MakeShift started as a tool to assist dungeon masters and game masters playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. I wanted a quick and easy way to come up with ideas when my players would ask questions like “What’s the name of the local tavern or inn?”
With MakeShift, if I don’t already have a name prepared, I can use
> makeshift inn.txt -c 10
to come up with ten quick ideas for my tavern name.
The code originally worked by abusing Python f-strings when writing templates. I wanted something more flexible so friends - who might not be as familiar with Python - could write their own templates. Templates as text files using indents and curly brackets seemed like a simple, readable choice.
MakeShift follows on the heels of existing generator tools like: