I Made Terrible Games With Google’s AI Playground

The game had several small issues at first. I countered them and added features a little bit at a time. I dictated systems for level scaling, boss generation, and better enemy variety. I flagged mobility issues, like the player getting stuck, and it fixed them. (And occasionally introduced other problems.) I asked it to develop a text-based snark system that made the main character respond to combat with witty in-character quips like “Keep shooting! Brenda took everything else away!” or “I’ve taken worse hits from my ex-wife’s lawyer!”

I imagine that a real game developer would know what to actually say to sharpen features and make the game more fun or playable. Some of the top games people have created on the platform are much better than mine, since I tended to lean on more vibe-based iterative changes like, “Make Don taller” or “more divorced.”

After a certain point, Google throttles your usage of its Playground service. Every new game and iteration therein uses up more of your allowance. (Note for all my new loyal fans: Updates on my titles will be coming on October 14 when my usage allowance refreshes.)

That means my games still have many issues. I wanted to add a “Backflip” button to Neon Don, but the AI called it “Doge flip,” which I think sucks but cannot change until my usage credits recharge. I want to change the difficulty and add more weapon options. I want to do a lot of things, but I ain’t paying for more usage credits.

Playground does make me interested in the actual art of making video games. It’s fun and somewhat intuitive, and there are tangible results you can play with in real time. People are probably going to make some interesting stuff with it. But the limitations keep it from being truly useful.

Also, when you scroll through the Playground games, an unmistakable sameness permeates everything. Different game genres wind up with almost identical menus and music. You start to see the same types of combat options and style choices.

Playground is fun for a bit. But soon it becomes pretty clear it’s AI slop all the way down. Tell that to your ex-wife’s lawyer.