Chatatouille: Branching Chat Scenario Builder

Hey everyone! 

For the blockathon, I thought of building a branching chat scenario. I've struggled with creating chat-like activities before. Building in StoryLine means spending a lot of time mapping out variables, triggers, defining layers, planning pathways, etc. Rise's scenario block is more about face to face interaction than chat scenarios.

I've tried other tools, like Twine with the Trialogue plugin. I built chat interactions and used them before in a portfolio project but I didn't find the authoring experience easy, personally. I wanted to create something intuitive that anyone can use to build a customizable branching chat scenario with variables. 

Since this wasn't going to be a single interactive, but rather a "builder" that can create these chats at scale, I needed to change my approach. Instead of using a standard LLM like I normally would, I went with Lovable.

Here's the way the builder works. It has two tabs: Theme and Canvas. In the Theme tab you can define the look of your chat experience. In the canvas tab, you map out the messages and responses. 

The entire builder works completely offline because I loathe signing up for things (and I bet you do toooo!). To manage this, there's an import/export feature. When you export your project, it downloads as a .json file that has all the information for your branching chat. You can then reupload this .json file using the import button and it'll recreate your entire branching chat within the canvas, remembering your customizations as well. This keeps it completely offline and easy to edit as you get stakeholder feedback on the scenario. 

When you're completely done with your project, you can finalize it to download the ZIP package that you can then upload to Rise! There's even an option in the Theme where you can toggle Rise completion, and if you select that, it will trigger the next continue button. 🎉

Given that this is AI generated code and will encounter LMS and learner data, I wanted to make sure that there were no security risks or concerns. No sneaky scripts that will endanger your data. So I had NRZ Malik, the incredible developer who gives so much to the L&D community, review it to make sure it's safe.

I am still finalizing Chatatouille because I want to try my best to create an accessible final output so your end users can navigate it easily. In the meantime, I do have a sample for you to play with. Meet Jan, from Accounting.