Our review

This skill defines navigation links between rooms in a memory palace, with support for guards, hidden exits, and directional encoding.

Strengths

Enables structured navigation with cardinal and diagonal directions.
Supports guards, hidden exits, and metaphysical transitions for rich gameplay.
Integrates with pie menu topology for intuitive direction-meaning mapping.
Allows both simple and complex conditional access via guard system.

Limitations

Requires understanding of YAML and possibly code for guards.
Not a full game engine; relies on predefined room structure.
Guard compilation events may need additional tooling.

When to use it

Use when designing room-based adventures or memory palaces that require directional navigation and conditional access.

When not to use it

Avoid for linear narratives or systems where direction has no semantic meaning.

Examples

Create a simple exit

Add a north exit to the current room that leads to a new room called 'Dark Passage'.

Create a guarded exit

Make an east exit that requires a silver key, with a description 'A heavy iron door' and a lock message 'The door won't budge.'

Create a hidden exit

Add a hidden down exit to a secret cellar, with a hint 'The rug seems oddly placed...'

name: exit description: Navigation links between rooms — the edges of the memory palace allowed-tools:

read_file
write_file tier: 1 protocol: PIE-MENU-TOPOLOGY tags: [moollm, navigation, room, topology, pie-menu] related: [room, adventure, memory-palace] adversary: dead-end

Exit

"Every exit is a promise of adventure." — The Gezelligheid Grotto Guest Book

What Is It?

An Exit is a navigation link connecting one room to another. In MOOLLM's spatial architecture, exits are the EDGES of the memory palace graph.

Exits can be:

Simple — just a destination
Guarded — require conditions to pass
Hidden — discoverable through exploration
Metaphysical — conceptual rather than physical

Pie Menu Topology

Don Hopkins' pie menu insight: direction IS meaning.

| Direction | Purpose | |-----------|---------| | N/S/E/W | "Highway" links to major rooms | | NW/NE/SW/SE | "Grid" links to expandable sub-rooms | | UP/DOWN | Vertical transitions | | IN/OUT | Conceptual transitions |

Cardinal directions form the spiderweb — the main navigation network. Diagonal directions form grids — expandable arrays of sub-rooms.

Guard System

Guards are natural language conditions that control access:

guard: "player has the brass key"
guard_js: "(ctx) => ctx.player.inventory.includes('brass-key')"
guard_py: "lambda ctx: 'brass-key' in ctx.player.inventory"

The guard field contains human-readable intent. The guard_js and guard_py fields contain compiled code.

The adventure compiler emits COMPILE_EXPRESSION events for guards that need compilation.

Exit Types

Simple Exit

north:
  destination: ../maze/room-a/
  description: "A dark passage leads north."

Guarded Exit

east:
  destination: ../treasury/
  description: "A heavy iron door."
  guard: "player has treasury key"
  locked: true
  lock_message: "The door won't budge."
  unlock_with: "treasury-key"

Hidden Exit

down:
  destination: ../secret-cellar/
  hidden: true
  hint: "The rug seems oddly placed..."

One-Way Exit

down:
  destination: ../pit/
  one_way: true
  description: "A slide into darkness. No going back."

Metaphysical Exit

inward:
  destination: ../consciousness/
  metaphysical: true
  description: "Close your eyes and think about who you really are."

Memory Palace Integration

From Frances Yates' "The Art of Memory":

"The method of loci places items at specific locations along an imagined journey."

Every exit is a doorway in the memory palace. The direction encodes meaning. Players navigate by spatial memory.

Related Skills

room — Where exits live
adventure — Uses exits for navigation
memory-palace — Exits as mnemonic paths

Protocol Symbol

PIE-MENU-TOPOLOGY — Direction IS meaning

Exit Navigation Link

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