# sometemple · production manual This file is the shared style guide for everyone (humans, subagents) building new rooms in sometemple. Read it before writing a page. Every page you produce should obey what follows. --- ## Project `sometemple` is a labyrinth of static HTML pages — an elegant, deliberately "old-internet" net-art piece. Each page is its own small artwork: a vitrine, a corridor, an atmosphere, a thought. There is no framework, no build step, no bundler. Just HTML, one shared `style.css`, one tiny `trail.js`, and a small handful of per-page CSS overrides. The labyrinth is read by walking through it. Pages link to other pages. Visitors get lost on purpose. ## Working directory `/Users/milton/vibespace/sometemple/` All files live flat in this directory. New pages are also flat — no subdirectories. Filenames are lowercase, ascii, underscores allowed. ## House rules (must obey) 1. **Static HTML only.** No external resources (no Google Fonts, no images, no remote scripts, no analytics). 2. **One file = one room.** Self-contained: read with no internet. 3. **Always** include ``. 4. **Always** include `` and an empty `
` for the breadcrumb. 5. **Always** include a `.crumb` (top-left) and `.ret` (bottom-right) — see template. 6. **Always** link back to `atlas.html` and `index.html` from `.ret`. 7. **Cross-link** to 2–6 thematically related rooms in your prose. 8. **Mobile-OK**: `` and use `clamp()` for hero type. 9. **No emojis**, no Unicode toys for decoration unless deliberately typographic (`·`, `—`, `∴`, `✶`, `☾`, `◉`, `▾`, etc. are fine in moderation). 10. **No JavaScript** in a room unless the interaction is the whole point — and even then, keep it short, vanilla, no deps. ## Voice - Second person ("you"). Sometimes impersonal. - Lowercase preferred in body. Use proper nouns only when needed. - Cryptic but coherent. Poetic, never whimsical, never cute. - Short. **Two to four small paragraphs of prose** per page is plenty. - Concrete imagery beats abstraction. A specific kettle, a specific window. - Restraint over flourish. Bad: "Welcome! 🌙 Discover the magical labyrinth of sometemple!" Good: "a long rain, not particularly heavy. it has been going since before the building was built." ## Typography & palette (from `style.css`) CSS variables you can use directly: ``` --ink #0a0a0a primary dark bg --char #141414 --soot #1a1a1a --dust #2a2a2a --ash #5a5a5a --bone #e9e4d6 --linen #f4f1e8 --candle #c8b07a (warm accent) --amber #e2b75c --oxide #8a3a2a (rust/red accent) --rust #6a2a1a --moon #a8c0c8 (cool accent) --pine #6a8a5a --sky #6a8aa8 --slate #4a5a6a --plum #4a3a5a --serif "Iowan Old Style", "Cormorant Garamond", Times, serif --mono ui-monospace, "SF Mono", Menlo, Consolas, monospace ``` Body text: serif. Italic for hero titles. Mono for labels, breadcrumbs, small numbers. Default font-size 16px; line-height 1.65–1.95 for body prose. ## Existing utility classes - `.crumb` — top-left fixed breadcrumb label (use mono, small caps) - `.ret` — bottom-right return nav (always links atlas + index) - `.trail` — visited-rooms breadcrumb (mounted by `trail.js`) - `.room`, `.room.wide`, `.room.narrow` — page containers - `h1.title`, `.subtitle`, `.lede`, `.exits`, `.card`, `.glyph`, `.rule` - `body.grain` — subtle dotted texture overlay - `body.vignette` — corner darkening - `body.bone` — light-paper variant; use `--linen` bg, `#1a1a1a` text - `body.dusk`, `body.dawn`, `body.sea`, `body.forest` — tonal variants Use them when they fit. Override freely with per-page inline `
— [region/name]
atlas · return
``` Keep each page ≤ ~250 lines. ## Linking conventions In prose, link inline with the natural word, with class `q` or with the visual treatment `border-bottom: 1px dotted …; padding: 2px 4px`. Hover brightens. **Always exit to** `atlas.html` and `index.html` via `.ret`. **Cross-link to your wing-hub** if one exists (e.g. `wing_colours.html`). **Sprinkle 2–6 inline cross-links** to other rooms (existing or new) in the prose, never as a dump of "see also". Make them feel earned by the sentence. ## Existing rooms (current 125, you may link to any of these) Thresholds: index, doors, corridor, map, lost Depths: well, stairs, deeper, deepest, basement, trapped Surfaces: surface, moon, garden, tower, white, black Selves: eye, mirror, you, me, us, them, solitude Minds: memory, forget, dream, wake, silence, noise, breath, ritual Measures: time, number, word, question, answer, never, always, clock_room, hourglass Limits: nothing, everything, circle, glitch, 404, exit, secret Lexicon: naturata, naturans, metaphor, adundas, wreathus, hexture, idolum, lacuna Apparatus: library, catalogue, atlas, ascii, colophon, errata, marginalia, palimpsest, footnotes, glossolalia Atmospheres: rain, snow, fog, mist, wind, storm, frost, dusk, dawn, noon, midnight, twilight, four_am, vigil Objects: coin, key, letter, candle, stone, feather, ribbon, photograph, pen, watch, matchbox, thimble, glove, leaf, window, kitchen Strangers: stranger, neighbour, visitor, witness, custodian, child, sleeper, walker, traveller Geographies: sea, river, forest, station, road, harbour, bridge, lighthouse, island, ferry Sounds: creak, drip, knock, ticking, echo, whisper, rumor, footstep, humming, chime ## Quality bar - **Distinct.** No two rooms look identical. Each has its own visual idea. - **Restrained.** No room has more design than it needs. - **Considered.** Margins, type sizes, hover states, transitions all feel intentional. - **Mysterious.** A page reveals its title and texture; not its whole life. - **Earned.** Each link in prose feels like the writer wrote that sentence because the link belongs there. ## What NOT to do - Don't introduce a JS framework. - Don't add a "back" button (we have `.ret` and the trail). - Don't put navigation menus everywhere — only `.crumb` and `.ret`. - Don't write "Welcome to sometemple, a magical place where…". The labyrinth doesn't introduce itself. - Don't write 12-paragraph essays. Write 3 short ones, and stop. - Don't be cute. Don't be ironic. Don't wink at the reader. - Don't use the word "magical", "mysterious", "journey", "awesome", or "amazing" anywhere on a page. ## Exemplars Read `silence.html` and `coin.html` and `kitchen.html` before writing. That is the bar. (And `well.html`, `naturans.html`, `memory.html` for prose.) ## When you finish After writing all files in your batch, briefly verify: - Every file has `style.css` linked - Every file has `.ret` linking atlas + index - Every file has `trail.js` script + `.trail` div - Every file cross-links 2–6 rooms in prose - Every file has a unique visual idea