Fill-in-the-Blank Microgames
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: In this work we explore an approach for creating personalized microgames, drawing inspiration from fill-in-the-blank stories such as Mad Libs. In fill-in-the-blank stories, the reader is given a list of word categories such as place, number, or adjective, and provides keywords to fill in the list. These keywords are then copied into the blanks of a short story, with often humorous results. We develop a similar process for generating microgames, where the keywords are used to fill in the blanks of a Large Language Model game generation prompt. Rather than extending the capabilities of LLMs for game generation, part of our aim is using LLMs as-is for generating unpolished, small-scale, personalized microgames that can be played for a brief duration. We compare two template prompting strategies, apply these across four genres, and evaluate the generated games based on incorporation of keywords, variety, and qualitative observations.
Authors: Akash Surendran, Seth Cooper
Institution: Northeastern University
Language: English
Subfield: Artificial Intelligence
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7171692459