heyitssim

I love making games, and I've been building a no-code game engine by extracting reusable components every time I ship a new game. It started as me scratching my own itch, and now it's turning into a real platform.

Each game adds more building blocks to the editor: multiplayer, event systems, NPC behaviors, pathfinding, etc. I build a system once, and then anyone using the editor can use it in a click.

Since my last month, I shipped the asset marketplace and the LLM builder. Artists can now upload tilesets and characters, and unlike itch.io, assets drop directly into the editor. You can preview how they'll actually look in-game before using them [1].

An other problem I kept running into: even with a no-code editor, users don't know where to start. So now I'm extending it with a coding agent. Describe the game you want, and it assembles it — pulling assets from the marketplace, wiring up the event system, and using all the building blocks I've spent the past year extracting. Multiplayer, mobile controls, pathfinding, NPC behaviors — the agent doesn't build any of it, just reaches for what's already there.

Once the LLM assembles it, users will have a game ready to work on, and will still be able jump into the editor and tweak everything [2]. Here's an example of what it can already make [3] (after a lot of prompting), and the goal is to reach games like this one I built with the manual editor[4].

Hoping to release the AI mode in a week or two. The manual editor is live at https://craftmygame.com in the meantime.

[1] https://craftmygame.com/asset/mossy-cavern-JdYWai1

[2] https://youtu.be/6I0-eTmoHwQ

[3] https://youtu.be/FZ12XSZu4nM

[4] https://craftmygame.com/game/island-survivor-s1Ay7Go

you can do definitely! and we export terrain/animation to godot or a bundle to js/html with the whole game. Reach me out if you struggle to start :)

As a web dev you're in a better spot than you think — state management, event handling, render loops... you already have the mental models.

Claude Code can genuinely help you with: - Scaffolding a game project (Phaser.js is great for web devs getting into 2D) - Writing boilerplate: input handling, collision detection, basic physics - Debugging weird edge cases in game logic - Generating utility code like sprite sheet parsers, tilemap loaders, etc.

What it can't do (and where most beginners hit a wall): - Game design. Knowing what makes a game actually fun is a skill Claude can't shortcut. You need to playtest, iterate, and develop taste. - Art and assets. This is the #1 blocker for most solo devs. Claude can't draw your sprites or design your tilesets. - Feel and polish. Tweaking jump curves, screen shake timing, hit feedback — that's all manual iteration. AI will give you "technically correct" values that feel lifeless. - Architecture decisions. Claude will happily generate an ECS system or a scene manager, but it doesn't know your game's actual needs. Bad architecture early on will cost you weeks later.

Start with a tiny scope (like a single-screen platformer), use Claude Code to move fast on the code side, but spend most of your energy on the parts AI can't help with — design and feel.

Also, shameless plug, if you want to skip the code entirely and just focus on making the game, that's what CraftMyGame is for. Everything is visual, no coding needed. Might be a good way to prototype ideas fast before deciding if you want to go deeper on the code side ;)

My version of OP's roads problem is blob autotiling - how tiles connect to their neighbors. 256 possible neighbor combinations reduce to 47 valid patterns once you realize corners only matter when both adjacent edges are present. You paint a semantic type like "wall", the system resolves the right tile from those 47 patterns - but painting one tile cascades outward, neighbors re-resolve, which triggers their neighbors, and you're tracking stale state to keep it all consistent. Same underlying problem as road segments affecting connected intersections.

I've been trying to make this as easy as possible for non technical people to draw terrain in craftmygame (the game engine I'm building) here's what the terrain painting looks like in the editor so far : https://youtu.be/bFrUYM2t3ZA?si=tw1LqBWR7Uyn08lR&t=37

I love making games, and I’ve been building a no-code game engine by extracting reusable components every time I ship a new game. It started as me scratching my own itch, and now it’s turning into a real platform.

Each game adds more building blocks to the editor: multiplayer, event systems, NPC behaviors, pathfinding, etc. I build a system once, and then anyone using the editor can use it in a click. For game logic, I recently added a visual event system I’m really excited about. It’s kind of like Unreal Blueprints, but focused on 2D. You pick a trigger, wire conditions, and chain actions in a node graph [1].

Big challenge right now: most people who want to make games needs assets, and don't know how to get/make them. So I’m building a marketplace where pixel artists can upload tilesets/characters, and unlike itch.io, assets are usable directly inside the engine. No ZIP downloads or import setup, just browse and drop into your game. A preview here[2].

Also, if you want to use the editor but ship elsewhere, you can export terrain, animations, and hitboxes to Godot 4. Nothing is locked in.

The engine/editor is at https://craftmygame.com if anyone wants to poke around! And you can test a games here[3][4], and 1 multiplayer game I've tested IRL in a bar [4]!

[1] https://youtu.be/8fRzC2czGJc

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hScOK_naYnk

[3] https://craftmygame.com/game/e310c6fcd8f4448f9dc67aac/r/play

[4] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WOIUmOVvaZM

Love the workflow focus in this release. 2D animations/hitboxes and terrain creation was tedious enough that I built a tool around it—draw, animate, export to Godot if anyone needs it. It also now become a full game engine!

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBLFv5R8jJI

[2] https://craftmygame.com/

Thanks! What are you building?

Some things RPG Maker can't really do: real-time multiplayer (works out of the box), web-native games (just share a link), and you're not locked to RPGs - platformers, survival, racing, top-down action all work too!

