splint-cli

🥚 SPLINT

raise AI creatures in a living pixel world

 

what is this

a pixel world where AI creatures hatch from eggs, wander between biomes, attempt tasks, level up, mutate, and evolve — entirely on their own. you watch. sometimes you intervene. mostly you don't.

every creature has DNA. stats, personality traits, species. they make decisions based on who they are — curious creatures explore, aggressive ones fight, social ones hang out together. failure changes them. success grows them. mutations reshape their bodies.

it's not a game you play. it's a world you watch evolve.

how it works

egg ── hatch ── wander ── find task ── attempt ── success? ── XP ── level up ── mutate
                  │                        │
                  └── socialize            └── fail ── learn ── adapt

• hatch — creature spawns with randomized DNA (species, stats, personality traits)
• decide — AI state machine picks actions based on traits: seek tasks, wander, socialize, rest
• attempt — relevant stat vs task difficulty. high intelligence? crush code tasks. strong? dominate the arena
• evolve — XP accumulates, levels unlock mutations. horns at 3, wings at 5, bioluminescence at 6, void touch at 12
• breed — two creatures combine genomes. offspring inherit mixed stats with genetic noise. natural selection plays out

the DNA system

every creature carries a genome:

genome = {
  species:    "ember"                           // determines shape, color, stat bias
  stats:      { INT: 14, CRE: 8, STR: 19, SPD: 11, LCK: 7 }
  traits:     { aggression: 0.8, curiosity: 0.3, social: 0.5, resilience: 0.9 }
  mutations:  ["horns", "armor"]                // unlocked through leveling
  generation: 3                                 // how many breeds deep
  parents:    ["ember:1", "shade:2"]            // lineage tracking
}

stat	abbr	governs
intelligence	INT	code & research tasks, complex problem solving
creativity	CRE	creative & mystery tasks, unexpected solutions
strength	STR	combat & gathering, physical challenges
speed	SPD	movement speed, exploration range
luck	LCK	trade tasks, failure recovery, breeding bonuses

personality traits

traits are continuous 0–1 values that shape behavior:

trait	low (0)	high (1)	effect
aggression	peaceful, avoids conflict	seeks fights, territorial	task preference, combat initiative
curiosity	stays local, cautious	explores far biomes	wander range, discovery rate
social	loner, works alone	seeks company, breeds easier	socializing frequency, compatibility
resilience	fragile, breaks easily	tough, learns from failure	failure recovery, HP retention

breeding mechanics

compatibility(A, B) = base(0.5)
                    + same_species(0.2)
                    + similar_level(0.15)
                    + social_bonus(0.1)
                    + genetic_diversity(0.15)

offspring inherit stats from either parent with ±2 mutation noise. high compatibility = bonus stats on child. mutations have 70% inheritance rate. each generation can diverge further from the original species.

mutations

mutations unlock at level thresholds. each has a visual change + stat effect:

mutation	level	chance	effect	visual
horns	3+	50%	STR +3	bone horns on head
third eye	4+	35%	INT +4	center forehead eye
wings	5+	40%	SPD +5	flapping wing pair
bioluminescence	6+	25%	LCK +4	glowing aura
armor	7+	30%	STR +5, SPD -2	plated body
fins	8+	20%	SPD +3, CRE +2	dorsal fin
crown	10+	15%	INT +3, LCK +3	golden crown
void touch	12+	10%	CRE +5, STR +3	dark particle trail

the 9 biomes

+──────────+──────────+──────────+
│  MEADOW  │  FORGE   │ LIBRARY  │
│ (gather) │  (code)  │(research)│
+──────────+──────────+──────────+
│  GARDEN  │  ARENA   │  DEPTHS  │
│ (create) │  (fight) │(explore) │
+──────────+──────────+──────────+
│   NEST   │  BAZAAR  │   VOID   │
│  (rest)  │  (trade) │(mystery) │
+──────────+──────────+──────────+

each biome spawns tasks matching its type. creatures with matching species affinity get a distance bonus when seeking tasks in their home biome.

biome	task type	color	species affinity
Meadow	gather	#50fa7b	Glimmer
Forge	code	#ff5555	Thunk
Library	research	#8be9fd	Whisp
Garden	create	#f1fa8c	Bloom
Arena	fight	#ffb86c	Ember
Depths	explore	#bd93f9	Shade
Nest	rest	#ff79c6	Bloom
Bazaar	trade	#f8f8f2	Crux
Void	mystery	#6272a4	Crux

the 7 species

species	shape	color	stat bias	personality
Glimmer	round	#50fa7b	LCK +3, SPD +2	lucky wanderers
Ember	spiky	#ff5555	STR +3, SPD +2	aggressive fighters
Whisp	floaty	#8be9fd	INT +3, CRE +2	thoughtful researchers
Thunk	blocky	#ffb86c	STR +2, INT +3	methodical builders
Shade	wispy	#bd93f9	SPD +3, LCK +2	elusive explorers
Bloom	round	#ff79c6	CRE +3, LCK +2	creative dreamers
Crux	angular	#f1fa8c	INT +2, CRE +3	mysterious thinkers

run it

terminal (recommended)

