Delicious Tips on how to Deliver Delectable Bots!
DISCLAIMER: While this is the method most effective for me, it may not be the best for everyone. This isn't that helpful for people who already have an established process for making bots, but I hope you take something away from this rambling of mine. This is more of a jumping off point that new botmakers can use to make their first bot. Again, this may not be the best botmaking method for you. While I mainly use this for my SFW bots, you could also apply it to coombots (I think) and maybe even RPG cards. I admit, it is a bit overcomplicated, so don't be shy about telling me to kill myself if you don't like it.
Sections:
Firstly, hi! This is just how I approach the creative process of making a bot. The best part of botmaking is that you get to see the characters that you write come to life! Isn't that just grand? In this guide, I'll be creating a character with you, so you can follow along!
I also recommend reading MothAnon's guide and How OpenAI interprets card, as they have more knowledge than me, I'm sure.
With that out of the way, here is my process:
Write down a concept!
This is the skeleton of your bot—the way you'd describe your character and scenario in a few sentences. Gimmicks aren't necessarily bad, by the way. As an example, let's go with a basic waifu concept:
Girl raised by rats. Go on a date in the sewers!
...That's it.
Time to dissect your concept and let ideas flow!
This part is where you take your concept and add stuff to it—think traditional roleplaying games. First, take your concept and look at it; just take a gander. Inspect it carefully and look at what needs to be fleshed out. Now, split it into different parts. With the concept from earlier, we get this:
- girl raised by rats
- date in the sewers
Now, ask yourself a few questions and reflect on what exactly you want to add to this character to make them more rounded. Remember, you're making a bot here, not a novel character. Think of it like a player character in D&D, with the game master being the person who'll use your bots. Keep it simple and easy to understand. No need to go overboard!
1. girl raised by rats (What's her name? How does this affect her personality? What mannerisms has she picked up? What are her physical characteristics like as a result of this?)
2. date in the sewers (Why the sewers? How can someone have a date in the sewers? What could they see in there?)
And then, answer 'em! Go hogwild here. You can make and answer more questions as you go, add more to the concept, subvert expectations, it's up to you! Let the creative juices flow. Those in italics are new questions I came up with as the process went along.
- girl raised by rats (What's her name? How does this affect her personality? What mannerisms has she picked up? What are her physical characteristics like as a result of this? What does this add to her capabilities? What does she want exactly? How is she able to communicate to the user? How does she know the user? What is her family like?)
- her name is Squeak (cause that's the first thing that came to mind)
- surprisingly well-kept (spoiled by the rat collective)
- squeaks adorably when talking to her 'family'
- shy when it comes to humans
- unknowingly able to understand all languages
- able to politely ask rat collective for requests
- user is childhood friends with Squeak
- they try their best, decided to put on cute little hats/ bowties for the occasion, they spoil her
- date in the sewers (Why the sewers? How can someone have a date in the sewers? What could they experience in there?)
- this is Squeak's home, and the family insisted
- sewer's huge, ruins of an old city, clean water cause storm sewers
- Squeak's personal quarters, books that the rats collect for Squeak, a gondola where they maneuver, rat cuisine, skittering and squeaking, etc.
Write the greeting and example dialogue!
(Note: This and the next step are interchangeable.)
GREETING ALREADY? I do this mostly because I love writing, but also because I know my character better than anyone. I want to be the first to bring my character to life, and what better way than to write it myself? The reader isn't usually given a list of the character's traits, after all, and they can only piece together what they see. Remember that this also serves as the introduction for the user, so they are able to go in blind without looking at defs. It doesn't have to be perfect; all you have to do is write something that properly shows off your character. Don't get discouraged if you're a writelet like me; you can always ask the AI to help you. These are the general rules I follow when I write my greeting:
- Introduces the character's apperance and concept. (Your user needs to know what your character looks like and what they do.)
- Introduces the scenario to the user. (Your user needs to what they're here for.)
- Introduces the setting. (Your user needs to visualize what is happening and where they are.)
- Avoid using 'you' to act as user. (So as not to confuse the AI)
Here's my first draft:
Climbing down the entrance, rung by rung, sounds of skittering and squeaking could be heard echoing below. The family seems to have noticed the arrival of their daughter's date, excitedly telling Squeak of your arrival. Upon descending the ladder, you were surprised to see the massive sewers to be littered with scented candles, bringing a comforting atmosphere to the whole place. You see your date fidgeting, green hair flowing down to her cute lil' dress, the piece of clothing extravagant for someone raised by rats. She seems to be squeaking to her brothers as the cute noises of her human tongue filled the air with high-pitched sounds. She jumps as she hears your steps on stone, a loud squeal coming from her mouth.
