I initially wanted to **make a side-scrolling game like MapleStory**. YouTube was flooded with "I made a game with AI (Claude)," so I thought it would be easy. But when I tried it myself – it turned out that **people with existing game development knowledge were just using AI to improve quality and speed**, not that you could just "make it for me" without any knowledge. In the end, what I completed wasn't a playable game, but an **"auto-battle" spectator game** (like raising a mushroom) that you just watch.
This post is about that **honest journey** – where I got stuck, why I pivoted, and what I learned. (And you can try out the completed version via the **🎮 Play Now** link below.)
I'm a developer in Korea building an AI chatbot alone. I only write about things I've **actually tried and experienced**.## 1. The First Wall — AI-Generated Characters Can't 'Walk'
**Moving characters** are essential for games like MapleStory. So, I first tried **AI image generation (gpt-image) to create chibi characters** and then generated walk cycles (4 frames of walking animation) for them.
This is where I got stuck. **With each frame, the character subtly became a different character** – the color of the clothes, the proportions, the face all changed slightly between frames 1, 2, 3, and 4. When stitched together in a game, the character wouldn't walk; it would just **tremble erratically.**
The Ceiling of Character Animation — AI Generation vs. Pre-made Sprites
❌ AI-Generated Characters (Re-imagined each frame)
🧍1
🧎2
🕴️3
🧍4
→ Clothing/proportions wobble each frame = 'Trembling' instead of walking
✅ Pre-made CC0 Sprites (Hand-drawn sheet)
🏃1
🏃2
🏃3
🏃4
→ Consistent frames = Smooth walk cycle
This is **exactly the same ceiling** I hit in Making AI Videos (Dev Log #3) – AI image generation **cannot create consistent character animation (multi-frame movement).** The same wall in videos, the same wall in games.
2. Pivot ① — Abandoning AI Characters for Pre-made Sprites
So, my first surrender: **I gave up on AI-generated characters** and switched to **CC0 licensed pixel art sprites**. The protagonist became **Hero Knight** (by LuizMelo), and the monsters became **Pixel Adventure** (by Pixel Frog) – these are **consistent animation sheets drawn by hand by game artists**, so the frames don't wobble.
Lesson learned: **"Making game assets with AI" isn't viable for character animation yet.** For things like skill effects (barriers/sparks) that are **static/procedural VFX, I could code them myself**, but for moving characters, pre-made assets were the answer.## 3. Pivot ② — Abandoning Playable (MapleStory-like) for 'Spectator Auto-Battler'
A bigger pivot was still ahead. MapleStory is a **game where you directly control your character**, but for a playable game, physics, collision, input, level design… it was too much for me to handle alone with AI. So, I changed the genre entirely – to an **"auto-battle" spectator game** (Mushroom-growing style). The character **advances and auto-battles on its own**, and I just watch. Not having to control it **drastically reduced the burden of animation and controls.**
But this "second best option" ended up becoming **even more "me."** The monsters the character encounters are populated with **actual development data**:
Real Data → Game Elements (Build-in-Public Visualization)
🦇
Issues/Bugs
→ Monsters
Bugs encountered = Mobs hunted
👹
Major Disasters
→ Bosses
Overcoming them = Defensive measures
taken at the time, now skills
⚔️
Improvements/Deployments
→ Items (Equipment)
Systems created = Spoils of war
**"It's not about creating something amazing, but about how you overcome challenges in that environment."** — f-string crash loops, deployment OOMs, 100% disk usage – these **major disasters become bosses**, and the **defensive measures** I created to survive them become **skills**. The systems I built (chatbot, NFT, autonomous lab...) become **milestone monsters + equipment**. The game itself became a **record of my build-in-public journey.**
4. The Honest Conclusion — Only Half True About "Games Made with Claude"
Looking back, this is the core lesson:
**"I made a game with AI" on YouTube is mostly the result of someone with existing game development knowledge using AI to enhance quality and speed. You can't make a proper game by just saying "make it for me" without that knowledge.** AI is a tool to **amplify** your skills, not to **replace** foundational knowledge.
Still, I have no regrets. My mindset has always been:
**Try it first. If the best (MapleStory, AI characters) gets blocked, do the next best thing (pre-made sprites, auto-battler) first, and keep tracking and documenting the technology.**
And that "next best thing" has become a **realistic outcome, not a mirage** – and in a way, **more "me"** than the original goal (playable). I confirmed the animation ceiling of AI images (the same wall as in video #3) in a game, and I learned what kind of design **circumvents** that limitation.
**🎮 Try out the finished version yourself → /play** (Riel's actual issues, disasters, and improvements flow as an auto-battler.)
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