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
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