The story of how I relied entirely on AI for game development and ended up in despair.

I wrote an article like this before.

In Blender, you can use Python scripts to automate tasks and the like.
I have never written a single line of Python code, but if I ask ChatGPT to create code, it does a great job.
If something doesn't work, I just explain the problem in detail, and it fixes it and creates the code again.
Thanks to that, I've been able to get through tedious parts all at once just by running a script, which has been a huge help.

This is a bit of a tangent, but I have also done some game development.
I have written Lua code for a game engine called "LOVE2D," but basically, I mainly use no-code game engines (Clickteam Fusion, GDevelop) for development.

Having used them for a while, I have quite an attachment to these game engines.
When I started developing a new game, I was thinking of using GDevelop again, but...

Wait a minute.

In the current environment, if I leave everything to ChatGPT and have it write the code, wouldn't it be possible to develop with code-based game engines like Unity or Godot?

It's not strictly necessary to use a code-based game engine.
However,

"I'm developing a game with Unity"
"I'm developing a game with Godot"

If I could say that,wouldn't that be kind of cool!?

Driven by that strange desire, I decided to actually give it a try.

Since it was already installed for VRChat, I challenged myself with Unity.
As expected of a battle-hardened veteran in the game engine world, there is just so much information available online.
It's quite easy to generate code from ChatGPT and also to search for information on my own.

So, I mean, I can make progress, but...

Aren't there just too many places where I get stuck on "Unity settings" rather than the code!?!?

As a major premise, Unity was originally designed primarily for 3D game development.
Because of that, there are many things you have to configure, such as camera settings and preview displays. I just want to be able to make a simple 2D game, though.

When there's a problem, I waste time worrying about,"Is this the code's fault? Or is it the Unity settings?"and it's frustrating.

I can make it work, but it seems like a hassle in many ways...
Since that thought wouldn't leave my head, I moved toGodot Engineand tried again.

This one seems to have been built with 2D game development in mind.
You can develop 2D games with almost no issues by default without any special settings. It's great.

So, I was able to get off to a very good start.

Yes,at the beginning.

Partway through, problems started arising with the code ChatGPT was generating.
Specifically, the names of variables and functions would be different every time.

Naturally, ChatGPT does not know the details of the code I currently have.
And when you continue a chat or move to a different one, it forgets what was said before.
Therefore, it goes without saying that even if it writes code for the same specification, it will insert whatever names it happens to think of at that moment.

They end up being similar names, but if the names are different, they are treated as separate things.
I can't tell if 'this refers to the same thing as the previous variable'.

That's where ChatGPT's 'Projects' feature
comes in handy. In short, it's 'folder organization'. Isn't that a good name for it?

You can upload various files to this project.
Free users are limited to five.
That might seem small, but if you write everything out into a single text file, you can get by with just one, so by grouping files of the same format, you can actually have more room than you'd think.

I had already taken notes on the game specifications in Obsidian, so I uploaded those as-is for it to look at.
This has been quite helpful.

I asked ChatGPT directly, and it even created a 'structure template' that makes it easier for the ChatGPT side to grasp the game's structure.
If I upload things written according to this to the project file, the number of errors in its answers should decrease. I see.

So, I created the structure template and uploaded it to the project file.
This should be fine.

Or so I thought.


Even so, it still couldn't follow the fine details.
In the end, the names and such were still slightly different in the same way, and frankly, I didn't see much of a change.

Well, if I ask about those parts again, it will correct them and send them back.
But thinking, 'Do I have to do this every single time...?'
is quite heavy.

I've learned this while using it.

Before ChatGPT answers, there are times when the message 'Searching project context' is displayed.
This is sometimes displayed and sometimes not.
I suspect that when this message isn't appearing, it isn't looking at the project files.

As for me, I want it to look at the files and answer every time if possible, but it seems like it doesn't do that automatically?

I even put it in the custom instructions, but it still feels like it basically doesn't read them.
It's exhausting to have to keep telling it every time.

In addition,
it would suggest things that were slightly different from the specifications I had in mind, in a way like, 'This is the specification, but this way is also fine.'

That's not good.

I haven't even made 10 GDscripts (code written in Godot) yet, but thinking about expanding it more and more in the future, I've become quite anxious.
I've felt pretty discouraged regarding whether I can keep going like this.

I think there are stories going around everywhere saying, 'You can easily make games with AI!'
But you should build the foundation yourself to some extent. Build it in a way that you can grasp the big picture yourself.

Then, ask the AI about the difficult parts.
If you can work with that stance, I think the AI will show its true strength.
If you just dump everything on it, more problems will arise than you'd think. Honestly, I felt it was quite tough.

Now! What will happen from here!?

Having said that, to spoil it immediately, I am still continuing game development as of January 2026.
I will write an article about that later.

On this blog, I, the endlessly optimistic Okaka, will share things that are "interesting" or "uplifting" with you in the most enjoyable way possible.
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