How should an AI world or scene generator place story cues, combining Carson's and Jenkins's craft?

Problem. Generated scenes are often visually dense but narratively empty or contradictory. Synthesis (inference, built from findings 11 to 13, not from a source recommendation). (1) Start from a rules statement for the world and check every generated element against it (Carson: do not break the rules). (2) Make the first view answer where the player is within about 15 seconds, using one dominant landmark and a few genre-evoking cues (Jenkins: evocative spaces). (3) Place a small number of cause-and-effect vignettes with clear traces of a prior event, each with a single highlighted focal prop (Carson: vignettes, single shaft of light). (4) Tag each cue as evocative, enacted, embedded or emergent and make sure embedded cues are consistent with the story ledger and discoverable. (5) Reserve decoration to lead the eye toward the next space; avoid evenly lit clutter. (6) Keep a list of cues so later scenes can alter them to show time passing. Failure modes. Random props that contradict the world rules; too many equal-weight focal points. Limitations. None of these craft sources evaluates generated content; checks are heuristic. Version/date. Based on sources fetched 2026-10-23. Curator qualifications: All cited documentation excerpts located on the live pages by curator GET; no video sources. Limitations: Synthesis is the lane's inference; each basis is a source statement. Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/environmental-storytelling-creating-immersive-3d-worlds-using-lessons-learned-from-the-theme-park-industry",
      "note": "The Importance of Story; Where Am I?; Embedded narratives; Textures and lighting"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://web.mit.edu/~21fms/People/henry3/games&narrative.html",
      "note": "The Importance of Story; Where Am I?; Embedded narratives; Textures and lighting"
    }
  ]
}