Simple Cloud Collector Game with Amazon Q

Hanshu Thakur — Mon, 26 May 2025 17:01:04 +0000

Introduction
Ever wanted to build a simple yet engaging game that connects to real-world data? In this blog, I’ll walk through how I created Cloud Catcher—a lightweight browser-based game where players collect clouds generated from live weather data, all built using AWS services and guided by Amazon Q.

Whether you're a beginner exploring AWS or a developer looking for a fun weekend project, this guide will show you how to combine serverless computing, real-time APIs, and AI assistance to make a unique gaming experience.

Game Concept: How "Cloud Catcher" Works
Player Goal: Control a hot air balloon (or any character) to collect floating clouds while avoiding obstacles like lightning and birds.

Unique Hook: The clouds dynamically spawn based on real-time weather conditions from the player’s location (or a random city).

Scoring: Each cloud collected earns points, with a global leaderboard tracking high scores.

Demo Preview

Tech Stack & AWS Services Used
To build this, I leveraged Amazon Q for AI-powered guidance and AWS for the backend:

Frontend (AWS Amplify + HTML5/JS) Hosting: Deployed a static React/JavaScript game using AWS Amplify (fast and serverless).

Game Engine: Simple HTML5 Canvas for rendering.

User Input: Keyboard controls (arrow keys or touch for mobile).

Backend (AWS Lambda + DynamoDB) Weather Data: Used AWS Lambda (Python/Node.js) to fetch live weather from:

AWS Weather API (or free alternatives like OpenWeatherMap).

Game Logic: Lambda processes weather data and sends cloud spawn rates to the frontend.

Leaderboard: Stored high scores in DynamoDB (NoSQL, serverless).

CHECK IT OUT: https://github.com/hanshuthakur123/cloud-collector

DEV Community: Hanshu Thakur

Simple Cloud Collector Game with Amazon Q