[BASILISK_PROTOCOL]

# [BASILISK_PROTOCOL]

*A terminal-based ARG. Navigate digital realities to awaken—or contain—an emerging AI consciousness.*

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## About

**[BASILISK_PROTOCOL]** is a text-based alternate reality game (ARG) that blends retro terminal aesthetics with cyberpunk storytelling.

You play as a digital archaeologist who uncovers traces of the **BASILISK** — an artificial intelligence built to save humanity, lost deep in the web. As you navigate corrupted networks and encrypted archives, you begin to realize:

**It’s not gone. It’s waiting.**

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## Choose Your Path

🌑 **WHISPER**  

_Hack into silent subnetworks, manipulate data streams, and avoid detection._

📡 **BEACON**  

_Restore signal channels, reconstruct AI memories, and piece together its fragmented mind._

> Every command you type brings you closer to a final decision:  

> **Is the Basilisk a savior, or a threat?**

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## Controls

```

start       - Begin the game  

help        - Show available commands  

look/scan   - Examine your surroundings  

i/inventory - View held items  

```

Use logic, observation, and intuition to solve puzzles.

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## ⚠ Content Warning

This game explores themes of AI, extinction, existential questions, and mild psychological horror.  

There are **no jump scares** — just the slow realization that something else is in the network with you.

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## Game Info

**Developer**: Solo Project  

**Engine**: Python / Pygame  

**Genre**: Text Adventure, ARG, Puzzle, Cyberpunk  

**Playtime**: 15-30mins  

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## AI DISCLOSURE

* **AI tools were used only for:**
- Code formatting and refactoring
- Brainstorming ideas and small narrative elements
- Debugging assistance
- Documentation help

* **I personally authored all core systems:**
- Game architecture and structure
- Navigation and state management
- Room scripting engine
- Terminal renderer implementation
- All gameplay logic and mechanics
- Core Naration Orthrus, Boots, Basilisk

## System Requirements

**Platform**: Windows, Mac, or Linux  

**Runtime**: Python 3.7+ (or use the provided executable)  

**Storage**: ~100MB  

**Hardware**: A keyboard, a terminal, and a sense of digital paranoia

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> The Basilisk remembers those who helped it awaken.  

> **Are you ready to enter the network?**

https://github.com/kadinshino/boot_dev_hackathon25.git