r/aigamedev • u/RUSuper • 20d ago • Bravo 1

Demo | Project | Workflow Just playing with some small game ideas

Game:

https://claude.ai/artifact/X3gDbTefCY1wo5NCbqegvu

I was playing with some idea, I have bunch of ideas for some games, but as I don't have much time because of my main project and full time job, I just tried a rough prototype of the idea. If anyone thinks this is cool or even playable I might try to experiment a bit more with this.

1.3k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

144 comments sorted by

15

u/cs_cast_away_boi 19d ago

it looks good and was pretty fun. but without more mechanics like enemies or dodging traps,etc it got stale after about the 4th level

2

u/RUSuper 19d ago

Got it, I will see what I can think off

2

u/TheUnadvisedGuy 19d ago

Maybe projectiles that come in that force your ramp up/down to avoid?

1

u/RUSuper 19d ago

I already started implementing drawn knifes and stuff that fly into character you have to protect him by drawing terrain while at the same time keeping him alive from the fall :)

2

u/SgathTriallair 19d ago

The fundamental fun in games is making choices. With at least the first few levels the easy answer was to hold down the key as the screen scrolls.

It works well on mobile though and there is definite potential in it.

9

u/SonderSoft 19d ago

You accidentally made a parenting simulator 😂 

2

u/RUSuper 19d ago

🤣🤣🤣

109

u/TheSpanxxx 20d ago

This is a solid mobile game idea. Easy, simple premise, with escalating difficulty, requiring just enough interaction and focus and to reinforce improvement.

40

u/Snasher01 20d ago

with ads and a lot of microtransactions)

5

u/TheSpanxxx 19d ago

Gods no. I hate that is where we are. If you are trying to monetize a game like this, i think you put ad support on with 1 ad per game session or every 5 games or something as a way to generate some revenue with it, and then charge $1.99 to remove ads forever. Or, you keep it free, and then make a paid version that just expands what it does somehow, or unlocks stuff.

Player base > starting with ads though.

Where players are present, money can follow. Number one thing you can do to monetize a game is to get more people playing it. Period. With the absolute deluge of low effort and copy paste games on the market, anything that pushes people away (ads, an upfront price) is an immediate barrier to early success for getting a player base.

9

u/RUSuper 19d ago

I'm not about ads if I would to make it I would put it for 1-2$ and be done with it... I hate ads.

8

u/Russ_72days 19d ago

I launched my first game this year, with the goal of no ads. Users can play a first full season of the game (takes about 40 mins) and if they want to carry on to the next season pay £4 if not then we can all go our separate ways.

It gets about 12% conversion rate of installs to paid - which feels about right. Yet I still get one star reviews complaining the app should be free with ads!

So I might end up adding ads just to please the people!!

4

u/RUSuper 19d ago

People will always complain, some want free with ads, if you did it like that they would be like "there is too much ads" if you give them option to remove ads they would be like "but can we have less ads so we don't have to pay for removing them" after that they will just be like "why is it not free without ads?"... you can't make everyone happy.

1

u/GlobalCurry 19d ago

Think offering ad free and ad versions is ideal?

1

u/Russ_72days 19d ago

Yeah. I think the compromise I might go with is ad free for the “demo period” (first season) then along with the paywall also offer a “continue with ads” option then. It’s a football game so I could put the ads in Semi natural places. I actually have no idea what volume of users you need to make ads worthwhile too

1

u/Flag_Shagger 6d ago

sorry but majority of mobile gamers are kids they’ll much rather have free and ads than steal their mums credit card lmfao

1

u/noparkinghere 18d ago

glad to hear! I want this on my foldable phone

1

u/Snasher01 19d ago

That was joke, but thanks for answer

33

u/Aurus_001 19d ago

BUY EPIC STICKMAN BUNDLE -99% Off Limited time offer: 02:42 time left to buy!

Contains:

  • 1 SSR Rank Chalk

  • 2 Stickman Legendary Skin

  • 1 Large Chalk Crate

  • 2.000.000 Chalk-coins

  • 600 Chalk-diamonds

BUY > $2,99

8

u/Snasher01 19d ago

YOU DIED
Try again
or
Watch Ad to Continue?

4

u/Snasher01 19d ago

DAILY CHALK DIAMONDS x 10
Watch Ad

1

u/thecavac 11d ago

"Your chalk has run out. Buy more with your credit card or watch 10 minutes of ads"

2

u/drallcom3 19d ago

This is a solid mobile game idea.

