Romance Debugger
One conversation. Several possible actions. Only the evidence gets to change the state.
Step into Alex’s fictional message thread. Choose an action, inspect its result, then reveal the next authored event. Sometimes the useful answer is “we don’t know yet.”
Trace a conversation on paper
The interactive debugger needs JavaScript. The same decision is readable here: Alex has sent one opener. A read receipt is recorded, but no reply is recorded. Choose whether to wait, send another opener or close the conversation.
Inspect this paper trace
The route stays pending. Another opener is held because one is already recorded. “We don’t know yet” preserves the uncertainty. Alex may also close the local conversation without inferring why no reply arrived.
Use the Week 6 worked notes for the complete rule order.
The conversation
Adult CS student. Board games, terrible puns, perhaps a relationship. Friday 5–7 pm · bus travel · $20 total.
Choose an action to inspect its result. Nothing is sent to a real person.
Inspect the decision
The next state needs a choice.
Choose an action in the conversation. This panel will show the before and after states, the path through the tree and the supporting evidence.
A state can stay unchanged for a good reason.
- Before
- After
The tree after your choice
Evidence in this record
Still unknown
Case complete. Keep the trace, or try another case above. The outcome is a defensible record, not a romance score.
Inspect the current snapshot
Your decision trail
Your choices will appear here, including actions the tree holds.
The download contains this fictional case and your choices. Restarting or opening a case clears the current trail.
Take the trace back to the course
This practice uses the Week 6 message decision tree. It adds a local record of your choices and manually revealed events. The replies are scripted examples; a choice does not cause or predict someone’s response.
In the Week 6 tutorial, use a trace during the existing tree exercise, then explain the same route in your pseudocode. Week 7 adds explicit clocks and observation windows. You can also return to the course toolkit.