Article argues that language models should be constrained by linters and tools before generating content, since models are non-deterministic and cannot reliably maintain structural consistency across documents. Rather than relying on prompt engineering, developers should encode structural rules into executable parsers and validators that models can be optimized against.
A web-based tactics-RPG engine was modernized with a centralized game clock supporting both real-time and manual modes, enabling deterministic testing by freezing time and seeding randomness. Visual regression tests using Playwright compare rendered frames against baseline images to detect unintended graphical changes during engine refactoring.
A developer spent one afternoon building a casual cross-platform game with the help of a coding agent, spending lunch writing a detailed 15-section specification before implementation. The game involves tapping water to create ripples that push colored petals toward matching lily pads in a circular pond, with physics designed for deterministic, crisp gameplay.
Hekla is an event-sourcing runtime with its own declarative language that enforces restrictions at compile time rather than runtime, enabling deterministic replays and pre-deploy verification. It requires no build step and derives all routes, read models, OpenAPI schemas, and admin interfaces directly from declarations, with deploy being a simple restart.
Philosopher Harry Frankfurt presented counterexamples in 1969 arguing that moral responsibility does not require the ability to do otherwise, challenging the principle of alternate possibilities. His cases suggest that agents can be morally responsible for actions even when determinism prevents alternative possibilities, offering compatibilists an alternative defense against incompatibilist arguments.