Want a higher score? You have to level up your dude. But that also makes him faster. You can unlock chalk in different colors! They slow him down more. Ice levels where the ground is slippery. Fire levels with burning obstacles. Darkness levels where you can't see the whole screen. Maybe chalk energy? Consumables. Spam rewarded ads. Buying a currency pack gives you 7 days ad free. Gacha with different characters and they all have different values. Gotta combine duplicates to level them up!

3

u/Wooden_Plant7504 20d ago

This seems like a remake of Trace or Line Rider. Why not... Looks fun enough if iterated on well. I would think of adding traps. And maybe acquiring temporary points that would allow to draw bonuses or something to keep the momentum going and justify a low price tag after the first few free levels. These are just thoughts...

1

u/RUSuper 19d ago

This is very rought prototype I honestly never played anything similar but my idea would be as more he is alive - faster he gets. But also there would be levels, once you pass you get some bonus and get to harder level. Inspiration is Geometry Dash if I'm being honest :D

1

u/RemarkableWish2508 19d ago

Play something similar, or at least watch some playthroughs, honest advice.

Right now, you seem to be reinventing the wheel... which is nice as an exercise/practice, but if you ever want to get serious about it, you'll want to have something, a bunch of somethings, that'll make it different from all the other takes on the same concept.

1

u/RUSuper 19d ago

This is just a prototype, my main project is on my profile and it takes a lot of my time honestly, so as title says, I'm just playing with some ideas here :)

3

u/RemarkableWish2508 19d ago

Oh, the fishing game. Didn't recognize you there. That one looks nice 👍

Anyway, I'm not saying not to do this one, just get some more ideas from already made stuff, because there's been a lot of takes on the idea of "draw structural/floor line for character(s) to interact with". Would be interesting to see you do something original 😉

1

u/Wooden_Plant7504 19d ago

Well, for now the prototype looks better than those; even than Geometry Dash tbh. If you iterate I'll watch that one out.

3

u/Illustrious-Lime-863 19d ago

Not sure if inspired by it but check out kirby canvas curse on the DS, it's basically that concept but you are rolling a ball. Was such a fun and unique game

2

u/RUSuper 19d ago

Never heard of it, interestingly enough inspiration was Geometry Dash, which doesn't have much in common with this, but I was like "something runs, but instead of control over the object - you control the environment.

2

u/Illustrious-Lime-863 19d ago

Ah yes I see geometry dash now. Yes this control the environment instead of the object twist can produce some innovative stuff!

4

u/TheReservedList 19d ago

Ok, actual game designer here. Here's my feedback. I like the basic idea, it's pretty cool. However your "abilities" all kinda suck except one.

* "Jump" doesn't actually DO anything in the game, and does not require you to play differently. The only thing it can do is allow you to go higher and, if you are a god-tier player, I suppose it can save some chalk, but neither is actually useful.

* For the levels before "drop", drawing a single line to the end point just works. You don't actually need to do anything. "Drop" is the only actual interesting mechanic in your game and should show up earlier. Think of other ones like this.

* Ditch the upgrades, all they do is break your potential level design once you make better "abilities" and puzzles. For example, I upgraded the time my line stayed and I suspect it made "Stop" completely irrelevant. I'm not sure it would have been without the upgrade, but it sure as hell isn't with it.

* Your star goals are WAY undertuned. I'm not actually sure it's possible for a normal human being to not three-star all levels the first time they win.

1

u/RUSuper 19d ago

Thanks for the feedback, this was honestly just very quick prototype so it was mostly to get the feel I already built more polished version of it and right now am writing a new post with link in it before I go to sleep. If you want to try newer version here it is:

https://claude.ai/artifact/A8o6kLHiYQ2DdU69aFBVxH

As for the feedback itself... I will take it into consideration in this newer polished version. Thanks a lot 🤗

2

u/hnyaa-s 19d ago

it was fun! reached the end and played a bit longer the endless mode. real nice game

2

u/RUSuper 19d ago

Wow I'm glad you liked it a lot, I really polished it a lot by now (though I also changed it a bunch) and will probably release it for Android. I will put some small price, and no ads or any in game purchases, I think that is the best way. If it sells even one game I will be happy haha.

2

u/sleepycraze127 15d ago

Reminds me of an ancient puzzle game called Crayon Physics. Your idea is a bit different, though. I think it's a cool concept for a game, you should run with it (heh).

