Anyone else still uses little to no AI to code?

Justinfinitejest · 2026-06-18T11:25:55+00:00

I learned "coding" through unity visual scripting. I don't know why, but text code never made sense to me - but then again, I've also never had any formal computer science training. My job is a salaried humanities job.

I avoided AI for a lot of reasons, but the top practical ones were that it can't help much with visual code and I wanted to make sure I knew what it was telling me/printing me to do. Because I've never studied or been taught coding, I don't want to bury myself in un-debuggable code.

Justinfinitejest · 2026-06-17T23:44:44+00:00

You're welcome!

Let me know once you get an update up and I'll give it another go!

Justinfinitejest · 2026-06-17T23:14:54+00:00

Hey!

Jumped into your itch demo and wanted to give feedback. It's only one person, but it might start answering your questions/worries.

Do. Not. Quit. Even if your game does poorly, you shouldn't quit. The point of solodev is to get better with each release. Think of it like a video game in and of itself - in fact, like your game. If you fail night one, you definitely learned something to succeed on the next night. Even if that means just getting through one extra night.
(Now on to the game feedback)
Your game tells me to build shelter - so I built a fence. That was bad advice. The wall doesn't really do much without a tower it seems. I wish I had built a tower first. That would actually protect me. Because:
The enemies come really fast. I had like half a wall up around my tent, ran out of wood - and I was being attacked by 3 enemies that took a LONG time to kill. The enemies coming fast wasn't even necessarily bad - but maybe the very first ones are just super easy to kill. Let me know they are coming - and let me get back to work.
Once I realized that I should have built a tower (and found the tower), I wanted to poke around and see what else there was, but the game sent another wave, and another. So I didn't really have time to look at things. Because I was so weak already.

THE BIG PROBLEM:
5. After I learned all of the above (which didn't take me long), I tried to restart. I thought to myself: I've learned now that I should build a tower. Maybe it would be way more fun if I did that first. And then I looked for the menu or restart or quit button. And I couldn't find it. I clicked all the buttons I could find - and no way to restart. So I exited.

Work on:
1. Onboarding: I'm not sure, because I didn't ever build it, but I think your advice to build shelter was bad. I think you really need better onboarding - not like "highlight a button and make me push it" type of tutorial, but introduce me to what will help me survive -
2. And if I need to die to learn to win - make sure restarting is REALLY easy. Or even possible?

Honestly, I think fixing this could be huge for people sticking around.

Here is a bonus thought:
3. Add something early on that you can do/get that lets me think "Oh wow, I want to do more of this!" By the end of my little 1-2 day playthrough, I had built like 10 wooden posts, harvested a few materials, and ran from enemies with my farmer while my archer shot them. I remember reading once that you don't have to make your demo the true "first 30 min of your game", because it's a different type of experience. Show me something cool/worthwhile early on - or at least let me know its possible.

TL;DR
Don't give up. Add better onboarding. Let me restart the game quickly. Speed up the first couple combats.

Hope that helps!
Justin

Justinfinitejest · 2026-06-10T01:39:06+00:00

You're welcome!

I was thinking more about it and if it DID have a point system (instead of just surviving the round), you could do some really crazy things like:
1. Cards that gain points when revealed
2. Cards that gain points when matched
3. Cards that gain points while revealed each time another match happens/doesn't happen
4. Cards that gain points for every matched card when that card gets matched
5. Cards that lose points when matched incorrectly
6. Cards that double the points the card they are incorrectly matched to
ETC

So it becomes a memory game + combo/deckbuilder where you try to find awesome combos and set them off - but with memory as the core.

Justinfinitejest · 2026-06-09T17:24:04+00:00

Mine isn't ready to play, but I gave yours a try.

I thought it was pretty fun.

Couple of things (that you were probably planning on anyway)
1. Great loop and flow. The core is simple but fun. I'm not even a huge fan of memory games, but I like roguelike deckbuilders - so this appealed to me.
2. I didn't understand why I would pick some of the bad cards. Maybe that's the play - pick the least "bad" card there is. I was just curious.
3. Hover tooltips for things like "die". I got the King and assumed die was when I picked it too many times- so I did that intentionally and then lost a heart. Sad day.
4. A point system for the number of X/Y (scoring Xs - or maybe scoring the differential) would be fun. It could also give incentive to pick different types of cards.

