Course 01 · from idea to release
Start with your own idea right away or practise on one of three ready-made games. The first three sessions are a warm-up. From day 4, we’ll work on your main project and take it all the way to release.
You’ll need Claude Pro or ChatGPT Plus for the sessions, from $20 a month.
What the course is about
The character jumps, but it feels awkward to play. What should you ask the agent to make it better? That’s the kind of problem we’ll work through in the course: try things, compare them and explain exactly what needs to change. That’s how your game comes together, step by step.
“Make the jump feel nicer”
The agent has to decide for itself what “nicer” means. It might change something that wasn’t bothering you at all.
“Let the player jump up to 0.1 seconds after leaving a platform edge, and count a press up to 0.1 seconds before landing. Put the numbers in CONFIG”
Now there are two clear rules. The agent adds them, and you test the jump and tune the timing for your game. Celeste has similar assists; we’ll look at how they work below.
Getting ready · the first hour
Dino, Bird and Snake let you learn the agent using familiar rules. Pick any of them, or make a small prototype of your own idea straight away. These games don’t set the theme for the rest of the course: from day 4, you can start a completely different project.
If you already use an agent, you can start with the quick setup.
Try the buttons: one changes the speed, another the colors, and the third adds a new rule. On day 1, you’ll do the same in your game. Google also added night mode and pterodactyls after the dino game came out.
Tap to flap your wings and fly through the gaps between the pipes. Based on Flappy Bird (Dong Nguyen, 2013): one tap was enough to control it, and strong gravity made every tap count (Nguyen’s interview, 2014).
Collect apples to grow, and watch out for the walls and your own tail. Based on Snake for the Nokia 6110 (Taneli Armanto, 1997). Armanto explained that with a tiny screen and little memory, there was no point complicating something that already worked.
Techniques from real games
We’ll take techniques from familiar games and try them in yours. Each example comes with the developer’s own account or the game’s code. After a change, play and decide whether it got better. If it didn’t, you can remove it.
where it’s fromThe dino game grew in stages too. Google later added night mode and pterodactyls. In the game’s code, the birds only appear once the dino has sped up.
with the agentOn day 1, you’ll change the speed, the look and one rule. We’ll save each change that works separately, so you can come back to it later.
where it’s fromCeleste lets you jump a moment too late at a ledge or press the button just before landing. Maddy Thorson explains these assists. And in Nokia’s Snake, Taneli Armanto left a little time before a crash so the player could still turn.
with the agentAsk the agent to add these assists and put their timing on sliders. Move them around and compare: when does the character respond to the button the way you expect?
where it’s fromThe first Super Mario Bros. prototype started as a square moving around the screen. Shigeru Miyamoto recalls that the character’s look came later.
with the agentFirst, we’ll use simple shapes to check whether the game is fun. Once the basics work, we’ll move on to the look: you’ll choose a style on day 7 and build the world from a picture on day 8.
where it’s fromJaime Griesemer describes Halo’s rhythm: three-second actions add up to a 30-second fight, and those fights add up to three-minute sequences. Each sequence plays out differently.
with the agentBuild a test room and play a short round. If you want another go after 30 seconds, you have a core to build levels around.
where it’s fromDiablo was going to be turn-based. David Brevik recalls at GDC how, after the team voted, he reworked the combat in a single Friday afternoon: turns now ran on their own, 20 times a second. One click, and the warrior walked over to a skeleton and hit it.
with the agentKeep the combat rules, but run the turns on a timer. Compare 1, 5 and 20 turns a second: which pace do you enjoy most?
where it’s fromBruce Shelley of Ensemble Studios writes that a new player needs to be drawn in within the first 15 minutes. So at first they get only a few decisions, and the rest are added gradually. Shelley calls it an inverted pyramid of decisions.
with the agentStart with a town center and workers. Open the barracks at minute two and archers at minute four. Watch whether a friend has time to settle in or is already waiting for something new.
where it’s fromAcross more than 200 Half-Life playtests, Valve developers watched quietly and took notes. They weren’t allowed to give players hints.
with the agentLet someone play and see where they get stuck without your explanations. Then go through your notes with the agent and fix the three most noticeable problems.
where it’s fromKurt Loudy and Jake Campbell of id Software explain at GDC how DOOM encourages movement. Health comes back through combat, finished enemies drop supplies, and enemies deliberately miss a running player.
with the agentTry a finisher on E: a stunned enemy flashes, and once you finish it off, it drops health and ammo. Tune the numbers on the control panel and see whether you now want to head into the fight for supplies.
where it’s fromIn the Juice it or lose it talk, Martin Jonasson and Petri Purho gradually change a plain Breakout clone, adding color, motion, sound and particles. The rules stay the same. They say sound makes an especially big difference.
with the agentAdd effects one at a time and play after each. You’ll hear and see what helps and what just makes it harder to tell what’s going on.
