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This skill enables creating navigation links between rooms in a memory palace, supporting simple, guarded, hidden, one-way, and metaphysical exits with a pie menu direction system.

Strengths

Supports multiple exit types (simple, guarded, hidden, etc.)
Integrates with a guard system using natural language or code conditions
Uses pie menu directional semantics to encode meaning
Facilitates building non-linear interactive worlds

Limitations

Requires strict YAML structure for each exit
Limited to the specific MOOLLM memory palace architecture
Compiled guards may require an external compilation step

When to use it

When building an interactive fiction or memory palace that requires conditional or contextual spatial navigation.

When not to use it

When you need simple hyperlinks without conditions or directional semantics, or if your project is not based on MOOLLM architecture.

Examples

Simple exit to library

Create an exit from the entrance room going north to the library at ../library/ with description 'A well-lit corridor leads to the library.'

Guarded exit with key

Add a guarded exit in the dungeon going east to the armory, locked with 'rusty-key', guard condition 'player has rusty key', lock message 'The rusty lock won't turn.'

Hidden exit in cellar

Define a hidden exit in the cellar going down to the secret chamber at ../secret/, with hint 'The brick wall sounds hollow...' and hidden: true.

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 Rusty Lantern 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 — Room Navigation Links

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