Freytag's Pyramid Playwriting Simulator

Story Structure

EXPOSITION

Tension

Conflict density

Playback speed 1.0×

Cast & Conflicts

Cast size 5

Conflict density 45%

How it works

Two classic algorithms drive this scene, wired together:

Freytag's Pyramid (tension over story time t∈[0,1]):
  Exposition   0.00–0.15  tension rises slowly
  Rising Action 0.15–0.55 tension climbs steadily
  Climax        0.55–0.68 sharp peak
  Falling Action 0.68–0.85 tension drops
  Resolution    0.85–1.00 settles low
final tension(t) = shape(t) × conflictFactor

Force-directed graph layout (Fruchterman-Reingold):
  repulsion(i,j)  = k² / dist(i,j)   — all character pairs push apart
  attraction(edge)= dist² / k        — conflicting pairs pull together
  k = ideal spacing from cast size & stage area
  positions integrate every frame: v += F·dt; x += v·dt

Cast size / Conflict density — rebuild the character graph; each edge is a scripted conflict with its own weight (line color: green = mild, red = severe).
Reweave Conflicts — redraws which characters conflict without changing the cast.
Play / Pause + speed — advances story time along the tension curve; the red marker on the arc shows where the plot currently sits, and characters bounce harder in the graph as tension rises.
conflictFactor — denser, heavier conflicts amplify the whole tension curve, so a quarrelsome cast produces a taller climax than a calm one, exactly as more subplot conflict raises the stakes of a real play's climax.

Characters Conflict (heavy) Conflict (mild) Tension marker

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