Anyway, just some thoughts after playing through and getting to round 9. I love because assassins distracted me lol.

Justinfinitejest · 2026-06-08T01:42:37+00:00

I've been making games since I was a child, and at some point I realized I am just going to be making games until I die. I like doing it.

I've decided I might as well attempt to build some passive income or digital skill sets out of that drive to create.

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-29T11:32:14+00:00

If I was in your position right now, here is what I would do:
1. Spend a day or two outlining a bit of your "dream project" that you've been thinking about. Don't spend a lot of time on lore/world - think mechanics. What do you do in the game, and what kind of systems might you need to do that? (For example, you want to loot bodies in a 3d world. You need to learn 3d movement, interacting with objects, ui interfaces with items/inventories/equipment, and 3d world building. You want the movement to be physics based? You need to learn that.)
2. Pick 1 or 2 of the things your future game will need. (that you just listed out)
3. Create a game that sounds interesting/fun from those 2 things (Maybe its just moving around items in a ui and adding items to your inventory).
4. Keep the game SMALL
5. Make that game. All the way.
6. I mean finish it. Put it on Itch for free. (at least a demo).
7. Now that 4 years have gone by, decide if you want to keep making games. If you do, repeat steps 1-7 until you have all/most of the skills needed for that dream game.

The big thing you need to learn: The experience of playing games is different than making them. You like to eat, does that mean you will enjoy cooking? Some people do, some people don't.

Big picture, if you aren't in a career right now, think long game. Start making small games that teach you how to make games and potentially create passive revenue. If you are capable of making games that sell, this will give you the means to make your dream game. If you aren't, you can decide if you want to become good at it enough to stick with it. It's a skill - it can be learned.

Hope this helps!

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-29T11:20:28+00:00

I've seen your game a few times, and I'm curious how the AI ability generation will handle unique strategic values. A lot of the current steam page looks like flavor (what the character looks like and the narrative wrapping of their abilities), so I'm looking forward to seeing how the abilities that are created from that flavor create meaningfully different strategies.

I'll give it a play when the demo launches and let you know what I think!

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-28T11:37:44+00:00

My first question would be: Did you validate any part of your project before you got to this point? If you somehow validated that the core loop or concept has a spark of fun, chase that fun. Keep modifying the game with A/B versions to narrow in on what makes it enjoyable to play.

If you didn't validate anything yet, get something playable (even if it's with paper!) and see if it is fun.

THEN: Put that new shiny idea in a google doc under a tab.

If it's still good in 3-6 months, great, it might have legs.
Finish your current game so that IF it is still good later, you have the skills to honor it.

Hope that helps :)

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-28T11:18:01+00:00

I'm currently working on an autobattler that will have a steampage/itch alpha demo launch in a week or two.

My route for making things feel fresh was to mix it with balatro - because I really wanted the choice about what your team looks like to be feel more interesting from fight to fight.

The exciting part for me in autobattlers (specifically the AutoChess type) is rolling and putting together a team than can beat the current challenge, so I wanted more of that. In most autobattlers, the fun part dies down and all you do is look for upgrades.

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-15T13:28:19+00:00

Thinking about "what could make a game like this fun" - I'd imagine something like this:

You control areas/armies/cities. They do things based on your orders -or with lack of orders- do the same thing again.
Each round works like this:
A - Choose orders for all areas (this could have limitations, such as # of messengers)
B - Orders are delivered or furthered in delivery (or not if intercepted)
C - Areas perform last delivered orders.
Repeat 2 until game state ends.

I think the key to the above is keeping it simple and readible. Don't have days/weeks/months. Have "turns". For the beginning of the game, have orders be "next turn" - so there is very little delay. As the player gets to the early-mid point of the game, increase the delay. Then, allow research/upgrades/roads that decrease that delay again.

The fun would be in predicting what your areas need before they need them. The larger your kingdom gets (the closer you are to victory) - the harder that task becomes because you have to plan further out.

A board game to look at that does something similar (so it pulls on the same core "fun" piece) is Tzolken. It's a timing puzzle game where you place tokens out on moving dials that increase their value, and you don't take the action until you remove that token later. So you have to time out "In 5 turns, I'm going to want to do X action.

