So, where did I leave off? Initially, my app had a basic chat interface featuring my character, Mr. Square, but the whole experience felt pretty lifeless. Now, using dynamic triggers and boolean inputs, I’ve finally brought him to life!

He reacts instantly when you tap on him, disappears from the screen the moment the internet drops, tracks your typing in real time, pauses to "think" before generating an answer, and—best of all—fully articulates and speaks when you use voice mode.

To be honest, teaching a cartoon square to dynamically shut his mouth and take strategic breathing pauses between sentences was a whole psychological battle with the TextToSpeech queue and Rive state machines. But seeing him not talk like a broken fast-paced auctioneer makes it entirely worth it.