Test the Difficulty Curve Before You Add More Levels
More levels will not fix a prototype with a broken difficulty curve. Build one tuning lane, run three passes, and make the ramp readable before expanding.
September 11, 2026
Test Save Points Before You Expand the Map
A bigger map will not fix a prototype that forgets what the player earned. Test save points while the world is still small enough to break on purpose.
August 28, 2026
Test Enemy Telegraphs Before You Add Smarter AI
Before you ask AI for smarter enemies, test whether players can read one attack. A readable telegraph does more for early combat than another behavior tree.
August 21, 2026
Build a 30-Second Tutorial Room Before You Add More Mechanics
A tutorial room is not a lesson plan. It is a stress test for whether your first playable teaches one action, one risk, and one goal without extra explanation.
August 14, 2026
Set a Spawn Budget Before You Add Enemy Types
Before you ask AI for more enemy types, test how many threats the first one can support. A spawn budget tells you whether the loop has pressure or just clutter.
August 7, 2026
Test the Camera Before You Add More Rooms
A camera can make a small AI prototype feel readable or broken. Test framing, look-ahead, dead zones, and room bounds before you ask for more rooms.
July 31, 2026
Test Three Scoring Systems Before You Build More Levels
Before you ask AI for more levels, test whether the scoring system changes how players behave. Three small variants can tell you more than another batch of generated rooms.
July 24, 2026
Test Input Forgiveness Before You Polish the AI Prototype
Before you polish an AI game prototype, test whether the controls forgive normal human timing mistakes. Coyote time and input buffering tell you more than another art pass.
July 17, 2026
Use AI to Generate Three Failure States Before More Features
A playable prototype needs a way to fail before it needs more features. Test three failure states, then keep the one that makes the second attempt better.
July 10, 2026
Write a Prototype Contract Before You Prompt the AI
Most bad AI prototypes start as vague requests. A prototype contract makes the prompt smaller, the test clearer, and the first playable easier to judge.
July 3, 2026
Your Weekend AI Game Tool Stack Should Stay Small
A weekend prototype does not need twelve tools. It needs one way to make the game playable, one way to make assets, and one way to judge the loop.
June 30, 2026
Move the AI Prototype Into an Engine Only After It Wins a Test
Do not move a prototype into a full engine because it exists. Move it because a specific playtest proved the loop deserves deeper control.
June 30, 2026
Test the Rule Change Before You Add Content
AI makes it easy to add more. Better builders use that speed to compare rule changes before the prototype turns into a content pile.
June 30, 2026Build Games With AI Without Losing the Game Part
AI can make game creation faster, but speed only helps when the core loop is clear. Start with the playable part before expanding the world.
June 29, 2026