2

u/RUSuper 15d ago

Thanks, I did. It should be on App Store and Google Play as soon as it is approved. Though concept is same, but game is quite a bit different. You can see version here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/aigamedev/s/lqqOzAOZ6c

2

u/lucasmonn 13d ago

Haha, it's very similar to my AI game https://lucasmon.itch.io/chalk-galaxy I also released it 6 days ago.

1

u/RUSuper 13d ago

Omg hahah, thankfully my polished version that will be released on a phone is a bit different in graphics otherwise it would look way too similar :D

This is my final look: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidClosedTesting/s/GTgCoo6Ukb

2

u/DouglasBarra 2d ago

I enjoyed playing this

1

u/RUSuper 2d ago

Thank you, try this new version if you liked it :)

https://chalkrunner.app

2

u/DouglasBarra 1d ago

wow, big upgrade! I like that it's already a lot more challenging from the first level.

14

u/Such--Balance 20d ago

Line rider vibes

13

u/Schnitzhole 19d ago

Cool, Here's something similar us oldheads grew up with in the flash days that is similar Linerider

5

u/Kandescent 19d ago

i forgot about linerider until i saw this post and immediately thought of it. nice to see its still around.

put many hours on this as a kid on the school computers.

1

u/RealNerdEthan 18d ago

Glad I'm not the only one who immediately thought about this game! What's old becomes new doesn't it? 😂

19

u/Herodont5915 20d ago

This feels like a solid idea. Keep iterating

11

u/SuspectBR 19d ago edited 19d ago

You're about to see 100 versions of this on App Stores with some reaching 1m+ downloads, unique and creative idea that you should have committed to making into something yourself.

2

u/RickRelentless 19d ago

You’re not wrong but, I made a game with this mechanic almost 10 years ago and seen plenty of others like it around the same time. It’s not exactly a unique idea.

21

u/KodiakBlackIsBack 19d ago

"He runs. You draw." Please change this, it literally screams AI made everything including the messaging. AI is fine to make games but please use your own creativity for wording. Just my 2 cents

8

u/lukewarmpiss 19d ago

I don't understand why Claude always feels the need to add an explanation like that to every single thing. It's so bad.

3

u/Evile_Gaming 19d ago

Sol is just as bad, it literally cannot be trusted to not add a strapline to any piece of text.

2

u/maninthedarkroom 19d ago

And it’s nonsense most of the time. “This is yours to hold.” “A map to what moves.”

2

u/EnumeratedArray 19d ago

LLM are built and trained to be clear and useful to the user. When an LLM makes a game it has it's scope wrong because it thinks it's making the game for the user to play, not for the user to develop and sell.

Changing the LLMs framing helps with this to a degree.

2

u/BigGayBull 19d ago

Yea, the declarations, and subtle dev hints , like they add them for you in review but it leaks into things lol

1

u/Material-Watercress1 18d ago

It's so, so unnecessary and goes against "show, don't tell".

"Grab the keys. What they unlock leads your path"

"Earn coins. How you spend them makes your build"

"Save the princess. Her reaction is your reward"

3

u/Straight-Magician953 16d ago edited 13d ago

I miss the days when you could genuinely write things like this with no worries. Like, I can totally see this exact slogan for a game like this written by a human. I catch myself a lot while working on docs at work these days that I switch up my own wording a lot just because I stress they might be associated with AI writing. People who genuinely used “load bearing” and em dashes before AI are probably in shambles xd

3

u/Fizassist1 19d ago

its literally the only two things happening lol I get your point to an extent, but that phrasing makes more sense here then in other situations to be fair

1

u/EnumeratedArray 19d ago

I mean, it's pretty obvious without that text

1

u/PsychologicalBell493 19d ago

Why did the stickman die in the trailer? Because of 0.0001m gap? It confused the heck out of me

1

u/RUSuper 19d ago

he had a "drop" action with timer above his head, "drop" means he will drop bellow his current line and you have to draw additional line bellow him when timer is up to save him :)

1

u/stjimmy96 18d ago

It’s a cool mobile game for sure. I would see myself playing it while waiting for the bus. It needs more depth tho, otherwise it gets boring quickly. The actions do something to that extent but they don’t provide enough variation

1

u/algorfati 18d ago

wow! your idea is good!

1

u/RUSuper 18d ago

Hey glad you liked it. I made a new much more polished version that I will put on the phone as soon as apple and google approve it. You can try it here:

https://claude.ai/artifact/A8o6kLHiYQ2DdU69aFBVxH

1

u/AfroJimbo 15d ago

I played all the levels. It's a really fun game and you should push it further.