Course map
18–25 hours
Each lesson adds something to your game: controls, levels, a menu, sound. All in all, it takes about 18–25 hours of your time.
Start today and this schedule puts your release 2–4 weeks away
The first three days are practice on a ready-made example or your own idea. On day 4, you choose your main project: something new or a game you’ve already started.
We’ll move the game to an engine and teach the agent to check it with screenshots. Then we’ll tune the core mechanic and work on the art.
We’ll add a menu, levels, a story and your own twist. Now the game can be played from start to finish.
We’ll add sound, give the game to its first players, fix what gets in their way and publish it.
The 60–90 minutes are your own time. In bigger lessons, the agent may also work on its own for about an hour. While it’s busy, you can step away and come back to the result later.
Example games
play right here
The lessons show techniques on small games inspired by well-known ones. Play any of them to see how different the games you make with an agent can be.
story gamedays 4, 12
inspired by Papers, Please
You decide who crosses into the moon city. Check seals and dates; behind every stamp is someone’s story.
shooterday 11
inspired by DOOM
An arena inside a volcano, three kinds of enemies and finishers that give you health back. Standing still gets you killed.
RPGday 8
inspired by Diablo
Click to walk and strike, with only your torch against the dark. Monsters drop loot, and each new level lets you choose how to grow.
card roguelikedays 9, 12
inspired by Slay the Spire
Three energy, five cards and an enemy that shows its next move. After each fight, you take one card out of three.
strategydays 5, 7, 10
inspired by Age of Empires
Villagers chop wood and pick berries while you build houses and barracks. By minute three, raiders cross the river.
cozy simdays 4, 7, 16
inspired by Stardew Valley
Dig, plant, water, and by morning everything has grown. You have five days to save up for string lights on the roof.
platformerdays 3, 6, 9, 10
inspired by Celeste
Forgiving jumps, an eight-way dash and one-screen rooms. Miss a jump and you’re back in half a second.
arena survivaldays 4, 6, 15
inspired by Vampire Survivors
The bathysphere only moves; its weapons fire on their own. The swarm thickens every minute, and each new level offers three upgrades to pick from.
puzzledays 10, 14
inspired by Baba Is You
The rules are magnets on the kitchen table. Push one and the wall lets you through, or the cheese becomes the goal.
You make your own game in your own genre and world. There’s no need to copy the stories, characters, art or rules of these examples: each one shows a technique, and you decide how to use it in your game.
you choose on day 4
no extra art costs
target picture
3D models in Blender
frame with a filterYou choose a target picture, and the agent builds the world in Blender and sets up the lights and camera. A filter gives the 3D models a drawn, pixel-art or painterly look.
paid or on your own PC
pictures from AI
finished 2D sceneAI draws the character, enemies and backgrounds. Use ChatGPT Plus at $20 a month or pay per image through the API. The first top-up starts at $10; our estimate for the game’s images is $1–3. Optional character animation through the API adds $1–4.5. Or make images and clips at no extra cost on your own computer, if your graphics card is up to it: the agent installs ComfyUI and open models, such as MiniMax H3 or Wan 2.2, that turn a finished sprite into an animation.
The best approach is to combine them. For example, build the world as a model, let AI paint the hero, make the animation clips on your own computer, and create the most important images wherever the hero comes out best.
With Codex and ChatGPT Plus, images are included in your plan but use up its limits. If you use Claude Code, Plus is a separate payment, and you’ll move the images from ChatGPT yourself.
One session
Start by playing and remembering where you left off. Then work through 6–9 short steps: try a technique, give the agent a task and check the result in the game.
On a busy day, ten minutes is enough: play, answer the questions, make one change and save the result. You can come back to the rest later.
You decide what to make: how fast the character runs, what gets in the way and when the game ends. You play, notice what feels awkward and talk changes over with the agent.
Writes code and runs the game to check it. Installs programs when needed. Saves the versions that work when you ask, so you can go back to them.
your game 1.0 · day 15
Finish
By the end of the course, you’ll have a small, complete game that takes about five minutes to play. A friend only needs to open a link in their browser to try it.
The files and saved versions stay on your computer. After the course, you can keep working on the game or start the next one.
Who it’s for
beginner
You don’t need to know how to code. The agent writes the code and helps install the programs. You’ll play, choose what to keep and explain what you’d like to change.
Use an app with a familiar chat window, or work in the terminal. For the terminal, the first lesson has an exercise you can practise on without installing anything on your computer.
experienced
The lessons start with shortcuts for topics you already know. If your agent is set up and you know how to save versions, a ten-minute setup check takes you straight to day 4.
From day 5, you’ll teach the agent to check the game with screenshots. Together you’ll build tools for your project: a control panel, a test room, a level editor. Then you’ll test the result on your first players.
