Strategic Shapes
Game Overview
Controls
- Player 1:
W,A,S,D - Player 2: Arrow keys (
↑,↓,←,→) - Controls are fully rebindable.
About the Game
This game was created for a Local Multiplayer Kids Game Jam. Unfortunately, time constraints prevented the inclusion of several planned features such as:
- A story
- Sound effects (SFX)
- Animations
- Polish and visual improvements
- Additional mechanics
- Better Level designs
- More levels
- Tutorials
- Transitions
Despite these limitations, the game showcases a functional, multiplayer experience.
Credits
- Programming: GPT o1-preview, GPT o1-mini, GPT-4o, Sonnet 3.5
- Art: Created using CSS and HTML code generated by Claude Sonnet 3.5
- Music: Generated using Udio v1.5
- Game Design:
- Mechanics and progression designed by me.
- Levels were crafted using ASCII tile mappers.
Development Process
- Development took 3 full days with the use of AI tools.
- The custom ASCII tile mapper was also AI-generated, allowing efficient integration of levels into the game.
- Although the process relied on AI for programming, art, and music, manual effort was essential to achieve a functional game.
Game State
This game was created specifically for the game jam it was submitted to and is now discontinued. While I won’t be making any major updates or adding new features, I’m open to addressing minor issues if they’re pointed out—though I’m aware of several myself that I didn’t have time to fix during the jam. Your feedback is still very much appreciated, as it helps me improve for future projects. Thank you for playing and supporting this game!
Programming Experience
My programming experience is limited, with only a foundational understanding that aligns with an early-stage learner. While I have explored game development, my practical exposure is modest, including partial completion of a beginner-level C# Unity course on Udemy. This provided a basic grasp of programming principles but left me far from being proficient enough to create my own game without the assistance of AI.
For this project, my involvement in coding was minimal beyond specific adjustments—such as modifying variables or designing ASCII-based map layouts—relying heavily on AI-generated code. My role was less about technical expertise and more about guiding the AI tools effectively to achieve the desired functionality.
Ambition
Looking ahead, my goal over the next few years is to create many more games with the assistance of AI. While this project was functional, I aim to significantly improve the quality of future games, ensuring they are not just playable but genuinely engaging and polished experiences. I aim to demonstrate that it's possible to create engaging, polished experiences without needing extensive expertise in areas like art, music, or programming, relying instead on the power of AI to fill those gaps.
Comments
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I played through all the levels in this game, I take it this was inspired by fireboy and watergirl.
Positives:
1. The levels are pretty well designed
2. Can be enjoyed either be yourself or with a friend.
3. Browser Playable
4. The levels design is pretty good
Negatives:
1. Missing out on most of the things that were initially planned.
2. I'm not a big fan of the delay of moving onto the next level, it confused me on the first level. Maybe this can be fixed by adding a transition
3. The entire screen moves when you move the blue character, I think this problem is from a setting you turned on with your itch.io project.
4. Doesn't really have an original idea, maybe this is just because your using AI and are just trying to start off as a game dev, but this is really important in the gaming industry especially with the rise of AI.
Overall a 6.5/10, I bet just another 3 days of working on this would bring this to an 8.5/10
Thank you for taking the time to provide such detailed feedback—it’s greatly appreciated!
I’ve addressed the two smaller issues you mentioned. The delay in moving to the next level has been removed, and the screen no longer scrolls when using the arrow keys. These were issues I noticed during the jam but didn’t have time to fix. Your feedback gave me the motivation to revisit these problems and finally resolve them, even after the jam ended—so thank you for that!
As for the inspiration, the game was influenced in part by Fireboy and Watergirl, but the bulk of the idea actually came from a game I saw featured in this Reddit post. Because of this, the game lacks any form of originality, and I completely understand the importance of originality—especially with the rise of AI tools in game development.
When I entered this jam, I had only three days left to put something together. Given the tight timeframe, I chose to build on a familiar concept to ensure I could finish the game on time. Crafting and implementing unique mechanics would have required more time and iteration than the deadline allowed. While it was a compromise, it helped me focus on actually completing the project within the constraints.
That said, I won’t be continuing development on this game, as it was always intended as a one-off project for the game jam. However, I’m glad to have made these small improvements based on your feedback—it’s been a rewarding experience to revisit and polish it just a little more.
Once again, thank you for sharing your thoughts, your feedback gave me a better understanding of the impact of the issues you pointed out on the overall experience.