Character Mutations

Overview

Character Mutations allow you to make temporary modifications to the Agent fields of a character which can affect their emotions, outlook, or general mannerisms. These changes expire when the current session does, so are useful when creating momentary changes to a character in response to player actions or in-game events.

Mutations are part of the Goals system, and allow you to modify the currently active character as an Action within their Goals.

To enable or disable a character Goal within Unity or Unreal, see: Enable Goals

Goals and Multiple Actions

It is possible to specify multiple actions as a part of a single Goal. When this occurs, mutations are then applied to the character after the remaining actions are executed, in order.

For example, if a goal has two actions such as: “greet the player”, and “set_motivation: ‘sell sword to the player’”, then the motivation field would be updated after the character greets the player.

Functional Boundaries

This section outlines the functional boundaries and characteristics of character mutations.

Variability Across Sessions

• Mutations are scoped to the session.
• You can apply various mutations to the same character across different sessions. 
• Mutations are not retained beyond the current session, and are permanently lost when the session expires.

Mutation Application

• Multi-Field Mutation: A single mutation within the goal may mutate multiple fields.
• Sequential Execution: When a goal comprises multiple actions, mutations are applied after executing all other actions in the specified order. For example: if a goal includes actions such as greeting the player and then setting a motivation, the mutation affecting the motivation field would occur post-greeting.
• Direct Values or Templates: Each mutation field must contain either the Exact Value to set or a Template. If a Template is used, it is compiled using known trigger parameters. The compiled results are validated before being applied to mutate the character field.
• Reset: There is no function to reset a field to its original value after a mutation. To reset a field to its original value, you must explicitly call a mutation with the Original Value.

Field References

This chart details the field references related to character mutations.

Name	Type(s)	Limits	Comment
set_emotion	String, enum	NEUTRAL, DISGUST, CONTEMPT, BELLIGERENCE, DOMINEERING, CRITICISM, ANGER, TENSION, TENSE_HUMOR, DEFENSIVENESS, WHINING, SADNESS, STONEWALLING, INTEREST, VALIDATION, AFFECTION, HUMOR, SURPRISE, JOY	Values are case insensitive.
set_motivation	String	512 chars
set_dialogue_style	String	UNSPECIFIED, DEFAULT, BUBBLY, FORMAL, BLUNT, INQUISITIVE , COMMANDING, EMPATHETIC, ENTERTAINING, HYPOCHONDRIAC, LAIDBACK, LONG_WINDED, MORAL, MYSTERIOUS, RACONTEUR, SARCASTIC, TENACIOUS, VILLAINOUS,	Values are case insensitive.
set_personality: negative_positive aggressive_peaceful cautious_open introvert_extravert insecure_confident	String, number	Integer 1-9 inclusive, or strings “1”-”9”.	Each field may be specified or omitted separately. If no field specified - there would be no effect.
set_mood: sadness_joy anger_fear disgust_trust anticipation_surprise	String, number	Integer 1-9 inclusive, or strings “1”-”9”.	This is not a constant ‘mood’ setting it can be considered the ‘initial mood’ for the character. It is used to set up an emotional state at the start of conversation. Also it sets up ‘target emotion’. Character emotions will slowly slide towards the target emotion during the conversation.
set_mood: emotional_fluidity	String, float	Float value from -1.0 to 1.0 inclusive. Or string representation of the same value.	-1 means that emotions would not change. +1 emotions change quite quickly.
set_character_name	String	512 chars
set_core_description	String	2000 chars
set_pronouns	String, enum	Possible values: UNSPECIFIED, SHE/HER, HE/HIM, THEY/THEM,	Case insensitive. UNSPECIFIED has the same behavior as THEY/THEM
set_alternate_names	List of strings	10 elements max, 512 chars max each	Character nicknames
set_example_dialogue	String	512 chars	Example dialog is a single large string.
set_character_traits	List of strings	10 elements max, 512 chars max each	If not set - character traits will be populated automatically from ‘personality’.
set_life_stage	String, enum	UNSPECIFIED, INFANCY, TODDLERHOOD, PRESCHOOL, EARLY_SCHOOL, ADOLESCENCE, YOUNG_ADULTHOOD, MIDDLE_ADULTHOOD, LATE_ADULTHOOD, CHILDHOOD	Values are case insensitive.
set_hobbies_and_interests	List of strings	10 elements max, 512 chars max each
set_character_role	String	512 chars
set_custom_dialogue_style: set_adjectives	List of strings	3 elements max, 512 chars max each	custom_dialogue_style is mutually exclusive with dialogue_style. Only one of them may be used at the same time. There is a hidden variable that tells which one to use. Therefore, if mutation contains only set_custom_dialogue_style - custom_dialog_style will become ‘enabled. If only set_dialogue_style - dialogue_style will be used. If both - no modifications will be applied.
set_custom_dialogue_style: set_colloquialism	String	512 chars
set_flaws	String	512 chars
set_voice_data: set_voice	String	512 chars	Voice names are validated against TTS service at runtime, attempts to set up an non-existent voice will be ignored
set_voice_data: set_pitch	Float, String	Float in range -0.5 to 1.5 inclusive, to string representation
set_voice_data: set_talking_speed	Float, String	Float in range 0.5 to 1.5 inclusive, string representation
set_relationship	String, enum	UNKNOWN, ARCHENEMY, ENEMY, ACQUAINTANCE, FRIEND, CLOSE_FRIEND, DATE, RELATIONSHIP, LIFE_PARTNER	Values are case insensitive. Values are mapped back to relationship state variables. Relationship state itself is hidden and not modifiable.
set_relationship_primitives: trust, respect, familiar, flirtatious, attraction	Number	Integer from -1000 to 1000 inclusive.	Each field may be specified or omitted separately.
enable_goals	List of strings	200 elements max, 512 char each	200 - is a limit to the number of goals we can have in a single agent. enable_goals should contain goals names, case sensitive. If the goal with the given name does not exist - it will be silently ignored.
disable_goals	List of strings	200 elements max, 512 char each
set_profile_variables: id value	List of objects	10 elements max, 512 char on id 512 char on value	Allow only the modification of existing profile variables. Unknown variables will be silently ignored.
enable_common_knowledge	List of strings	100 elements max, 512 chars each	Contains common_knowledge ids, not common knowledge names. Common knowledge names are not unique.
disable_common_knowledge	List of strings	100 elements max, 512 chars each
set_scene_description	String	1024 chars	Mutates the current scene with a new description.

