I know, you read that title and are thinking, how in the world could AI make games. Well, it can and is and we are just starting to see real results in the gaming community. I don’t mean artwork for the game like some pictures in early versions of Crimson Desert, which were removed in a follow up update. I mean, full games. I know you are thinking they must be trash and will never be up to par with what we see today. While you might be partly right in that assumption, AI will improve just like it did for writing and video. Video games are next. It only makes sense to start with retro platforms. Such as the Sega Genesis.
Vibe Coding Has Entered the Development Field
Vibe coding is simply using artificial intelligence in a similar manner to video creators and writers do. The results and how they are used are unique. Honestly, I am surprised vibe coding did not enter with 8-bit platforms such as the Commodore 64 and Atari 2600.
Vibe coding does not completely remove the human from the equation as there are A LOT of details that need massaging to get right. The more complex the target platform the more work will likely be required.
Over on itch.io, Haroldo-OK has released version 0.0.4 of their port for God of Thunder. God of Thunder is an older freeware MS-DOS game from 1993.
Simpler Games Now, More Complex Coming
God of Thunder is an overhead style action game styled after the first Legend of Zelda by Nintendo. Being a single screen at a time affair makes this an ideal game for practicing with AI assisted game development.
I know a lot of people are up in arms over AI and its usage across the board. Sadly, for now, it is part of life. Either use it productively and expeditiously or fall to the wayside.
I have played with vibe coding here and there over the years. I have mainly used it to create Choose Your Own Adventure style books based on public domain novels. I have tried converting those into Interactive Fiction for platforms such as the Commodore 64 but the results were pretty bad.
I know Haroldo-OK is open about having used Claude to make this fan port of God of Thunder for the Sega Genesis.
Grab the demo on itch.io and check it out yourself.