Current Version: Skald 1.0.2
Downloads And Changelog: Here
Without going into too many specifics, Minstrel starts working with a story that is mostly empty which it generates from a template. After that, it fills in pieces of that template as it thinks best. The problem solving module is what is primarily used to create details for the emerging story, adapting information from other stories for use in the current one. Occassionally the system will decide that more drama is needed, a backstory for some person or object would be beneficial, or that the story needs to be enhanced in some other fashion. When this happens, Minstrel Remixed will add new pieces onto the story outside of the bounds of the original template.
Under the hood, Minstrel is designed to be friendly to developers and academics aiming to work with it. It can generate X stories autonomously on demand and spit them out in XML format or work with a user to interactively craft an individual story. Additionally there are numerous virtual knobs and dials that can be adjusted to alter which algorithms are used and the state of all the variables.