Knowledge ID

Unique Knowledge IDs can be copied by opening the Knowledge tab of Inworld Studio and pressing the Copy Knowledge ID button beside your intended Knowledge Collection.

Templates

Templates in mutations are similar to those used in Goals, allowing for dynamic content generation.

These templates are based on a syntax that uses Placeholders within Strings to insert variable values.

Text vs Non-Text Mutations

Mutations may impose specific restrictions on templates that vary based on the type of data being manipulated:

Text Mutations

These mutations support complex templates with multiple variable references and no restrictions.

For example, a template might combine characters, items, and prices in a single sentence.

# Example of a text mutation template:
set_motivation: "{{character}} wants to sell {{p.item}} to the player. It costs {{p.price}} gold."

Non-Text Mutations

These mutations are limited to templates with a single variable reference, focusing on straightforward, single-value changes.

# Example of a non-text mutation template:
set_dialogue_style: "{{p.dialogue_style}}"

Validation and Runtime Handling

Design-Time Validation: Templates are checked for correctness during the design phase. Any templates with errors cannot be saved.

Runtime Processing: During execution, non-text field templates are rendered and parsed into their respective types, such as enumerations or specific value formats.

In the example above for Non-Text Mutations, validation and processing is set as the _example_dialog_style_ enum.

Developers working with the character are responsible for ensuring parameter values are correctly set.

⚠️ Note: If a value cannot be parsed, runtime errors are propagated to the client.

Mutable Fields YAML

Provided below is an example of YAML with all mutable fields specified.

    goals:
     - name: "test"
       activation:
         trigger:
           - "trg"
       actions:
         - character_changes:
             set_emotion: AFFECTION
             set_motivation: "motivation"
             set_dialogue_style: "Bubbly"
             set_personality:
               negative_positive: 2
               aggressive_peaceful: 3
               cautious_open: 4
               introvert_extravert: 5
               insecure_confident: 6
             set_mood:
               sadness_joy: 1
               anger_fear: 2
               disgust_trust: 3
               anticipation_surprise: 4
               emotional_fluidity: 0.2
               relationship_fluidity: 1
             set_character_name: "name"
             set_core_description: "descr"
             set_pronouns: he/him
             set_alternate_names:
               - "name1"
               - "name2"
             set_example_dialogue: "hey"
             set_wikipedia_url: "url"
             set_character_traits:
               - "trait1"
               - "trait2"
             set_life_stage: EARLY_SCHOOL
             set_hobbies_and_interests:
               - "hobby1"
               - "hobby2"
             set_character_role: role
             set_custom_dialogue_style:
               set_adjectives:
                 - "adj"
               set_colloquialism: "set_colloquialism"
             set_flaws: "flaws"
             set_voice_data:
               set_voice: "some voice"
               set_pitch: 1.0
               set_talking_speed: 1.1
             set_relationship: "relationship"
             set_relationship_primitives:
                 trust: -100
                 respect: -50
                 familiar: 0
                 flirtatious: 50
                 attraction: 100
             enable_goals:
               - "goal1"
             disable_goals:
               - "goal2"
             set_profile_variables:
               - id: "id"
                 value: "new value"
             enable_common_knowledge:
               - "id_to_add"
             disable_common_knowledge:
               - "id_to_remove"
             set_scene_description: "new_scene_description"

Enable Goals

As previously mentioned, mutations are part of the goals system. To take advantage of the Mutations feature, goals must be Enabled.

To Enable and Disable goals for the Unity SDK and Unreal SDK, follow the steps below.

Enable and Disable Goals in Unreal

To Enable a goal in the Unreal SDK, a trigger must be sent with the name of the goal:

Trigger	Description
inworld.goal.enable.{name-of-goal}	Enables an existing goal on the server.
inworld.goal.disable.{name-of-goal}	Disables an existing goal on the server.

Enable and Disable Goals in Unity

The Unity SDK includes a wrapper function for enabling or disabling goals.

This wrapper automatically sends the necessary trigger, as shown below:

Function	Description	Parameter
EnableGoal	Enables an existing goal on the server.	goalName: The name of the goal to enable.
DisableGoal	Disables an existing goal on the server.	goalName: The name of the goal to disable.