Kathaaverse
Creative
interactive fiction
SHOW HN2025
280points
111comments
#201of 3,837 in 2025
Top 6%of 2025 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
11 positive, 32 neutral or asking, 10 mixed, 19 critical, out of 72 comments about the project. Thread score -0.05.
Idea: 4 for, 8 againstExecution: 2 for, 7 againstPerformance: 1 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Impressive functional proof of concept
From 2 comments
Wow! Super impressive POC! Tried it out with a few of my favourite novels, and while it definitely got a few chuckles out of me for character/lore inaccuracy, the fact that it's…
Awesomedonut on HNIn spite of what some others have said, and knowing we have 2025 and AI, I still was rather impressed and pleased with this. I tried to play an evasive hobbit trying to put off…
fifticon on HN
Fun concept and nice UI
From 2 comments
This is such a fun concept!
jahewson on HNIt's broken but I must the UI is fantastic.
alina_3339 on HN
Objections
LLM loses continuity and logic in stories
From 2 comments
From what I've seen, it doesn't seem like AI is very good at keeping track of events in a way that makes a logical narrative. I tried "The Hobbit" and it started with me having…
why_at on HNIt's a pretty cool proof of concept. I did run into some weirdness with it right away when trying the Harry Potter book. The app kept switching between 2nd and 3rd person for…
jaysonelliot on HN
Rate limits and latency hit users
From 3 comments
I like the idea. Looks like it hit a rate limit. Was trying to try Dungeon Crawler Carl.
imzadi on HNI tried the Lord of the Rings, where I foretold the future and decided to get drunk instead. I ordered Gandalf to find a new ring bearer which they did, and another hobbit went…
bArray on HN> The war between the Culture and the Idirans rages across the galaxy. Trillions suffer as ideologies clash. You are Horza, a shapeshifter with a deep-seated hatred for the…
oooyay on HN
Copyright risk for using books
From 2 comments
Super cool idea! What's your plan for dealing with copyright complaints?
moconnor on HNPeople keep downvoting the copyright issue but this is a serious problem despite this being a toy app. Are you at risk of being sued for using copyrighted material? Is the AI…
TSiege on HN
AI-generated stories feel empty and soulless
From 3 comments
It's a pretty cool proof of concept. I did run into some weirdness with it right away when trying the Harry Potter book. The app kept switching between 2nd and 3rd person for…
jaysonelliot on HNI do not want AI slop games. The entire point of paying for an (indie) man-made game is the care and attention that went into it by passionate developers who wanted to convey a…
Zopieux on HNIf art is communication- and i believe it is- why would i want to read or listen to anything AI generated? Once you are done with consuption there is no point in reflecting on it…
HellDunkel on HN
Requests
Add image generation or illustrations
From 2 comments
Any plans to add image generation? Basically make it illustrated.
cactusplant7374 on HNYes that's part of the roadmap!
rcrKnight on HN
Open source the project
From 2 comments
Really cool! I'm guessing the site is getting hammered currently cause I hit rate limit on first attempt, but looking forward to trying it out later when the hug loosens. Sorry…
freedomben on HNThanks! About rate limit, you can use your own Gemini API key - its stored on your local browser storage only. About open source - haven't decided on it yet.
rcrKnight on HN
Fix dark mode crash and loading bugs
From 2 comments
Cool concept! Ran into a few bugs.. It seems to think I'm in the middle of an adventure (the little book icon correctly identifies a character and chapter etc) and is prompting…
mNovak on HNThis is so cool, and slick. Unfortunately, the actual adventure part isn't loading so don't know what it feels like
silentsea90 on HN
Questions
Which model is used?
From 1 comment
I wonder which model is this based on. I've tried quite some models and so far I've only seen two that are good at keeping continuity: Gemini 2.5 Pro and Sonnet 3.7 (both with…
raincole on HN
Does it fetch book content or rely on the LLM's knowledge?
From 1 comment
Are you fetching the book content? Or just relying on the LLM to know the story?
barapa on HN
Alternatives named
AI Dungeon
From 1 comment
Interesting, I'll take a look when the rate limit issue is sorted. There are loads of projects springing up around using LLMs for text adventures. My prediction is that at some…
redeyedtreefrog on HN
Friends and Fables
From 1 comment
Interesting, I'll take a look when the rate limit issue is sorted. There are loads of projects springing up around using LLMs for text adventures. My prediction is that at some…
redeyedtreefrog on HN