My 7-Year-Old Son Made a Game Using These AI Tools! Here's How You Can Too With WebSim and ChatGPT!

Key Concepts

AI-assisted game development, websam, ChatGPT, prompt engineering, iterative development, AI limitations, child-friendly coding tools, game hackathon, divide and conquer strategy, Bolt, AutoDev, Vin Surf, Cursor.

Game Development with AI: A 7-Year-Old's Experience

Introduction

The video showcases a game developed by the speaker's seven-year-old son, Al, using AI tools. The goal is to demonstrate how accessible game development has become, even for children with limited typing skills. The speaker aims to inspire others to explore AI-assisted creation with their kids.

The Game: Village Builder

The game involves running around, cutting down trees, collecting resources, building houses, and interacting with villagers. There are different villager types (Lumberjacks, Hunters, Builders) who contribute to the village. Animals like bears and wolves pose a threat. The player has limited lives and can upgrade their inventory. The objective is to build a thriving village.

• Gameplay Mechanics: Resource gathering (wood), construction (houses), villager management (hiring), combat (against animals).
• Villager Roles: Lumberjacks cut down trees, Hunters kill animals, Builders construct houses.

The Dream: A Family Game Hackathon

The speaker expresses a desire to participate in a game hackathon with his children, viewing it as a rewarding and creative experience. He initially doubted his son's ability due to his age but decided to experiment during his son's fall break.

The Tools: websam and ChatGPT

The core tools used were websam, a platform for rapid prototyping of websites and games, and ChatGPT, a large language model.

• websam: Used for generating initial game prototypes from simple prompts.
  • Example: "Create a game like Mario with platforms and jumping."
• ChatGPT: Used for generating detailed plans, instructions, and code snippets. It also provided audio input/output for easier interaction.
  • The son dictated prompts to ChatGPT and listened to its responses, overcoming his limited typing and reading skills.

The Process: Iterative Prompting and Development

The development process was highly iterative, involving constant prompting, testing, and refinement.

1. Initial Prompt: A simple, high-level description of the desired game.
2. ChatGPT Plan: Asking ChatGPT to create a detailed plan for the game using specific technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
3. websam Generation: Using the ChatGPT-generated plan as a prompt for websam to create a game prototype.
4. Testing and Feedback: Playing the prototype and identifying areas for improvement.
5. Refinement: Asking ChatGPT for specific changes, features, or instructions.
6. Iteration: Repeating steps 3-5 until the desired game is achieved.

Overcoming Challenges

• Copy-Pasting: The son initially struggled with copy-pasting between ChatGPT and websam.
• Prompt Engineering: Learning how to formulate effective prompts to get the desired results from the AI.
• AI Limitations: The AI sometimes misunderstood prompts or generated incomplete or incorrect code.

Day-by-Day Breakdown

• Day 1: Initial experimentation with websam and ChatGPT. Focus on basic game mechanics and instructions. The son asked for help with copy-pasting multiple times.
• Day 2: Transition to a top-down view and the use of emojis for graphics. Iteration on game features and mechanics. 65 versions were created.
• Day 3: Refinement of the game, including the addition of villagers, building mechanics, and animal AI. The final version of the game was achieved.

Key Prompts and Iterations

• Initial websam Prompt (Russian): "I want a game where a human can run around, cut down trees, collect what he cut down, and then choose what kind of houses he can build."
• Adding Instructions: Asking the AI to output documentation and help on how to play the game.
• Emoji Graphics: Suggesting the use of emojis for game assets.
• Villager Interaction: Adding the ability to hire villagers and assign them tasks (woodcutting, hunting).
• Animal AI: Implementing animal behavior, including the ability to attack the player and villagers.
• Building Zones: Implementing a system to restrict building to specific areas.
• Camera Following: Making the camera follow the player as they move around the map.

Notable Quotes

• "I want to be dying from animals. I want animals to be able to kill me. I want animals to be able to kill the villagers." - Al, expressing a desire for a more challenging game.

AI Limitations and Future Steps

The speaker acknowledges that the current AI tools have limitations, particularly when dealing with large code files. He plans to explore more advanced tools like Vin Surf and Cursor, but these are currently too complex for a seven-year-old. He hopes that tools like Bolt and AutoDev will bridge the gap between simple prototyping and full-fledged development environments.

• Vin Surf and Cursor: Full-fledged integrated development environments with AI coding agents.
• Bolt and AutoDev: Tools that aim to simplify AI-assisted coding for non-developers.
• Divide and Conquer: The strategy of splitting complex problems into smaller, manageable parts.

Conclusion

The video concludes with the speaker emphasizing the potential of AI tools to empower children to create games and other interactive experiences. He encourages viewers to explore these tools with their kids and share their experiences. He also expresses his intention to continue developing the game with his son and exploring more advanced AI-assisted development techniques. The main takeaway is that AI opens doors for creativity like never before, even for young children.