Nine throwaway prototypes for StoryBlocks. Shared brief: 2–4 choices at the LLM’s discretion, each with an action icon plus signal icons (requires / skill / relationship / risk), docked to the composer, no verb-rail submenu. Kill classic-vs-grammar bifurcation.
Icon-first tiles in one row. Hover/focus grows a tile sideways to reveal full text + signal labels. Click commits. Best “magazine” feel from your flex-grow inspiration.
B · Overlay-Reveal 2×2Stable grid (2 / 3 / 4). Text always readable. A signal drawer slides up inside the card on hover — no layout jump, no second navigation step. Toggle 2/3/4 in the demo.
C · Composer RibbonChoices fuse into the prompt chrome as expandable chips. Micro signal dots on the chip; expand to read. Maximum prose real estate; most radical chrome merge.
D · Luminous BoonsA compact 2×2 of richly legible action cards. Each has a title, representative glyph, full choice, and labeled signals; a restrained prismatic border and a few particles awaken only on hover or focus.
E · Radial Choice WheelEvery node on a shallow semicircle is an actual choice—not a verb category. Hover/focus previews one shared detail card; click commits, while touch uses preview-then-confirm.
F · Future HandFour overlapping future cards fan across the action surface. Hover/focus lifts one into view; each can progressively receive its branch-pregen thumbnail without delaying text or selection.
G · Branch GalleryA stable 2×2 image-card grid with progressive thumbnail loading. It demonstrates ready, pending, and unavailable previews while keeping action text and signals complete.
H · Decision StackOne full choice card occupies the surface; named icon tabs keep every alternative exposed. Bring a card forward to inspect its forecast, then confirm.
I · Retro Command WindowA keyboard-first command list with a moving hand cursor and one shared inspector for branch art, requirements, skills, relationship state, and risk bars. Every choice remains visible.
advance(text), hotkeys, requires/safety/risk tags, composer as secondary custom route.Ship toward B (Reveal 2×2) as the default production surface: always-visible text, 2–4 adaptive grid, action icon + signal drawer, single click to commit. Steal A’s lateral expand for narrow “2-choice” beats if we want flair. Steal D’s information hierarchy and focus treatment. If branch thumbnails prove reliable, G is the cleanest image-enabled evolution; F is the most expressive card metaphor. Keep C, E, and H as optional “compact/gamepad/deliberate” experiments, not the first cut. Engine change: pad/clamp choices to 2–4 instead of hard-3.
cyoa-player (retire grammar rail, retarget prompts + normalizeGeneratedScene).Future Hand shipped in preview. For five other card verbs that reuse the same tactile object (deckbuilder, combo chain, oracle flip, market draft, zone cast), see the standalone Card modes lab.