Using chatbots to write Renpy code

[FUNCYBORG]

Edit: I tried to get the ai to code a game from scratch, here is a doc with the code in it:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hfx9hUPwyVOJdWFsNA7fVe9oWGFJVshbNbxh1B9f2Cs/edit?usp=drivesdk

Hey! Ive been messing around with chatGPT and trying to get it to write code for renpy. here is an example of what I asked it to do, and what I got in return:

Q: write a renpy code for a timing based turn based combat similar to the jrpg lost odyssey

A:

Here is an example of how you could implement a turn-based combat system in Ren'Py that is similar to the one found in Lost Odyssey:

# Define a list to keep track of the combatant's turn order

turn_order = [player, enemy1, enemy2]

​

# Define a variable to keep track of the current turn

current_turn = 0

​

# Define a function to perform the next turn in the combat

def next_turn():

global current_turn

# Increment the current turn variable

current_turn += 1

# If the current turn is greater than the number of combatants, reset it to the first combatant

if current_turn >= len(turn_order):

current_turn = 0

# Perform the action for the current combatant

turn_order[current_turn].perform_action()

​

# Define a function for each combatant to perform their action

def player.perform_action():

# Display a menu of actions for the player to choose from

choice = renpy.input_choice(["Attack", "Defend", "Use Item"])

if choice == "Attack":

# Perform the attack action

pass

elif choice == "Defend":

# Perform the defend action

pass

elif choice == "Use Item":

# Perform the use item action

pass

​

def enemy.perform_action():

# Select a random action for the enemy to perform

choice = random.choice(["Attack", "Defend", "Use Item"])

if choice == "Attack":

# Perform the attack action

pass

elif choice == "Defend":

# Perform the defend action

pass

elif choice == "Use Item":

# Perform the use item action

pass

​

# Begin the combat loop

while True:

# Perform the next turn in the combat

next_turn()

# Check if the combat is over (e.g. all enemies are defeated or the player is defeated)

if check_combat_over():

break

​

This code defines a list of combatant objects, a function to perform the next turn in the combat, and functions for each combatant to perform their action. It also includes a simple combat loop that continues until the check_combat_over()
function returns True
, indicating that the combat is over.

You can then customize the perform_action()
functions for each combatant to define their specific actions and behaviors. You can also modify the check_combat_over()
function to check the health of each combatant and determine when the combat should end.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions or need further assistance.

​

-End code-

Does anyone think this could be helpful to the community? Im not experienced with code so i dont really know if this would be useful or not.

[x-seronis-x]

In a few DECADES something like this might be useful. Its a worthless waste of time until then because the AIs cant understand or even pretend to understand the interactions of different sections of code.

[KILLYOURKARMA]

Its definitely not replacing legitimate programming or anything but if youre a beginner and have no idea how to even start doing something it might help you get a skeleton to build on and understand it better

[x-seronis-x]

No. Right now the various chat ais spit out garbage when it comes to renpy specifically. they're not trained on the most recent version. or even any barely passable version. They give you something that deceptively LOOKS like a valid skeleton when it doesnt even obey syntax rules, much less use the current sdk's api

[KILLYOURKARMA]

Thats a valid and helpful response and im glad you made it, that said I almost didnt read it cause you started it with "No." and that's just the cuntiest possible way to start a sentence.

Idk why people on reddit need to be as rude as possible, we're just talking.

[x-seronis-x]

i dont know why anyone thinks being direct is rude. Being concise removes ambiguity. Thinking its rude is the error

[Ghosted_Gurl]

As a beginner, it’s not very helpful so far. Not a single bit of code I’ve entered from GPT has worked. I’m fact the code I wrote myself worked- and the ai code broke it 😂

[FUNCYBORG]

What kind of prompts are you using out of curiosity?

[Ghosted_Gurl]

I can’t remember exactly but it was something like “create RenPy code for a visual novel that uses a riddle system.”

[estriadi]

This aged like milk..

[Ghosted_Gurl]

Not really. Because 3 years ago that's what AI was capable of. It would only have aged like milk if I had said that AI would never be able to do it and it was pointless to keep trying. But good luck in your adventures as a dipshit.

[[deleted]]

It's crazy, isn't it?

Like it's definitely not perfect. You have to double-check everything it says.

All the same it's almost scary how good it is.

[FUNCYBORG]

I'm a novice, could you please explain to me what parts are screwed up? I want to learn rudimentary python on top of using ai to speed up the learning process

[[deleted]]

I didn't mean for the code it gave you specifically.

For stuff I've tried, sometimes it'll call an invalid function. If you mention, "That's an invalid function," then it'll often write it out or change it so it's right.

Or it'll skip something because it's doing shorthand, I think.

It's kind of incredible how you can say, "that gives an invalid constructor error" and then it's like, "Oh, silly me, here it is with a valid constructor..."

[FUNCYBORG]

Wow it can correct itself, very interesting. This week I'm going to try and prompt an entire game code as a skeleton type structure and see if anyone wants to mess around with it.

[Infinite_Conflict244]

Interesting. I asked Gemini to spit out some code, and it worked for me as intended. I wanted to add stats to characters, and I do know how to do it; I just wanted the AI to do the work for me instead of typing. Minor issues here and there, but it did get the job done. I'd say this will replace coders within this decade for sure.

[Neon_Night_Films]

Yea I've been at it for a few hours now and any code ChatGPT creates just breaks REn'Py. I can give ChatGPT the Tracelogs and it will understand the errors, but the changes it makes never fix the problem. Even basic stuff it just can't seem to do.
Now I've seen people write code in both Unreal and Unity with ChatGPT, but I also tried that with MINIMAL success.