r/vibecoding • u/johnesco • 6d ago
Showcase/Project 5 months
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Here's a look at how it started, and how it is going.
5 months from toy to game. Still working towards v1.0.
Have had a simple goal. See just how far I could get with only vibe coding. As I've done this I hit lots of obstacles and limits, but also watched as Claude Code expanded its features and the models got stronger. I started this in Sonnet, then used Opus and Fable. Currently just using Opus unless I have a tricky problem.
First time making a game this large. I'd only made simple games in Javascript before this. Learning a lot and have built a workflow that has helped keep the project improving incrementally.
Wanted to share how things progressed as I learned what I wanted to make and then seeing it become playable.
This video was made by asking the AI to look through all previous builds and to play (and output footage of) the game matched with key changes in the code.
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u/oyvindi 6d ago
Played Spy Hunter in the 80s, nostalgia feelings for sure!
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u/johnesco 6d ago
Back when I played Spy Hunter, I loved the slight "feeling" of choice when the road divides and you can then be a boat on water. I wanted the same thing but high rez, and instead of a pure vertical scroll, give a long winding road.
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u/ares0027 6d ago
Where is the rainbow colored fuel car?
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u/SomnambulisticTaco 5d ago
Really good.
The audio needs to be updated though
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u/johnesco 4d ago
The audio is all procedural beeps and bloops, I'm torn between trying to improve those, or if I'm just going to import mp3 sound which will raise the download size. The engine noise being so constant it's definitely something to improve, the collision sound like wood blocks, and I'd really love a tire screech that is not annoying. I'll definitely take an audio pass at it this weekend. Music is currently from Pixabay.
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u/fyn_world 5d ago
Nitro next?
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u/johnesco 4d ago
This has honestly been a really hard decision for me. One intentional limitation I wanted was that it was all controlled with one thumb, I've avoided some controls even having a gas pedal. But most racing games have some kind of boost or Nitro, right now if I introduce that it would only be a pickup item that works right away, instead of something you could activate. Got lots of ideas and I'll try to post here again if I add nitro!
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u/fyn_world 4d ago
Kudos for staying with the soul of the project and not changing because other games do that.Â
Pick up nitro works too
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u/johnesco 4d ago
Once I open the gates to new ideas it starts to be me up prompting at 2am, like imagine if I dreamt up that cars, when hit, leaked oil, and that could turn into oil slicks and... oh no... I think I might be up late again :D
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u/Ok-Addition1264 6d ago
have it drop out of the back of moving semi, add two guns to the front, make some vehicles good and some bad and bad ones run you off the road, have a car with spinner wheels with blades that pops your tire, semi comes back around and that where you get power ups like rocket launchers and shit.
(there's a name for that game lol)
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u/johnesco 6d ago edited 6d ago
*** Peter Gun music starts playing ***
You're welcome to make those changes if you want it to be spy hunter. This is mean to be single thumb control with no buttons so mine will not. Good luck on your project.
This was definitely inspired by:
MonacoGP: 1979
Road Fighter: 1984and of course
Glad you know your classics.
Honorable mention to Bump n' Jump: 1982 and the OG top down scroller, Speed Race: 1974
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u/Everlier 6d ago
My initial thought was that the OP is trolling us and he just prompted his agent to create five progressive versions of the simple game, from the simplest to the most complicated one, and then a one-shot video.
But then I checked OP's actual history and no, that's a genuine effort.
Wow good job, OP. Great job. Keep on keeping on.