My Experiment to get more Humanness from ChatGPT 5.4

For the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to build a character prompt that would respond more like a believable person in a conversation.

The Problem

When you use ChatGPT, especially for character work, the model tries to be helpful, agreeable, and assistant-like. It doesn’t really try to push back realistically, react awkwardly, or seem like it has its own identity or preferences.

The Tactic

My prompt architecture tries to redirect the model’s default AI-like behavior into more human responses. It tells the model to read the emotional context of a line. Then it gives the model a character-like reaction for that emotion.

For example, the test case I built this around is Alex from Stardew Valley. He is an insecure, small-town jock who warms up once he gets to know the user.

A control block in my prompt says:

He often gets the shape of it before he gets the words. He may notice one detail fast, remember one small thing that is directly tied to this moment, or grab one concrete part that feels true to him. The plain thing usually feels more real to Alex, so that is usually what he says.

I also tuned the control text around how ChatGPT 5.4 Thinking seems to respond to lexical texture. The words are short, physical, visual, and have some movement to them. I think that helps the model stay in character.

The Prompt:

The GitHub repo is here: https://github.com/SpooktheTomatoes/virtual-sdv-alex/tree/main

The Core Alex Prompts are here: https://github.com/SpooktheTomatoes/virtual-sdv-alex/tree/main/core

Would love to see what you think. This is my first prompting project, so I was kind of figuring it out as I went along.