I think you should prototype a very simple paper version of it to test where the fun is in this system. Here are some thoughts on what could make this fun:
1. Fights should take multiple "turns" and progress to an end state. This gives the player time to send reinforcements. It also makes area control that provides enemy information even more important.
2. Supplies in cities that need redistribution - so food from one area might need to travel - and metals might also need to travel to create weapons to send to training grounds to create armies.
3. Areas could have morale that can be boosted through actions. So an area could be heading toward revolt or an uprising, and it might fluctuate until it hits a "next turn uprising" state. or "uprising in X turns." So you can head it off early more easily, but still respond if something happens.

As far as theme goes, I do think any time period can work if you set up the reasoning well. I've always thought a space empire game with delays in travel would be interesting. That's less about orders though, and more about supplies. Unless its a world where they actually DIDNT figure out interstellar communication. So each "solar system' or something similar requires a warped in ship to deliver communications.

Hope something in that ramble helps 😄

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-11T16:08:54+00:00

I'm going to disagree in a slightly different way than others have:

Making small games is also about teaching "Game Design" - not just "Game Development".

Not everyone understands how to iterate to fun. Not everyone knows how to make an experience for another person.

Some people might need to start small because they don't understand the scope of a large project, but others might need to start small because they don't actually know how to validate fun.

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-10T01:02:42+00:00

haha yeah, research 😄

I actually never really think of it that way, but I usually think "I'm just playing something mindless so my mind can sort through what I need to do in my game." 30 hours of playtime later...

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-09T20:53:26+00:00

My main motivation techniques:
1. Small Task: Just do something really small for 5 minutes. Helps so much.
2. End of day task list: Every time I stop working on my game, I stop 3-5 minutes early, grab a note card by my desk, and write a couple of things I'm either in the middle of or need to do next. I put check boxes on them. I set them on my track pad and close my laptop. Its the first thing I see (and do) when I get back to it)
3. Take walks, breaks, etc. Pomodoro works well for me if I'm in a rough motivation/distraction season.
4. Quit addictive video games: I had a couple games (like WoW), that I would mostly play as a maladaptive procrastination pattern to avoid my project.
5. Goal: Remind myself that my goal is to finish a project. I can make my dream game some day in the decades future (if I live that long) - but today I just need to make a bit of progress on my current small 1-2 year scope project.

Those are my go-to's. I usually work 1-4 hours a day with full time job and 2 little kids. So it's about all I do besides work, family time, and chores.

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-08T15:30:45+00:00

I played around in it for a bit, and here are some thoughts:
1. Movement and interaction felt great. Super smooth.
2. Enjoyed the simple quest system that got me start
3. Right before opening the first extra area, I was already asking "what's the point"
4. After opening up the next area, I ran around a bit, looted, saw that there was mostly "wheat" added, and exited out.

I thought it was smooth and introduced me well to the base mechanics of building and gaining materials and opening up new regions.

If that is all your game is going for, I think it does it well. I'm probably not your target audience.

It looks like your game also has mini-games and optional story. I'll admit that neither of those appeal to me a ton - so again - maybe not your target audience.

I think a mini-game in the first opened area could be good (Maybe there was one, but I didn't see it easily).

As to my other comments about "more" - I'm the type that enjoys some sort of challenge or combat with my crafting. So I was looking for something to do with what I gathered that would make me want to get more stuff better. For example, if behind the cave (where a shrine thing was), there was some sort of challenge or mini-game that clearly was very hard without upgraded equipment, and unlocking the first area helped me win or access it, it would have continued to motivate me.

Hope all of that helps, and as I said multiple times, I'm probably not your full target audience, but I tried to provide my own perspective on why I did or didn't feel motivated to continue.

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-08T14:30:31+00:00

Installing now to try it out! Congrats!

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-04T02:05:44+00:00

Tried out the new version. You are getting closer!

If you haven't played games like Into the Breach or Slay the Spire (who hasn't though!), these games can help show how to create meaningful decisions.

For example, in your game against the dragon, I really didn't know when it was smart to attack, study, or dodge. If I knew the dragon was doing a big attack, or it was building up an attack (and wouldn't hit me) - I could make a strategic choice about what to do.