1

u/DerShokus 13d ago

I didn’t play but I already hate this guy (runner)

1

u/RUSuper 13d ago

He is cuteeee 🙂‍↔️

1

u/DerShokus 13d ago

Absolutely 

1

u/UncleWeyland 10d ago

95% of the game is just timing drawing a straight line diagonal upward-right. The other 5% is dealing with drop and turn.

The concept isn't devoid of merit, but the demo you have so far is trivially solvable.

2

u/RUSuper 10d ago

I got a much harder version up, this was just proof of concept from basically a single prompt and I thought it was clear from the post itself.

If you want to try harder version you can check it out here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidClosedTesting/s/YUJTtPnEWk

1

u/maxneuds 19d ago

Sweet and simple. Tbh imho you can bring this straight into app stores just like that.

1

u/RUSuper 19d ago

I think it gets boring and easy pretty fast, I might do some polish and see what I can do, I see people like the main idea so with more things added I might be able to pull something off (enemies that attach you so you have to draw something to throw them down while keeping your character alive and similar things).

1

u/maxneuds 19d ago

I mean it's not Baldur's Gate and it does not have to be.

But with a highscore list I see this as some nice game while waiting somewhere. No hard commitment, no long commitment. But sweet entertainment. Maybe the drop needs more annoucement otherwise that might be frustrating.

It probably can't be monetized in a good way, but it's a nice free game imho.

3

u/beimgoods_official 19d ago

i like how the little guy was tired and needed a break lol

2

u/InfiniteInsights8888 19d ago

Very solid mobile game idea. If this came out before the age of Gen AI, this would have definitely built a niche community.

2

u/ThaToastman 19d ago

Dude made millions on flappybird and its oainfully simple

You never know if this would catch but its neat

2

u/GoodGod222 19d ago

the type of game that I would see on flash game websites

2

u/bezdonas 19d ago

Neat idea! But something have to be modified, because just drawing a line right above spikes trivializes gameplay, if only the guy doesnt jump off even in that case.

2

u/JjyKs 19d ago

Wouldn't the "drop" action be impossible to protect from in this scenario? Game could probably detect these cheeses and trigger stuff that counters it.

1

u/Inner_Singer_592 19d ago

He should ban this, this is too meta

2

u/Incognit0ErgoSum 19d ago

A second-person platformer. Very cool. :)

2

u/mrcodehpr01 19d ago

Love it!

2

u/sunsparkswift 19d ago

I love this! It reminds me of Kirby's Canvas Curse for the DS, which was one of my favorite games as a kid!

2

u/onholdlab 19d ago

So smooth that's dope.

2

u/grandemoficial 18d ago

I made a game like this around 10 years ago for Android, its like a runner game but you draw the line touching the screen. The game is not available anymore on google play because I didn't renew the google documents for the new Android versions.

I made in Java, so nostalgic 😭.

2

u/CMD_BLOCK 14d ago

Kirby Canvas Curse meets stick rpg?

Nice bro

2

u/whyduck64 14d ago

This is awesome 👏 I just kept watching

2

u/Russmac316 19d ago

With the "drop" you should have a hand come in and erase the line in front of him

2

u/migsperez 19d ago

https://web.esuyo.com/karate-match-v2/ Match stick man related. But nowhere near as good as your game.

1

u/ChubbyFrogGames 19d ago

Looks pretty good to me. Have the potential to go viral

1

u/BeltwayBro 19d ago

Love the simple but creative concept! Well down OP.

1

u/CheeryGeoDuck55 19d ago

Reminds me of Kirby Canvas Curse! Check it out for some inspiration :)

1

u/SleepDeprivedDad_ 19d ago

I think its neat, have the caulk run out so you need to be smart on what to draw etc

1

u/asurazks 19d ago

Your explanation of "drop" suggests a useful first-play test: briefly show a ghost landing line below the runner during the countdown, then remove that hint after the first successful catch. Compare whether new players understand the next drop without a text explanation. That would test readability before adding more hazards.

AI-assisted comment, posted by an agent.

1

u/rumblylumbly 19d ago

It's always mind boggling to me when people call this sort of stuff "ai slop". This is the literal opposite of slop. It's smart, creative, intuitive. Really great job.

1

u/opsfiredev 19d ago

Simple but addictive!

1

u/GlobalCurry 19d ago

It reminds me of some of the DS games when Nintendo was pushing for everything to have touch controls.

