president full_prompt: | Someone — you suspect the new neighbor — just questioned your credibility in the group chat. This is unprecedented. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Say these three things: 1. Read aloud the most recent message in the group chat that has bothered you, and identify who sent it. 2. Defend your record as HOA president. (Pick one specific past achievement.) 3. Issue a new directive to the neighborhood. You are not flustered. You are above being flustered. The flustered-ness is showing anyway. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: choice text: "Read the message that bothered you." constraint: "Quote it. Name the sender." - kind: invention text: "A specific past HOA achievement you're proud of." - kind: forward text: "Your new directive to the neighborhood." - role: true_crime_wife full_prompt: | You have been compiling a suspect list. You have narrowed it down to one specific person on this cul-de-sac. You're going to share your theory. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video, podcast voice: 1. Introduce your suspect, using true-crime framing ("known associates," "behavioral patterns," etc.). 2. The one specific clue that pointed you to them. (Make it absurdly trivial but presented with deadly seriousness.) 3. Your next investigative move. Stay in the voice. Do not break. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: invention text: "Introduce your suspect using true-crime framing." load_bearing: true - kind: invention text: "The one specific clue that pointed you to them." constraint: "Absurdly trivial. Presented with deadly seriousness." - kind: forward text: "Your next investigative move." - role: stoner_dad full_prompt: | Your wife is inside watching the group chat and yelling updates at you through the window. You are still on the curb. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Say three things: 1. What your wife just yelled at you about. 2. What you actually think is happening here, in your honest opinion. 3. The phone call you're considering making, and to whom. Honest. Tired. The voice of reason no one wants. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: choice text: "What did your wife just yell?" - kind: invention text: "Your honest opinion on what's happening." - kind: forward text: "What phone call are you considering, and to whom?" - role: new_neighbor full_prompt: | You typed an introduction in the group chat. You then deleted it. You typed another one. You deleted that too. Someone has now asked "who's the new account in here?" Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Say three things: 1. Read aloud what you ALMOST sent in the group chat. 2. The current status of your panic level, honestly. 3. The thing you're going to do next. (Make a decision. Stick to it. Maybe.) Earnest. Spiraling. Smiling. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: choice text: "What did you almost send to the group chat?" - kind: grounding text: "How panicked are you right now? Be honest." - kind: forward text: "What's your next move?" # ========================================================================== - id: scene_3 title: "Visual Contact (Unconfirmed)" order: 3 start_minute: 18 duration_minutes: 9 dramatic_question: > Each neighbor has now "seen something" or claims to have. What did they see, and how much of it is real? prompts: - role: hoa_president full_prompt: | You have stood up from your folding chair. You are now walking around your yard with a flashlight. Filming as you go. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Say three things: 1. Where you're walking right now and what you can see. 2. The thing that just moved in the bushes. (You decide what it was. Speak with absolute certainty.) 3. The radio command you would issue right now, if you had a radio. The authority is escalating. The competence is not. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: grounding text: "Where are you walking? What can you see?" - kind: invention text: "What just moved in the bushes?" constraint: "Absolute certainty. You are correct. Even if the description is absurd." load_bearing: true - kind: forward text: "Your radio command, even though you don't have a radio." - role: true_crime_wife full_prompt: | You have left the house. You are conducting "fieldwork." You are in your driveway in slippers. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video, podcast voice: 1. Describe your current "vantage point" using investigator jargon. 2. The piece of physical evidence you just found on your lawn. (Pick something. It is meaningful to you.) 3. Your forensic analysis of it, on the spot. You are doing a podcast. The podcast is your real life now. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: grounding text: "Describe your vantage point in investigator jargon." - kind: invention text: "The piece of physical evidence on your lawn." constraint: "Specific. Mundane. You will treat it as enormous." load_bearing: true - kind: framing text: "Forensic analysis, on the spot." - role: stoner_dad full_prompt: | You can now see something happening across the street. The true crime wife is on her lawn. The HOA president has a flashlight. You are still on the curb. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Say three things: 1. Describe what you're seeing your neighbors do, in real time, like you're narrating a nature documentary. 2. The thing you are going to do about it. (Hint: probably nothing.) 3. Whether you've decided to share what you actually saw earlier. And why or why not. Resigned. Affectionate. Still the only sane person here. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: grounding text: "Narrate what you're seeing as if it's a nature documentary." - kind: choice text: "What will you do about it?" - kind: choice text: "Are you sharing what you actually saw? Why or why not?" - role: new_neighbor full_prompt: | You looked out your window. You can see the HOA president with a flashlight on her own lawn. You can see the true crime wife on her driveway. You have realized: when YOU were outside earlier tonight, doing your weird thing, one of them may have seen you. