WyvernChat is an unfiltered, free, feature-rich online AI roleplay platform that’s welcoming to both new and experienced users and isn’t afraid to innovate.
Despite its feature-rich frontend, the platform lets users export content like character cards, chats, lorebooks, and more for use on other local or online platforms. It embraces the open-source spirit, provides users maximum control over their experience, and doesn’t force dependency.
Users can also choose any inference provider they prefer, and even use locally hosted models. WyvernChat doesn’t restrict users to only the models it offers or force them to use the provider it’s partnered with.
An Interview With Nev: Founder And Developer Of WyvernChat
Nev founded WyvernChat as a personal side project in 2023, and it has come a long way since.
RPWithAI reached out to the founder and lead developer of WyvernChat, Nev, for an interview to learn more about him and the platform. We spoke about WyvernChat’s journey, the challenges he faces developing and maintaining it, and more.
Our discussion with Nev covered several topics. Some of these topics also warrant their own article. We thank Nev for taking the time out of his busy schedule to engage with us.
What was the inspiration behind creating WyvernChat? Has that vision changed as the platform grew, or does it remain the same?
I created WyvernChat because of many reasons. It started as a bit of resume boost, and also bit of a challenge. I had been in a community that was fairly stagnant for about a year, just waiting for their frontend to get finished, so I told myself I could probably do it in the mythical ‘two weeks’ that was repeated at the time.
I ended up making the first working version of WyvernChat in under 18 hours, and it looked RADICALLY different from what we have today.
I continued to develop it past that initial challenge to myself so that I could have an easy way to show my family the stuff I was working with (which was LLMs). The original WyvernChat was a manually moderated, completely SFW experience moderated by my wife and myself, it evolved as more community members came in and eventually pushed for more NSFW content. I relented, and added the ability to toggle NSFW content off so my baby brother could still use the site.
WyvernChat is one of the few online AI roleplay platforms that offers plenty of “power user” features while also appealing to people new to the hobby. How do you find the right balance between providing all these features and not overwhelming someone new?
Have we found the right balance? I think that’s a better question.
I’ve tried my best over two years to make something easy to use, but I personally consider that quest in progress, one I’m not quite done completing.
As for finding a balance, it’s mostly just me adding in features that I personally would use, or think “damn how come no one has done this yet”. That’s why I did the WyvernScripts thing, alternate avatars, etc. All of these were created because they felt right for the platform, not necessarily because of balance and intent.
WyvernChat’s UI & UX stand out in the AI roleplay space. It’s intuitive, streamlined, and visually appealing. You’ve continually improved it over time, too! What’s the thought process behind it, and how do you keep improving something that’s already (in our opinion) great?
I am a perfectionist, and WyvernChat has gone through many UI revisions because of my inability to find my own work appealing. As for the thought process, it starts with me staring at the screen for a few hours and thinking, “Why do I hate this?” and then coming up with a different answer each time.
Hiring on a designer has helped, and I have a rule of not touching anything after someone else has properly gone through it, so at least there is an end in sight (when someone else redesigns the UI).
What is the most challenging aspect of developing and maintaining WyvernChat?
Working on such a small dev team, while having such a vocal and eager community. It’s a lot of pressure, I am still the only full-time WyvernDev, and while Featherless spares us Otis and, for a tim,e Kaisar, it is still incredibly hard for me to work on everything at once. The largest struggle of maintaining the site is maintaining the effort to keep building.
Is there a specific feature on WyvernChat that you are proud to have added to the platform?
WyvernScripts. And now, Worlds. I’d love to talk more about it in detail – but it has yet to be completed. TL:DR; within the coming [time], my magnum opus will be launching, it’s a way for people to make worlds, and the characters within them.
Think of it like a group chat without having to set it up, and with new characters that can be introduced on the fly, or you can also use world characters in solo chats with unique scenarios / outfits / locations in the world you’ve set out to create.