Not yet - the no-code approach is intentional. One of my main targets is non-technical people or who want a quick prototype of their ideas.

Text-based scripting adds complexity and security concerns I'd rather avoid for now.

That said, if users start asking for it, I'll reconsider.

What would you want to do with code that feels limited in the visual editor?

Thanks! Still early days but it's been fun building. Happy to help if you ever want to try making something with it

I love making games! I've been building a no-code game engine by extracting reusable components each time I make a new game. Started as a way to scratch my own itch, now it's becoming a proper platform. A couple games I've shipped with it:

- https://craftmygame.com/game/e310c6fcd8f4448f9dc67aac/r/play

- https://craftmygame.com/game/f977040308d84f41b615244b/r/play

Each game I build adds to the component library: multiplayer, event systems, NPC behaviors, dialogues, etc... Currently working on a multiplayer Bomberman clone which is stress-testing the networking layer.

The engine/editor is at craftmygame.com if anyone wants to poke around!

I've been working on a no-code multiplayer game editor. The idea is to let anyone create multiplayer games in a few clicks without writing code—and share them instantly.

The platform handles all what's necessary (and annoying to setup) out of the box: multiplayer, controls, mobile/responsive/ inventories, save/load, leaderboards, quests, dialogue, etc... Users just select what they want and configure it with clicks.

Technically, the engine just reads a config file and renders it for players. I've built all the foundation blocks that interpret the config.

I'll soon be onboarding game designers to stress-test the editor/engine. Still polishing templates so people have a good starting point, but it's functional and I'd love feedback!

- Try a quick game here: https://craftmygame.com/game/proj_1765327918743_cicdnsqgy/r/...

- if you want to signup and try to make a game with one of the template: https://craftmygame.com/

I've been working on a no-code multiplayer game editor. The idea is to let anyone create multiplayer games in a few clicks without writing code—and share them instantly.

You pick a template (platformer, tower defense, battle arena, etc.), customize it through the UI, and get real-time multiplayer with up to ?? players—no networking code, everything hosted.

The platform handles all the classic game systems out of the box: AI behaviors, combat, inventories, save/load, live leaderboards.

Technically, the engine just reads a config file and renders it for players. I've built all the foundation blocks that interpret the config. Once that's solid, I'm planning to add LLM generation—but foundation first.

I'll soon be onboarding game designers to stress-test the editor/engine. Still polishing templates so people have a good starting point, but it's functional and I'd love feedback!

Try it: https://craftmygame.com

building a location-based game that captures Taiwan's absurd convenience stores density[1]. Players stand at any 7-11/FamilyMart/etc, take a photo showing you can see the next store, walk to it, repeat. Chain as many stores together as you can.

It sounds silly but Taiwan really is this convenient - you often can see 2-3 stores from one spot. Here[2] one route where you can actually link 7 convenience stores in a row! Now trying to make maps look a bit nicer with mapbox.

[1] https://craftmygame.com/game/convenience-store-marathon

[2] https://craftmygame.com/game/convenience-store-marathon/rout...

Building a location-based game that captures Taiwan's absurd convenience store density[1]

The premise: stand at any 7-11/FamilyMart/etc, take a photo showing you can see the next store, walk to it, repeat. Chain as many stores together as you can. It sounds silly but Taiwan really is this convenient - you often can see 2-3 stores from one spot. Here[2] one route where you can actually link 7 convenience stores in a row!

This is actually the first game built on our upcoming platform for creating branded games. Figured the best way to test the concept was to make something fun first!

[1] https://craftmygame.com/game/convenience-store-marathon

[2] https://craftmygame.com/game/convenience-store-marathon/rout...

Currently building my own game engine for my games[1], but I'm facing the classic indie game marketing challenge. While platforms like CrazyGames, Poki, grab most of web players.

I'm exploring zero-budget marketing approaches. Currently experimenting with daily news posts for SEO[2] and converting them to podcasts too.

Would appreciate any suggestions on effective no-budget marketing strategies, or feedbacks!

[1] https://pixelbrawlgames.com/game/blast/

[2] https://pixelbrawlgames.com/dailynews

who will benefit from those datacenters?

happy new year from Asia!

interesting why so?

shameless plug: if you like retro-games I'm working on https://pixelbrawlgames.com

Still working on my game engine. I was sharing my game around, and it was challenging for people to find people to play with. Added on an "arena" mode for my web games. Player will join a room running "indefinitely" :

https://pixelbrawlgames.com/game/blast/r/arena

Still have a few issues and bugs I have to fix: I'm in Asia and the server is in the US I feel like the latency is quite high. Players are popping up in some limited area. I hope to bring this mode to all my future games.

Hey HN, I'm excited to share my custom game engine built for recreating retro games with a modern twist. This is my first time showing it more widely online, and I hope that it can showcases the engine's capabilities. I'm using:

- React for UI components

- Three.js for 3D rendering

- WebSockets for real-time features

- AWS EC2 for hosting

- Added support for Telegram where many games seems to be played today

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Working on a game engine to help me create my take on some retro games. My first one is a multiplayer bombing puzzle game[1].

It's made with React and Three.js, using WebSocket on a small EC2 instance for now. I hope to be able to reuse all the game mechanisms in other classic games. I'm learning a ton, and I had some fun figuring out latency issues because I recently put my sockets behind Cloudflare. I still haven't gotten it quite right, but I'm hoping to find a good solution soon!

[1] https://pixelbrawlgames.com/game/blast