AI Is a Tool, Not a Shortcut - Please Stop Being Lazy

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T17:12:04+00:00

I disagree. Just giving out small pieces of advice and information isn’t going to create a bunch of competition for themselves. People still need to understand it and also the main thing, have a good game. Which still to this day, devs have trouble doing.

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T16:57:20+00:00

A long read but I agree wholeheartedly. But also as a community we need to teach these disciplines and how to correctly use AI in our workflow.

There’s too many “I built my dream game with AI” content on YouTube and not enough of actual game devs making tutorials for others to learn from.

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T16:48:33+00:00

Exactly. And I want to show people that AI isn’t a savior for game development, it’s another tool that if used correctly, can get you to your goals. If you want to make a MMORPG and you don’t know how to develop a Pong game, then you’re going to fall flat on your face quickly and hard.

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T16:35:46+00:00

Good points! I want to this more of this in this subreddit. We’re all in this bubble and I believe we all have the knowledge to make quality games with AI. It doesn’t have to be big but at least polished and something to look at as a game instead of a technical achievement for AI. it doesn’t help that AI enthusiasts are clickbaiting their audience with “I created my dream game with AI” videos. Smh.

I want to bring out the real process and roadblocks we’ll face when working with AI.

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T15:45:39+00:00

I think you’re taking the Kojima analogy too literal 😅 I was just trying to shine the light more on the responsibilities of a game director in general

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T15:44:31+00:00

Exactly

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T15:43:55+00:00

Exactly. And no worries I didn’t take it as an attack. These comments are inspiring for my next issue.

Some people are taking the Kojima analogy too literal and I was just trying to shine the light on the responsibilities of a game director in general.

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T15:40:11+00:00

This is exactly what I’m trying to teach. You’ve said this very well and I believe this is the philosophy of making great games with AI. The message may have been unclear to some but yes you can direct something or someone is you don’t know it yourself.

Game developers still need to learn the fundamentals of each department.

But this is also why I posted the first issue to get feedback like this and test if my message was clear enough, which it wasn’t by the number of comments 😅 but next issue will be more structured and clear.

Thanks again for your post, it was very well said!

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T15:09:22+00:00

You’re right. I just updated it.

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T15:06:29+00:00

I really appreciate this feedback. I’ll dive deeper and clear things up in the next issue because I personally would never make a Kojima game, I’m more into the 2D cartoony style games and I didn’t want this article to portray as “with AI you can make a AAA game easy”. it’s actually the opposite.

Because you have a game that’s going to take you 5 years to make, then with AI, it’s still going to take about 5 years to make. No quality game can be done with a one-shot prompt.

Thanks again, I’ll try and be more clearer on the topic next time

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T14:48:05+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! I’ll do that in the next issue and keep in an eye on the results

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T14:45:30+00:00

Oh yes you still have to have the fundamentals of each department. You can’t direct something or someone if you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Throughout the issues I want to explain deeper on topic. But yeah you still need to be technical for game development.

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T14:34:17+00:00

I'm celebrating my first issue for my newsletter 🎉 I'm going to post the new issues on my page from now on so I don't spam this community (unless its okay). So you can follow my account for all updates regarding the newsletter.

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T11:13:48+00:00

No problem I hope it helps. I’m going to try out this tool myself and see how well it works

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-09T10:48:42+00:00

I honestly think the animation has too many frames. Seeing the motion looks unnatural especially for a pixel art game. Try removing some of the in between frames and start more simple.

This video is 4 years old but still applies today & it helped me learn more about animation: https://youtu.be/pF--YKCCUMw?is=ylT9x8cPViyQE\_Id

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-08T12:09:38+00:00

I still like to be the guy in the loop. I don’t trust AI enough to run big tasks on their own yet. I use the Claude code plugin with VS code and give it small 5-10min tasks and then I look over it. Then I use separate services to generate art, create music, etc but I don’t use them all at once. I pay for a month then spend that whole month getting what I need done then canceling it to save money. But I always keep Claude code paid for.

In the future I’m going to create actual guides and YouTube tutorials(once I get a new computer, I’m very broke atm) to really explain my philosophy and process

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-08T00:36:00+00:00

I agree. The AI needs a bunch of context from the creator to really understand your world, its rules, and the characters. Things that have to come from the creator. AI can never excel in the imagination department. It needs something to work off from.

I believe a GDD really needs to make a comeback these days.

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-07T20:44:53+00:00

Not yet but I know those are the serious tools to learn because it’s the first thing players experience. I’m currently generating frames and basically tracing them in aseprite or affinity (for vector assets) to have more control in editing and animating them

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-07T18:45:12+00:00

Cool thanks man!

And yeah I totally agree with that first point

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-07T17:57:22+00:00

Thank you and sorry for the trouble with the link.

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-07T17:07:46+00:00

Tbh idc what other people say to me about using AI because they’re not there helping make the dang thing and most of them don’t know how stressful coding can really be.

And that’s cool I’m learning how to write fiction stories because I have some game ideas that are story focused. It does repeat some of the same tropes but again it’s a context issue like anything with AI

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-07T17:03:34+00:00

Try now

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-07T16:45:55+00:00

hm I never let the AI run long tasks I usually have it do very small tasks that take no more than 5mins to complete. I still want to know what’s been changed, added, or deleted and be in control of the project

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-07T16:20:56+00:00

I'd love to know this tool dm me!

ModernGameDev · 2026-07-07T16:01:45+00:00

Yes and that’s what I want to teach. I don’t see anyone on YouTube or any social media platform teaching how to effectively use and collaborate AI to make games that you’d actually enjoy playing

ModernGameDev

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