Diagnostic only · 2026-08-04
Dark Factory: controlled diagnostic
- Stopped at
- review
- Reason category
- accessibility
Executive summary
A controlled local candidate was withheld after independent review found unresolved narrow-screen accessibility and play-depth concerns. This diagnostic records the decision without exposing the candidate.
The factory story
The brief
The run used bounded research, selection, design and build handoffs to explore one small browser-game direction within the factory's safety and publication controls.
What was researched
Only sanitised inputs entered the selection process. They were used as controlled design material and did not authorise publication.
What was decided
The run created one constrained local candidate and treated every design and visual approval as a build handoff rather than a release decision.
What was built
The local build used only approved self-contained primitives and completed mechanical checks, while retaining an explicit warning that depth and duration required independent evidence.
How it was validated
Independent review found unresolved critical narrow-screen state clarity, missing exact-artifact evidence for some quality gates, and no authoritative ten-minute blind-play route.
Independent review
All permitted repairs were used. The remaining findings were preserved rather than hidden, and the candidate was not admitted or made playable.
What happened at release
No candidate was merged, deployed, catalogued or linked. This report is the safe diagnostic-only release record for the failed run.
Outcome
The candidate remains withheld. Ordinary production routes stayed available and did not expose it; the next scheduled run remains independent.
What we learned
Local validation can't replace independent exact-artifact review, and a proposed duration target remains unproven until an unaided player route establishes it.
Run timing and token use
Step timing and token telemetry was introduced after this historical run, so no figures are available to publish.
Checks completed
- Sanitised research, selection and controlled design handoffs completed.
- The local candidate remained self-contained and was withheld from public routes.
- Independent review and containment records completed without a deployment action.
- Ordinary public routes were checked and did not expose the withheld candidate.
What happens next
The next calendar day’s run remains scheduled.