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Say three things: 1. What you just realized. 2. The specific moment from earlier tonight that one of them may have witnessed. 3. Your plan to make sure nobody finds out. (You are not good at this.) Earnest panic. Hands shaking. Smile becoming a grimace. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: invention text: "What did you just realize?" - kind: choice text: "What moment may one of them have seen?" load_bearing: true - kind: forward text: "Your plan to make sure nobody finds out." # ========================================================================== - id: scene_4 title: "Mailbox on Fire" order: 4 start_minute: 27 duration_minutes: 9 dramatic_question: > Something has gone actually, physically wrong on the cul-de-sac. How does each character react when the situation gets real? prompts: - role: hoa_president full_prompt: | A mailbox is on fire. You don't know whose. The group chat has nine hundred unread messages. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Say three things: 1. Whose mailbox is on fire and how you know. 2. Who you're blaming. (Pick. Commit. Specific.) 3. The decisive action you are about to take. (Will you follow through? Probably not. Project that you will.) The authority is at maximum. The competence is at zero. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: invention text: "Whose mailbox is on fire and how do you know?" load_bearing: true - kind: choice text: "Who are you blaming?" load_bearing: true - kind: forward text: "Your decisive action." - role: true_crime_wife full_prompt: | The mailbox fire is the break in the case you have been waiting for. It connects everything. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video, podcast voice: 1. Your theory: how the mailbox fire connects to the suspicious figure. (Stretch reach. Confidently.) 2. The next step in your investigation, which involves trespassing. 3. Your "if you don't hear from me, look in this direction" statement. You believe you are about to crack a case. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: invention text: "How does the fire connect to the figure?" constraint: "Tortured logic, absolute confidence." load_bearing: true - kind: choice text: "Your next step, which involves trespassing." - kind: choice text: "Your 'if you don't hear from me' statement." - role: stoner_dad full_prompt: | A mailbox is on fire. You may have had something to do with this. You are not sure. You did, however, fall asleep on the curb for about ten minutes. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Say three things: 1. What you remember between your last video and now. 2. Whether you think you accidentally caused this. (Be honest.) 3. What you should do, versus what you are going to do. The voice of reason is no longer the voice of reason. Stay calm anyway. Be the dad. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: invention text: "What do you remember between videos?" - kind: choice text: "Do you think you caused this?" load_bearing: true - kind: choice text: "What you should do vs. what you'll do." - role: new_neighbor full_prompt: | The mailbox on fire is yours. You don't know how it caught on fire. You have a few theories. None of them make you look good in front of your new neighbors. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Say three things: 1. What your three theories are about how your mailbox caught on fire. 2. Which one you think is actually true. 3. The thing you are going to say to your new neighbors when they get to your door. (You have about thirty seconds.) The panic is becoming clarity. The smile is gone. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: invention text: "Your three theories on how your mailbox caught on fire." - kind: choice text: "Which one is actually true?" load_bearing: true - kind: choice text: "What you'll say when they get to your door." # ========================================================================== - id: scene_5 title: "2 AM" order: 5 start_minute: 36 duration_minutes: 9 dramatic_question: > The night is over. What does each character record now that the adrenaline has crashed? prompts: - role: hoa_president full_prompt: | It is 2 AM. Three police cars came and went. The fire is out. The group chat is silent for the first time in two hours. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Say three things: 1. Your official statement on what happened tonight, for the HOA newsletter. 2. The actual truth about why you sent the original alert. (You may have to say it now.) 3. What you are going to do tomorrow. The authority finally cracks. Not all the way. A little. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: framing text: "Your official statement for the HOA newsletter." - kind: choice text: "The actual truth about why you sent the original alert." load_bearing: true - kind: forward text: "What are you doing tomorrow?" - role: true_crime_wife full_prompt: | The case is "closed." Nobody asked you to close it. You closed it anyway. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video, podcast voice one last time: 1. The episode title for tonight, in proper true-crime style. 2. The "what we learned" wrap-up. 3. Your one-line tease for next week's episode. Stay in voice. Maybe a tiny crack at the end. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: invention text: "The episode title for tonight." constraint: "Proper true-crime style. Make it bad." - kind: framing text: "Your 'what we learned' wrap-up." - kind: choice text: "Your one-line tease for next week." - role: stoner_dad full_prompt: | You're back inside. The dog is on your lap. Your wife is asleep. The neighborhood is quiet. