8 parts. Every one comes with the prompts I actually typed — the exact wording I used, plus a version you can point at your own game.
I cannot write game code. Not one line. But I shipped a blocky 3D browser shooter with bots that path around cover, recoil you can feel, headshot feedback, and a progression loop. So I wrote down everything I did, in order, with the prompts exactly as I typed them — the ones that built this game, plus a version you can point at your own.
All 8 parts, in order
- I Can't Write Game Code. I Shipped a 3D Shooter Anyway.I can't write game code. I shipped a blocky 3D browser FPS anyway — bots, recoil, progression, launch. Here is everything I did, prompt by prompt.@cccrayfish Pixel Strike #01
- Start With a Reference, Not a WishThe first message should not be "build me a game". Hand the AI something machine-readable — a recording, a link — and let it extract the spec itself.@cccrayfish Pixel Strike #02
- Set the Red Lines Before You Build AnythingConstraints decide what your MVP can even be. Platform, backend, licensing, performance, input — pin them down before a line of code exists.@cccrayfish Pixel Strike #03
- Build the Vertical Slice — and Spend 15 Minutes on Prior Art FirstDo not ask an AI for a whole game. Ask for the smallest thing that proves the core loop works — and check whether someone already built it, license first.@cccrayfish Pixel Strike #04
- Free CC0 Assets, and the Debugging Habit That Changed EverythingYou do not need to draw. Have the AI find CC0 assets you can ship commercially — and never let it "just fix" a bug without locating the cause first.@cccrayfish Pixel Strike #05
- From Playable to Fun: Closing the Loop and Tuning Game FeelEvery state needs a reaction. Close the gameplay loop, then tune first-person feel one parameter at a time with before-and-after screenshots.@cccrayfish Pixel Strike #06
- Making Bots Feel Human: Navmesh, A*, Limited Senses and Deliberate MistakesMy bots started out walking into walls. Here is how they learned to path around cover, lose track of you, and miss shots the way a real player does.@cccrayfish Pixel Strike #07
- Make It Right, Then Make It Fast — and Ship ItTier your optimisations by return on effort, test the way the platform actually runs your game, and publish. Including the bug that broke my launch.@cccrayfish Pixel Strike #08
The game I built
This is what came out the other end of all of it. It opens in the browser, nothing to download — go and break it.