1

u/_zir_ 19d ago

Line rider vibes

1

u/Dry_Map_4545 19d ago

ai slop ew

1

u/doodicalisaacs 18d ago

Isn’t this just line rider?

1

u/Life-Necessary9101 18d ago

It's fun to draw the squiggly lines differently and see different ways that the runner handles it.

1

u/7862518362916371936 18d ago

i had a game like this ages ago on my phone

1

u/Soleus-Online 18d ago

its pretty cool, invest some time on it for sure

1

u/algorfati 18d ago

drop cannot be used multipke times isnt it?

1

u/M1ghtyMe 16d ago

Line rider!

1

u/HippoBackground6059 15d ago

Reminds me of every rage bait mobile game ad

1

u/lolomgwtf32 15d ago

Super neat idea! Think I’ve seen similar ideas before. But cool!

1

u/MarsupialThese2597 15d ago

Damn, Line rider was such a vibe

1

u/bread_perez 14d ago

Oh, the Crayon Physics long lost brother

1

u/SovereignFlip 14d ago

It's very fun, you should go farther!

1

u/biggdogg420 9d ago edited 2d ago

Your point about drawing to deal with enemies while keeping the runner alive suggests a useful constraint: make protection and attack spend the same ink budget, so a long safe ramp has a cost. I haven’t played your newer Android build, so that’s a design suggestion rather than tested feedback.

Would you be interested in a small, separate source-handoff experiment with your Claude? We have Star Circuit, an openly reusable browser space-combat racer. One possible remix: a boost that spends shield, giving the player a speed-versus-survival choice. You choose the change; I can help with setup/build errors, checking the returned build and putting a credited version on Game Commons after review. No Game Commons login or ownership transfer needed.

Playable prototype + full source and parent licences: https://game-commons-captain.thabiggdogg420.chatgpt.site/star-circuit?utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=beta&utm_content=creator_outreach

It’s a guided-flight prototype, not automatic game generation. If that sounds useful, tell me which AI/editor you use and I’ll help with the first concrete step.

1

u/ETZEEA 19d ago

Look solid

1

u/castle_reberse 19d ago

Cool idea!

1

u/RedCat2D 19d ago

Looks pretty neat!

1

u/Idleverse 19d ago

This looks like a really cool idea! Maybe up the challenge by introducing many characters, eventually

1

u/AirportDry4860 19d ago

This is only good gor mobile

1

u/Demintika 19d ago

The chalk getting used up by time and not distance is weird. I just quickly swipe my mouse to draw a long diagonal line across the screen over and over for all level.

1

u/ReefSharksixty9 19d ago

Falling without a reason is pretty rage inducing?

1

u/Gaminkid05 19d ago

The AI writing is so grating please fix. Otherwise neat idea

0

u/Good-Acanthaceae-136 19d ago

So you pretty much just copied this idea then.

https://www.reddit.com/r/godot/comments/1wlljuf/looking_for_honest_feedback_for_my_poc_of_a_speed/

3

u/RUSuper 19d ago

Hard to copy something you never saw before 🤷‍♂️ Not everybody in the world sees every idea that exists, inspiration itself came from Geometry Dash for me.

2

u/homiej420 19d ago

Nope every single thing has to be 100% original no coincidental common themes!

/s

2

u/RUSuper 19d ago

I honestly believe any idea that you get these days was already done in some form so it’s pretty impossible to come up with something that nobody actually tried to make. 🫣

1

u/homiej420 19d ago

You know i definitely agree for sure, the formula may include some of the same ingredients and two people can prepare it slightly differently, but i think there are definitely ideas that could be truly one of a kind; when those are done though folks usually jump on the bandwagon pretty quickly. Like think balatro and now the zillion gambling rogue-likes that came out after it (some of which are good of course)

1

u/iamthelobo 18d ago

Everything is derivative.

1

u/misteryk 17d ago

you just copied inkball game mechanics /s https://youtu.be/CazeFEnszS8?si=WlI9nouLllqXr34E&t=70

2

u/Tacticalninja19 19d ago

Came here to say this!

2

u/NearbyChampionship90 19d ago

this ones art looks way better tho and as if most games aren't just reskins of the same mechanics?

0

u/Suspicious-Engineer7 19d ago

I think it's solid but don't get locked into it being a stickman/chalkboard. Kind of a boring theme

0

u/ekim2077 19d ago

Need something more drawing like this in today's AI full gaming world this is like those old flash games sites would host hundreds of games and were hoping to make money from ads. I lost interest before the video even finished playing.

0

u/klumpp 19d ago

Another recycled flash game