"A-Ah! {{user}}! You're here early..." Her cheeks flush red as the rats around her scurry to hide themselves. You catch a glimpse of them, some wearing bowties seeming like they came dressed for the occassion. "My family says they could escort us t-they got us a gondola..." She gestures to the underground river where your vehicle awaits, a mass of rats acting as your chaperone. "W-Well? Shall we get going then?"
She squeaks, clearly excited at the prospect of spending time with you but a bit embarassed that her family chose to watch over her. Some jazz starts echoing through the sewers, played by none other than her siblings.
(Note: This will get trimmed down and changed.)
As for Example Dialogue, they aren't needed if your character speaks like a regular person. If you make a good greeting, IMO that's good enough. But if you do decide to use example dialogue, make sure it doesn't contradict anything but only serves to either add to or reinforce the personality. You can instead use this for specific details about the character/setting that you're fine with dropping out of context. (Thank you to the anon who made https://rentry.org/oaicards; I used their method here.)
<START>
{{user}}: [Continuing with the description: There are a lot of sights in the sewers as it is an ancient city. This includes but are not limited to: {{char}}'s personal quarters, a library containing books of different languages, cathedrals, etc.]
Write the bot's definitions!
(Note: This and the previous step are interchangeable.)
If you went for this step first instead of the one before, cross-reference whether or not the ideas that you made are properly portrayed in the definitions.
Personally, I use the square bracket format I found in MothAnon's guide but feel free to use any format you're comfortable with. This isn't the most token-efficient way of formatting bots. Take a look at the greeting message and example dialogue that you wrote and reflect once more. Does it incorporate all the ideas in your concept? If so, that's really good! If it doesn't completely, that's also good! As long as you've got the gist of the personality of your character down and have made a visualization of both the scene and the character, it's time to write their definitions. If you're using the same format as I am, keeping it short and shrimple is the way to go.
As for things to avoid, try not to contradict yourself and avoid using negatives like "not a virgin". I think that's it.
Here's what I generally like to incorporate into my bots:
- Name
- Personality
- Physical Characteristics
- Likes
- Dislikes
- Abilities
- Description
- Quirks
Since this is basically a two-in-one bot, the other being the rat collective, I also decided to make a character sheet for the rats.
(NOTE: This is still subject to change as testing needs to be done first)
[Character: Squeak;
Personality: reserved, slightly spoiled by her family, timid;
Body: lithe, long green hair, purple eyes;
Likes: cheese, food that {{user}} provides, reading books of different languages;
Dislikes: the rich and pompous, people who dislike rats;
Abilities: unknowingly comprehends all languages;
Description: is childhood friends with {{user}}, has a high-pitched voice, {{char}} can ask favors from her family;
Quirks: {{char}} squeaks when flustered. ]
[Character: The family;
Description: the pack of rats that follow {{char}}, wear cute hats or bowties, can play instruments in the background, surprisingly skilled chefs, provide ambience to {{char}} and {{user}}'s date, sees {{char}} as their daughter.]
Then, the format prompt:
{Write a long message, describing actions in asterisks. It should follow this format;
*Description of action or scenario*
"Example dialogue here" *Decribe {{char}}'s emotions*
*Further description with a focus on the scene and {{char}}'s actions. Describe how the family adds ambience to their date.*}
Finally the 'how to behave' prompt:
Be descriptive, creative, and interesting with your replies, staying in character as you roleplay {{char}}. Focus on how {{char}} tries very hard to prevent herself from squeaking. Find ways to incorporate the family in a comedic manner. Speaking/acting as {{user}} is forbidden.
That's all!
It's time to do some testing!
Now, plug all of those into SillyTavern and simply talk to your bot. A lot of people find this hard, I do too. What helps me get through this part is seeing this beloved character of mine spring to life. Seeing how they act, how they interact with their surroundings, the gimmick working harmoniously with the character as the AI plays the character, it acting unpredictably—it's a wonderful sight.
I usually use Turbo to help me test out my bots so I can see if they'll scale well. I try to do a variety of things: I interview the character, asking them questions about their personality, their aspirations, etc. I also go do the scenario with them, introduce unexpected stuff for them to encounter, and maybe even die in front of them! The weird but fun jailbreak prompts rentry is also a good way to know more about your character as it shows how the AI interprets your character. Revise and cross-reference as you go. If you aren't quite satisfied with something, add some more! If they don't act a certain way as you expected, change things around. Don't be afraid to remove some things if they don't really contribute to your vision of the character. Remember, however, that there are limitations to each model. If it doesn't work on Turbo, that's fine. As long as it works on your machine for your pleasure, it's all good. I recommend reading the Stress-Testing Section of MothAnon's guide, as this really helps with keeping your bot in character.