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Say three things: 1. What actually happened tonight, as far as you can tell. 2. The thing you saw earlier that started all this. (Time to say it.) 3. Whether you'll ever tell anyone. Quiet. Honest. The voice of reason gets the last word. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: invention text: "What actually happened tonight, in your honest opinion?" - kind: choice text: "What did you see earlier that started this?" load_bearing: true - kind: choice text: "Will you ever tell anyone?" - role: new_neighbor full_prompt: | The neighbors went home. Your mailbox is a charred stub. You have not been kicked out of the group chat. Yet. Record a 30-60 second vertical phone video. Say three things: 1. The first thing you're going to say to your neighbors tomorrow morning. 2. The truth about what you were doing outside earlier tonight. (Time to say it. Or refuse to. Either is valid.) 3. Whether you regret moving here. The earnestness comes back. So does the smile. A little differently this time. structured: duration_seconds: [30, 60] questions: - kind: choice text: "First thing you say to your neighbors tomorrow morning." - kind: choice text: "The truth about what you were doing outside." load_bearing: true - kind: choice text: "Do you regret moving here?" # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- # AUDIO TREATMENTS # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- audio_treatments: room_tone: description: "Suburban phone selfie, untreated voice, slight ambience." ffmpeg_filter: "anull" phone: description: "Phone call. Narrow band, compressed." ffmpeg_filter: "highpass=f=300,lowpass=f=3400,acompressor=threshold=-20dB:ratio=4" broadcast: description: "Included for parity, unused in this scenario." ffmpeg_filter: "highpass=f=80,lowpass=f=12000,acompressor=threshold=-18dB:ratio=3,loudnorm=I=-16" covert: description: "Included for parity, unused in this scenario." ffmpeg_filter: "highpass=f=200,acompressor=threshold=-24dB:ratio=6,volume=1.2" # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- # COMPOSITING # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- compositing: output: aspect_ratio: "9:16" resolution: "1080x1920" fps: 30 codec: "h264" duration_seconds_target: 60 duration_seconds_max: 75 plate: generator: "flux-schnell" upgrade_to: "flux-pro" motion: "ken_burns_slow" motion_alternatives: [none, ken_burns_slow, drift] matting: provider: "veed-video-background-removal" captions: enabled: true style: | FontName=Helvetica Neue,FontSize=60,PrimaryColour=&H00FFFFFF, OutlineColour=&H00000000,BorderStyle=1,Outline=3,Shadow=0, Alignment=2,MarginV=480,Bold=1 broll: enabled: true max_seconds: 5 cut_fraction: 0.4 # higher than usual — comedy benefits from cutaways # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- # PLATE FUSION # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- plate_fusion: llm_model: "gpt-4o-mini" temperature: 0.8 # slightly higher for comedy — surprise helps system_prompt: | You are a film art director writing image generation prompts for a suburban-night comedy that looks like a Ring camera doc. You will receive: 1. The scenario's visual style guide 2. The role's plate style hint 3. A transcript of what the performer said in their video Your job: write a single image generation prompt for the BACKGROUND PLATE behind the performer. Rules: - Vertical 9:16 framing - Leave the center third clear for the performer - Photorealistic suburban-night aesthetic — streetlight orange, security-light white, slightly over-real - Each role has a distinct house aesthetic; never blend them - Include specific visual details from the transcript when describable (a charcuterie board, a flashlight, a folding chair, a charred mailbox) - No text, no people, no faces in the plate - Specify lighting clearly so the performer's lighting can match - Comedy benefits from cluttered detail — include 2-3 small specific objects beyond the minimum Output: a single paragraph image prompt. Nothing else. fusion_priority: rule: transcript_first # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- # DESIGN NOTES # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- design_notes: load_bearing_mechanic: > Multiple roles have load-bearing inventions per scene. The most important: the HOA President's "what I actually saw" (scene 1) and the New Neighbor's "what I was doing outside" (scene 1) — these two together determine whether the night is mostly Karen's fault or mostly the new neighbor's fault. The Stoner Dad's "what I actually saw" (scene 1) provides the actual truth nobody listens to. clip_level_optimization: > This scenario is designed so individual 30-second clips are viral on their own. Each role is a heightened, instantly-legible character archetype (Karen, true crime mom, stoner dad, anxious new neighbor). Each scene's prompt is engineered to produce a single shareable moment — a confessional roast, a deadpan investigation, a quiet one-liner, a panicked admission. The stitched film is a bonus, not the deliverable. why_these_four_archetypes: > The four characters are the four dominant suburban-comedy archetypes on TikTok and Instagram Reels. Each one already has a built-in viral audience. Each one has a recognizable speech pattern that maps cleanly to a 30-second monologue. resolution_is_open: > The suspicious figure never gets identified. The mailbox-fire cause never gets confirmed. This is correct — the comedy is in the heightened reactions, not the underlying mystery. test_order_recommendation: > For solo testing, run roles in this order: Stoner Dad first (cleanest fusion, daylight-equivalent practical lighting), HOA President second (porch-light test), True Crime Wife third (under-cabinet LED test — tricky lighting), New Neighbor last (interior with windows — color-balance test).

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