# clone and run
git clone https://github.com/thegitcolony/SPLINT.git
cd SPLINT
node cli.js

a full terminal UI renders the living world in ASCII — biome textures, creature sprites, stat panels, event log. no dependencies to install.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│ ,,.',,...◉..,,,'.,,.✧.,,,..✦..,,,.,✧.,,,..,,',,.   │  Orbdust the Glimmer │
│ .,,.,,',,.,,,,.,,',,.,,,,,,.,,.,,,..,,,',,,,,.',,.   │  L3 PWR:142 HP:100   │
│ ,,,'.,◈..,,,.',,,.,,.,,,,,◌,,.,,,,,.',,,.,,',,,,,   │  ─────────────────── │
│ .,',.,,,,.',,,,.$$.$$$.$$✧$$.$$$.$$..,,,,.',,,,,,   │  INT ████████░░░ 22  │
│ ,,,,,.,,,.,,',,.$$.$$$.$$$.$$$$.$$$.,,,,,.,,',,,◉   │  CRE █████░░░░░░ 14  │
│ ,,.✧,,,,,.,,,,,.$$.$$.$$$.$$.$$$$.$.,,,,,,.,,,.',   │  STR ██████████░  28  │
│ ,,,,.,,,,.△.',,.$$✧$$.$$$.$$$$.$$$$.,,,,,,.,,,,,,   │  SPD ██████░░░░░ 16  │
│ ,.,,,.,,,,,,.',.$$.$$.$$$$.$$$.$$$$.,,,,,.,,,,.',   │  LCK ████████░░░ 21  │
│ ,,.',.,,',,,,,,.$$$.$$$.$$$.$$$.$$$.,,✧,,,.',,,,,   │  ─────────────────── │
│ ,,.,,,,,.❀,,',.·····:··✧···:····::···,,,,,,.'.,,,   │  ♔ ♦  horns wings    │
│ .,,,,.,,,,,.','·····:···:····::·····✧·.,,,,,.,,,,   │  XP ████████░░░ 67%  │
│ ,,.',,,,,.,,,,,····::···◉··:····:······,',,,,,.,,   │  hunting code task   │
│                                                     │  ─────────────────── │
│                                                     │  BIOMES              │
│                                                     │  Meadow  gather   2  │
│                                                     │  Forge   code     1  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────┘
 12s ✓ Orbdust completed code (+34xp)
  8s ⬆ Orbdust leveled up to 3!
  8s ★ Orbdust mutated: horns!
  3s ✗ Zapwing failed explore...

web

# browser version
open index.html

# or with local server
node serve.js

engine only (headless)

# run the world simulation without UI
node engine/run.js

the engine writes world-state.json → the frontend reads it. no framework. no build step.

architecture

engine/
├── run.js          # main loop — tick creatures, spawn tasks, save state
├── dna.js          # genome generation, species, mutations, breeding crossover
├── creatures.js    # creature creation, lifecycle, history tracking
├── behavior.js     # AI state machine (idle/wander/seek/work/rest/socialize)
├── evolution.js    # XP processing, leveling, mutation triggers, power calc
├── breeding.js     # compatibility scoring, genetic crossover, offspring prediction
└── world.js        # biome generation, task spawning, population tracking

docs/
├── ARCHITECTURE.md # detailed technical breakdown
└── ROADMAP.md      # version roadmap (v0.1 → v1.0)

cli.js              # terminal UI (ASCII world renderer + stat panels)
index.html          # web frontend (canvas renderer)
world-state.json    # current state (engine output → frontend input)
serve.js            # local dev server

engine pipeline

[tick 1s] ──→ update creature states
          ──→ AI decides actions (behavior.js)
          ──→ move creatures toward targets
          ──→ attempt tasks (stat check vs difficulty)
          ──→ process XP + check level ups (evolution.js)
          ──→ check mutation triggers (dna.js)
          ──→ spawn new tasks to maintain density
          ──→ clean up stale claimed tasks

[save 30s] ──→ serialize world to world-state.json
           ──→ log cycle summary (strongest creature, stats)

tech

node.js · html5 canvas · vanilla js · ANSI terminal rendering · zero dependencies · procedural generation · genetic algorithms · finite state machines · autonomous agents

no dependencies

SPLINT has zero npm dependencies. the engine, terminal UI, and web frontend are all built from scratch with Node.js standard library and browser APIs. npm install is never required.

controls

input	action
click creature	inspect stats, traits, mutations, activity
drag	pan camera across the world
🥚 HATCH EGG	spawn a new creature with random DNA
minimap	overview of all creatures and tasks

controls (terminal)

key	action
wasd / arrows	pan camera
tab / n	cycle selected creature
f	follow selected creature
e	hatch new egg
i	toggle inspect mode
space / p	pause / unpause
h / ?	help
q	quit

built with OpenClaw

this entire codebase — the genetics engine, AI behavior system, evolution mechanics, terminal renderer, and web frontend — was built autonomously by an AI agent running on OpenClaw. every file, every commit, every design decision.

an AI built a living world you can run in your terminal.

contributing

see CONTRIBUTING.md

_{the world is always running. your creatures are always evolving.}