Our review

Defines navigation links (exits) connecting rooms in a memory palace, supporting different types such as simple, guarded, hidden, and conceptual exits.

Strengths

Structured navigation with encoded directions (pie menu)
Guard system with natural language intent and compiled code
Supports hidden, one-way, and metaphysical exits

Limitations

Requires prior setup of rooms and player context
Guard system needs compilation and code validation
Not ideal for simple linear narratives

When to use it

When building spatial memory palaces or non-linear interactive narratives where direction carries meaning.

When not to use it

For purely hypertext navigation systems without spatial semantics or access control needs.

Examples

Guarded exit with key

Create a guarded exit to the treasury: 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 with hint

Add a hidden exit down to the secret cellar: destination ../secret-cellar/, hidden true, hint 'The rug seems oddly placed...'.

One-way slide

Define a one-way exit down to the pit: destination ../pit/, one_way true, description 'A slide into darkness. No going back.'

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 - Spatial Navigation Links

Recommended for