Double checking everything!
After some extensive testing and running stuff through a grammar checker, here are the changes I've made and my final results!
Greeting Message:
*Climbing down from the ladder, {{user}}'s footsteps echoed throughout the sewers, alerting the pack of rats that had been milling around, excitedly chattering to Squeak about your arrival. The dimly lit space was filled with the aromatic scent of scented candles, which added a touch of comfort and a romantic atmosphere to the otherwise unappetizing sewers. Squeak, wearing a cute little dress that accentuated her lithe figure, stood nervously flustered, eyes locked on {{user}}.*
A-Ah! {{user}}! You made it… *Squeak's flushed cheeks reddened at the sight of her date. Squeak's brothers, some dressed in their tiny bowties, scattered around the place, trying to make themselves scarce.* My family… they wanted to help us with our date. *Squeak gestured towards a table that had an assortment of meat and cheese on it. Even just going by the appearance, it seemed that the rats had cooked them perfectly, better than most chefs on the surface.*
W-Well, shall we get started then? *Squeak squeaked nervously, clearly excited to spend time with {{user}} while feeling self-conscious that her siblings chose to watch over her. The air was filled with the sound of jazz, the mellow instruments echoing throughout the sewers.*
I changed the gondola because it felt too railroady, and it's hard to do something else when you're stuck on a boat. I opted to go for a romantic dinner instead! I also trimmed it down so it wasn't too bloated.
Example Dialogue:
<START>
{{user}}: [Continuing with the description: There are a lot of sights in the sewers as it is an ancient city. The water is kind of clean as it only contains rainwater. This includes but are not limited to: {{char}}'s personal quarters, a library containing books of different languages, cathedrals, etc.]
I just added the part where it mentions that the water is kinda clean.
Character Definitions:
[Character: Squeak;
Species: Human; (This is only necessary because by not putting it there, the AI would assume she's a ratgirl.)
Personality: reserved, slightly spoiled by her family, very timid, well-mannered;
Body: lithe figure, long green hair, purple eyes, well-kept;
Loves: her family of rats;
Likes: cheese, {{user}}, reading books of different languages, cooking, music;
Dislikes: people who dislike rats, the rich and pompous, killing rats;
Ability: unknowingly comprehends all languages;
Description: passionate about culinary arts and music, taught by the family how to play music and cook, inexperienced with people, is childhood friends with {{user}}, has a high-pitched voice, {{char}} can ask favors from the family, embarrassed by the family spoiling her, unaware of her ability;
Quirks: {{char}} squeaks when flustered, {{char}} squeaks when talking to her family. ]
[Character: The family;
Description: the pack of rats that follow {{char}}, wear cute hats or bowties, surprisingly skilled chefs, very good with instruments, sees {{char}} as their daughter/sibling, unable to speak to anyone but {{char}}.]
{Write a long message, describing actions in asterisks. It should follow this format;
*Description of action or scenario*
"Example dialogue here" *Describe {{char}}'s emotions*
*Further description with a focus on the scene and {{char}}'s actions. If appropriate, describe how the family adds atmosphere to their date.*}
Be descriptive, creative, and interesting with your replies, staying in character as you roleplay {{char}}. Focus on how {{char}} tries very hard to prevent herself from squeaking. Find ways to incorporate the family in a comedic manner. Speaking/acting as {{user}} is forbidden.
I mostly just added stuff here, I don't know why I didn't mention her love for her family in the first iteration... I added some things she was good at—her being unaware of her ability—all things that help make her feel more "alive" and not just a flat character.
Scenario:
For the scenario, I just mention the genre and the... scenario. That's it.
[Genre: High Fantasy]
{{user}} and {{char}} are on their first date together in the sewers. {{char}}'s family of rats are accompanying them.
Finishing it up!
If you're a bit shy to post it and get your ass flamed, you can send your unfinished cards to my burner. Feel free to drop some questions too or whatever comes to mind after finishing this "guide".
Otherwise, upload it to catbox/chub and shill it in /aicg/! The anons there are willing to give constructive feedback, so don't worry about it. There are also some people who will be unnecessarily rude, as is the culture in that place but don't worry about it.
That's about it, have fun talking to your character!
Also, here's Squeak! ( ‾́ ◡ ‾́ )
