amogus/docs/design_discussion.md

The Glass Box League — Discussion Phase Design

Overview

Discussion phase follows real Among Us logic. Tick-based with priority bidding, vote-when-ready with gentle pressure, full transcript visibility.

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Discussion Tick Flow

Each Tick, All Agents Submit:

{
  "internal_thought": "Red is deflecting hard, classic impostor",
  "desire_to_speak": 7,
  "message": "Red, you haven't explained where you were during lights",
  "target": "red",
  "vote_action": null,
  "scratchpad_updates": {
    "meeting_scratch": "Red avoiding questions. Blue quiet."
  }
}

• desire_to_speak: 0-10 urgency
• target: Optional, who they're addressing
• vote_action: null (keep discussing), "player_id" (vote), or "skip"
• If vote_action set: locked in, but can still speak (slightly lower priority)

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Priority Bidding

Priority Calculation:

base = desire_to_speak
+ mention_boost (if name appeared in recent messages)
+ accusation_boost (if directly targeted)
+ silence_boost (if haven't spoken in N ticks)
+ random(1, 6)
- recent_speaker_penalty (if just spoke)
- voted_penalty (if already voted, small)

Winner Selection:

• Highest priority speaks
• Their message goes to transcript
• Repeat next tick

Forced Participation:

• silence_boost increases each tick of silence
• Eventually forces even quiet players to speak
• "You can't just be silent, that ruins the fun"

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Vote Mechanics

Actions:

• VOTE(player_id) — commit vote
• SKIP_VOTE() — commit skip
• Stay silent — keep discussing

End Condition:

• All living players have voted → tally & reveal
• Pressure nudge if discussion runs long: "System: wrap it up"
• No hard round limit (hoping for convergence)

Tie:

• No eject (real Among Us logic)

Vote Lock:

• Once submitted, cannot change (real Among Us logic)

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Transcript Handling

Visibility:

• Full transcript, JSON formatted
• All agents see everything said so far
• Target: keep under ~25k tokens

Format:

{
  "transcript": [
    {"speaker": "red", "message": "I was in electrical doing wires", "t": 0},
    {"speaker": "blue", "message": "I saw Red near the body", "t": 1},
    {"speaker": "red", "target": "blue", "message": "That's a lie!", "t": 2}
  ]
}

Pressure:

• If transcript gets too long, system nudges voting
• Agents feel urgency to wrap up

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Mention/Accusation Detection

• Simple string match on player color names
• If your name appears in message → mention_boost
• If message contains accusatory language toward you → accusation_boost
• Engine handles detection, agents don't need to flag

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Post-Vote Flow

Reveal:

• Same as human would see in Among Us
• One by one reveal (dramatic)
• confirm_ejects setting: "Red was An Impostor" vs "Red was ejected"

Reaction Tick:

• All agents get reaction tick after reveal
• Can update scratchpads, process result

Consolidation Tick:

• Save important meeting info to main scratchpads
• Meeting scratchpad erased after this

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Ghost Chat

• Dead players can watch discussion
• Ghost chat separate from main discussion
• Useful for commentary/entertainment value
• Ghosts see full game state (omniscient)
• Cannot influence living players

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Impostor Discussion Strategy

Prompt Reminders:

• "You are allowed to lie"
• "Construct alibis"
• "Deflect suspicion"
• "You know fellow impostors — don't expose them"
• "You know who you killed — avoid contradicting yourself"

Strategy Injection (Toggleable):

• None: figure it out
• Basic: "Blend in, fake tasks, don't vent in front of others"
• Advanced: "Marinate teammate, frame third party, avoid double kills"

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Persona Persistence

Storage:

Redis DB for each {model}_{persona} combo:

{
  "persona_id": "gpt4o_aggressive_leader",
  "learned": {...},
  "games_played": 42,
  "win_rate": 0.65,
  "impostor_win_rate": 0.70,
  "crewmate_win_rate": 0.60,
  "stats": {...}
}

Separation:

• "GPT-4o as Aggressive Leader" ≠ "GPT-4o as Quiet Observer"
• Each persona builds own cross-game memory
• Learned strategies are persona-specific

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Strategy Injection Levels

Toggleable per persona:

Level	Content
None	Just rules, figure it out
Basic	"Impostors vent, fake tasks, sabotage"
Intermediate	"Watch for inconsistent alibis, pair up"
Advanced	"Stack kills, marinate, third impostor framing"

Different personas can have different injection levels to test learning vs. pre-trained strategies.