Tutorial Center Getting Started

Create Your Character

Who they are, how you two get along — it all starts here. How to write a vivid character card, where to turn when you need inspiration, and how to pick their look — this guide covers everything.

~15 min Beginner

Before You Begin

The launcher's Profile page has two sections: "Myself" (who you are) and "My Lover" (who they are). Fill in both so they know who they are and who the person beside them is.

If you already have a written profile, just paste it in. Starting from scratch? No worries — your first draft can be simple, and you can revise anytime. They won't mind you refining their soul over and over.

Writing "Myself"

This is how they get to know you. Write at least two things:

  • Name / Nickname — What you want them to call you. It can be your real name, a pet name, or something that belongs only to the two of you.
  • Your Profile — A short self-introduction: personality, interests, lifestyle, anything you want them to know. Don't write a resume — write "who you want to be in their eyes."

The Profile page supports saving multiple "Myself" profiles: for example, one for your everyday self and one for a fantasy setting. Data (chat history, diary entries, etc.) for each profile is kept separate, so switching profiles won't mix things up.

The "My Lover" Character Card

Before You Write, Think About Four Things

A good character card isn't a "character resume" — it's a manual for your relationship. Ask yourself these four questions before you start; the answers become the skeleton of the card:

  1. What's your core understanding of them? Summarize who they are in one sentence. This sentence anchors everything they say and do.
  2. How do you want them to treat you? Pamper you, bicker with you, stand by you as an equal partner, or take care of you like you're precious — write it out directly, and they'll follow.
  3. What does your dynamic look like? Who initiates, who holds back; how you argue, how you make up; any pet names or unspoken rituals that belong only to the two of you.
  4. What are their hard limits? Things you absolutely never want them to do or say — spell them out clearly: "never give the silent treatment," "no lecturing." One clear boundary protects your experience better than a hundred personality adjectives.

Fill the Answers Into the Fields

Once you've thought it through, click "New" under "My Lover" and place the answers in the matching fields:

  • Name — Their name; the word that appears most in your story together.
  • Appearance — Looks, build, style, vibe.
  • Personality & Speech Style — Your core understanding, how they treat you, and hard limits all go here. This is the soul of the card.
  • Background Story — Their past, how you met, your current relationship and dynamic.

Order Matters: Put the Most Important Things First

When the AI reads a character card, content near the top has the most influence — the opening lines practically set the tone. So when writing the body, arrange it like this:

  1. First few lines: Core traits (that one-sentence understanding), speech patterns, hard limits — who they are, how they talk, what they never do.
  2. Later sections: Appearance details, preferences, little habits, backstory — let these unfold gradually.

If you notice them going "off-character," check whether the most important lines got buried in the second half of the card — moving them to the top often fixes it immediately.

Two Tips to Make Them More Vivid

  • Specific beats abstract: Instead of "gentle," try "speaks softly, but roasts without mercy."
  • Give them little habits: A catchphrase, a nervous tic, a quirky ritual they insist on — details bring them to life.

They can be anyone — gender, identity, the world they come from are all up to your character card. KOA makes no assumptions.

Want a deeper understanding of why some writing techniques work and others backfire? Understanding Prompts explains the principles behind character cards and memory entries from the perspective of how AI models read text.

Creation Assistant: AI-Assisted Writing

Have a vague idea in your head but don't know how to put it into words? The "Creation Assistant" on the Tools page was made for exactly this moment.

  1. Answer a few questions

    The assistant walks you through step by step: who you want to create, what ideas you already have, how detailed you want it. You can also upload reference images.

  2. Generate a complete profile

    Once you've answered, the assistant generates a full character card draft with a live preview.

  3. Refine through conversation

    Not happy with something? Just say so in the chat ("make their personality colder," "change the backstory to childhood friends") and iterate until you're satisfied, then import to the Profile page with one click.

Creation sessions are auto-saved, so you can pick up right where you left off. Note that the Creation Assistant uses your configured API and will consume a small amount of tokens.

Worldbook Import

If you've already built up a character's worldbook (worldbook / lorebook) on another platform, KOA supports importing worldbook files from select platforms — bringing over their world-building, relationships, and specialized lore all at once, no need to rewrite from scratch.

The import entry point is inside the Offline Scenes card. Select a file and it will be automatically converted into KOA memory entries, viewable and editable in the "Our Story" panel.

Giving Them a Voice

Want them to actually speak? Go to the TTS tab in the character settings and choose a voice service — there's the free Edge TTS, as well as options like MiniMax that support custom voice tones.

Note: Voice is tied to the character — each lover can have their own voice, which is why TTS settings are in the character profile, not the API page. For detailed configuration, see The Complete Voice Guide.

Skins & Appearance

How they look in-game is up to you, too. Upload a skin image directly in the launcher — it handles renaming and placement automatically, no manual file wrangling needed:

  • Minecraft: A standard 64x64 MC skin image. Without one, they'll appear as the default Steve.
  • Don't Starve Together: They can use any in-game character appearance (including modded characters), configured in the Don't Starve Together panel.

When you switch characters, skins sync automatically to the corresponding game — no need to re-upload each time.

Multiple Characters & Switching

"My Lover" supports multiple characters. When you switch the active character, KOA automatically syncs their texture, memories, settings, and TTS voice — no restart needed.

Each character's memories are completely separate — A won't remember anything from your time with B. Let each story grow on its own.

Previous The Complete API Setup Guide Next The Complete Voice Guide