A Mac with macOS 13 or later, Windows 10 (version 1809 or later) or 11, or Linux: Ubuntu 20.04 or later, or Debian 10 or later. You’ll need at least 4 GB of memory. The AI runs in the cloud, so you don’t need a powerful graphics card for it.
You may need the computer’s administrator password when installing programs.
For Claude Code, we use Claude Pro: $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly, before tax. Already have ChatGPT Plus at $20? Choose Codex — the tasks work with either agent.
Open Claude Code in the Code tab of the Claude app, or Codex in the ChatGPT app. If you prefer the terminal, both agents work there too.
Prices checked October 26–27, 2026 at claude.com/pricing, chatgpt.com/pricing and openrouter.ai.
In two minutes
Two and a half minutes about the course, subtitles right on screen.
Want to make your own game but can't code? That's not a problem anymore. AI writes the code for you, and you decide what your game turns out like.
In just an hour you'll have your first game, one you can launch and try.
But just telling the agent “make me a game” isn't enough. It doesn't know what you have in mind, so it starts making things up for you.
In this course you'll learn to give it clear tasks and to figure out why some games pull you in and others don't.
We'll look at how the makers of well-known games did it.
In Celeste, for example, you can still jump after your character has stepped off the edge of a platform.
You only get a tenth of a second, but the game feels much nicer to play.
And the first prototype of Super Mario Bros. was just a square moving around the screen. First the developers checked whether it was fun to control, and only then did they work on everything else.
Valve had people playtest Half-Life more than 200 times. The developers just sat next to them and watched, without giving any hints.
All these stories are first-hand. Every session links to the developers' own accounts.
And you won't have to learn from text alone. The course pages have hands-on exercises.
Try different jumps, build a remix, play with sounds and feel the difference right away.
Along the way you'll build your game and the tools for making it.
The agent will learn to run the game by itself, take screenshots and find bugs.
Together you'll make a level editor, a settings panel and a pre-launch check for your game.
Later these tools come in handy for your next games too.
The course has 16 sessions and four worlds in all. After every session your game gets better.
There are nine genres to choose from, from platformers to RPGs. You can make the graphics in different ways too: build them to match a picture or generate them with AI.
And on day fifteen you'll send a friend a link to your game, and they'll be able to play it.
You don't need to know how to code. You need a computer, Claude Code or Codex, and an hour or an hour and a half a day.
Start with “Getting ready”. In an hour you'll be playing something you made yourself. Good luck!
Questions
No. The agent writes the code. You describe the game, play it and decide what to change. We start with setup and a ready-made task, so you won’t have to write your first prompt from scratch.
No. They’re ready-made options for the first three sessions. If you already have an idea, start with a small prototype of it; the first lesson has a separate task for that. On day 4, you can change the theme and genre entirely. From there, we’ll develop your own game through to release. The warm-up characters and rules only carry over if you want them to.
On day 7, you’ll choose a target picture and compare your game against it. The agent can help build the world from models or generate illustrations. The first route has no extra art costs; the second uses ChatGPT Plus, paid image generation or free open models on your own computer, if it’s powerful enough. Combining both routes works best. We’ll make the choice on day 4.
Ask the agent to return the files to the last save. That’s why we tell the agent “save” after every change that works. On day 1, we’ll deliberately break the controls and undo it, so you can try rolling back for yourself.
Claude Pro is $20 a month, or $17 a month billed yearly, before tax. The free plan doesn’t include Claude Code. If you already pay for ChatGPT Plus, you can use Codex. Details and pricing links are above.
Check Anthropic’s country list, then OpenAI’s list. If OpenAI is available where you live, choose Codex; the course tasks work with it too. The course doesn’t cover ways around service restrictions.
With the quick setup in the first lesson. In ten minutes, you’ll check your programs and learn the course’s habits. Then go to day 4 and come up with your own game. You can return to days 1–3 later.
No, you choose the schedule. If you miss a session, continue from where you stopped. Days 8 and 12 have tasks to help you finish the essentials. For a short session, one change that you check and save is enough.
The agent can open it by itself, check screenshots and read the errors. And your friends won’t need to install anything: a link is enough. After the course, you can work on a desktop or phone version.
Take one part of it that’s already fun to play. On day 4, we’ll turn it into a small game that takes about five minutes and write the other ideas down for later. After your first release, you can come back to them with a working foundation.
Click “Start the course” to choose from nine genres. The lessons will show advice for your choice. Use the button in the lesson header if you change your mind; we’ll settle on the genre on day 4.
No sign-up needed: instead of a login and password, the course has a code. You get it when you mark your first step: with it, your progress is kept on the server and comes back on any device. The game’s files and saved versions are kept separately, on your computer.
Open the first lesson. We’ll set up the agent, build a mini game and try changing it.
Start the course