It’s got a party system for keeping characters for any world you visit with you when you visit others, a persistent memory system that tracks your time and relationships in the world, and a few other features I’m not going to spoil.
Compared to other online AI roleplay platforms, WyvernChat provides several community-oriented and social features. Creators can build and grow their following without relying on third-party social media sites or apps. What motivated you to include these features on the platform?
I like the idea of having everything in one spot, and I think everything is better with friends.
WyvernChat embraces the open-source spirit. Users aren’t forced to use your frontend and can export all content to use locally or on other platforms. Few online platforms follow this approach. Most make users “lock in” to their frontend and benefit from user-generated content, often lacking basic features or hiding them behind paywalls. What are your thoughts on such platforms?
Lame. I’ve watched many of these piles of crap get pushed out, vibe coded trash meant to milk users of their hard-earned cash.
It honestly is disheartening to see. I put in a lot of effort because I care about making WyvernChat as good as I can, and I take it as a bit of personal pride. It’s why I used to be online 24/7 on the discord taking tickets, it’s why I continue to put in 70+ hours a week to build it.
To see other platforms pump out garbage, and somehow get money from it, is kind of painful to see as a creator.
We heard through our (totally reliable) sources that Wyvern was almost named Discord. Can you confirm this?
No, that’s a stupid name. I’d never pick that.
What introduced you to AI Roleplay? And what is your favorite genre of roleplay?
Funnily enough, I found AI roleplay through an app that isn’t meant for roleplay. I was just using NovelAI and eventually found TavernAI by Humi (the thing before SillyTavern), I met a bunch of folks through discord and eventually met this guy called Cohee, he had a fork of TavernAI and I watched my friend AliCat continually feed him more shit to do. That’s when I decided to get into the business of making my own AI software from scratch in the form of a Discord bot, that path brought me here.
I like roleplaying in worlds as opposed to characters. I find the dynamic of social interaction far more interesting than the… other stuff… and that makes it so I go on big classic adventures in settings similar to ‘The Dresden Files’ and the like. So I guess urban fantasy?
What are your favorite go-to foods and drinks during long coding or work sessions? And Nev, how many hours of sleep do you usually get? The amount of work you put in is insane!
I like Chicken Ramen, and Taco Bell is pretty good. Monster Java or Diet Coke are my go-to drinks.
I typically get about 4-5 hours of sleep, and I do this thing where I sleep twice.
Like, I take a two hour nap at 8AM, wake up at 10AM, work till about 6PM, sleep till 8PM, and keep cycling that way.
What excites you most about AI and its future?
Excites me? Hmm. I think it will be cool when we get models that see your screen and play games with you, and I think that we’ll be getting AI put into video games (for NPCs) so that might be cool! Other than that, not much. I think they’ll probably kill us all eventually, but I helped bring forth oblivion, so I’m not too worried about it.
Has WyvernChat changed your daily life in any significant way? Do you have any exciting plans for the future that you’d like to share?
I have become a bit more creative in my life; when I’m in my free time, I now am able to sit down and basically write out a story in my own little world with many characters and places, and it’s made me better at writing on fly. I mentioned worlds earlier, maybe that should just be here lol.
WyvernChat: A Free, Unfiltered, Feature-Rich Online AI Roleplay Platform
WyvernChat is a fantastic online AI roleplay platform that’s free to use and unfiltered. Its feature-rich frontend appeals to both new and experienced users, providing them with maximum control over their experience and the ability to export most user-generated content. It also empowers creators with tools to unleash their creativity.
Through its approach of clear communication and trust-building, WyvernChat is building an organic, strong, and lasting community. The platform doesn’t use underhanded tactics to acquire new users. They let their feature-rich frontend and community-building strategy speak for themselves.
- Sign up and give WyvernChat a try if you haven’t already!
- Check out WyvernChat’s Discord server and the r/WyvernChat subreddit.
- Read more articles we have published related to WyvernChat.