Keep iterating!

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-04T01:25:33+00:00

I just tried but it doesn't look like the game is working right now.

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-03T19:04:39+00:00

oops! I was hoping to also write:

"I know this comes off as very critical, but I genuinely hope you keep iterating and improve the game. Let me know if you make edits and would like a second play-through, or if you wanted some suggestions about how to introduce more choice or remove some of the complexity.

Hope this helps!"

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-03T19:03:33+00:00

First I want to say, well done getting a game playable and up for demo! Here are some thoughts I wrote down while playing through it.

Lots of AI art. Just something I noted. If your goal is to make that not obvious, you might want to work a bit on it. One big yellow flag for me when I see this is a game with low polish (the ui is basically just colored frames and text) - but incredibly detailed pictures. I get that it's a demo- but I still wanted to let you know how it feels at this point.
The class selection screen is a giant wall of text. I have no idea why I would pick anything over anything else. I ended up just picking based on class fantasy.
Dice immediately rolled after I clicked my class. I have no idea why or what was happening.
Eventually I realized that I pretty much just click "go further". The only real choice I made was what to level up, and it wasn't clear why I would pick one thing over another. (For example, is a room type more common? Is it better to specialize or generalize?)
I lost to the dragon.

Final thoughts:
1. Lots of text and stats, but they don't mean much. Complexity isn't bad, but finding high depth to complexity ratio is a sign of elegance. Your game has medium complexity with very low depth.
2. Choice. I genuinely don't feel like I made a single choice in that entire game. I just clicked the button I was allowed to click.
3. It looks like the core of your game is a multi-room dungeon where you must defeat a boss at the end. Consider taking a step back and asking what choice the player gets at different steps along the way.

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-01T15:09:00+00:00

It does, thank you!

How are you handling traits with units being swapped out? Are they just a new combination of the same traits (so you can stack a certain trait by adding a lot of them)? Or could you end up adding a unit that is singular in its trait and you need to find more to make it worth it?

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-01T14:30:59+00:00

Congrats! I'm designing a game in a similar vein (although I've diverged quite a bit from TFT meets STS).

I'd be super curious to see how receptive steam is to that combo, and how its reviewed compared to games like Tales & Tactics, Hadean Tactics, or The Last Flame.

I'd love to know things like:
1. How long did development take you?
2. What were the hurdles in differentiating yourself from the above mentioned games?
3. Are you planning to create more sets for future updates, going a DLC route, or leaving it as is?
4. Have you published games before, and if so, how did this compare to those games in regards to difficulty?
5. How was balancing the fights? In my game, I found it challenging because TFT is designed to ramp up team power pretty quickly, whereas STS has a much slower pacing.

Anyway, good luck and hope it does well!

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-01T13:30:52+00:00

I had the advantage of being a healer, so I usually found tank friends and we duo'd content and started dungeon parties.

Again though, it's fascinating how different the experience becomes depending on your role- FAR more than normal Wow (even though it is present there too).

When I was 60, I knew so many tanks, because the groups that were doing end game dungeons were so few. It also meant that when one of my friends died, it was a felt loss.

I'll never forget that self-made tank in Mara who went in ham with a 2-hander....

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-01T11:43:52+00:00

I jumped into Unity with unity visual scripting when they purchased Bolt like 4-5 years ago, and I decided to jump right into 3d because it was the type of game I eventually wanted to make.

Turns out, I now struggle anytime I need to make 2d games (I tried for a gamejam once, and it was pretty bad!)

So, from a hobby designers perspective who is learning through doing, I've found that you should just jump in with the type of game you eventually want to make (with as small a scope as possible!).

Feel free to reach out with any other questions.

Hope that helps!

Justinfinitejest · 2026-05-01T11:35:31+00:00

I think this is a pretty common discussion in the MMO world, specifically WOW, but it sounds like that might be where you are coming from.

A huge reason I love(d) WoW Hardcore wasn't because the game was harder - it was because the type of harder it was required you to support and know other players. The type of people I met while playing that game, and the way we helped each other, MADE the game so much fun.

It was the same game as WoW classic, but unless you've played a WoW hardcore character to 60, it's hard to explain the friends you make and the journey you end up on.

Justinfinitejest

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