A Rosebud Success Story - Beta Tester and Cybersecurity Engineer: “AI text-to-game is addictive!”

As a cybersecurity engineer, a lot of Arjun’s work involves “solving puzzles”, finding new ways to address unknown problems for security.

“I’ve treated game development in a similar way. I know the end goal, and the puzzle is to create the game in an efficient manner”, he explains.

Arjun -known as LaughingMan in our Discord- is one of the most prolific beta testers of Rosebud, an AI platform that enables users to create games by engaging in conversations with Rosie, our AI assistant. Rosie allows the generation of code, assets, and even game ideas through iterative dialogue.

With Rosebud, Arjun has created five functional games and one template that can be easily cloned, allowing other developers to modify it as they see fit.

This productivity comes from not needing to delve into the depths of the game's underlying framework and logic. Instead, as Arjun mentions, the process is more intuitive: “I see the code that’s been generated, I examine it, but I don’t do the code”.

Further explaining the connection between his abilities and the AI's functionalities, he specifies: “AI helps by suggesting ways that as a human I’d not have considered, so I am able to focus on a specific piece of the puzzle rather than on the how to solve it”.

Coding Games at the Speed of Thought

In one of his early interactions with Rosebud, Arjun asked our AI: “update the code to make this a vertical scrolling game”.

He was so impressed by the detailed response that, in addition to sharing the outcome on our Discord, he added: "I did not expect that to work so easily".

What began as mere experimentation, quickly escalated for Arjun. The same day after gaining beta access, his initial intention of tinkering with the platform transformed into the creation of Spacer Boi, coded in roughly 4-5 hours.

After this, he shared some of the takeaways from his experience: he could do tons of playtesting while the AI did the heavy lifting with the code, and breaking down the gameplay into simple prompts meant the AI could make small tweaks without messing up the game.

Less than a week later, he shared 194x - A shmup template, and Astro Jetpack, a jetpack joyride type of game, commenting: “AI text-to-game is addictive!”.

To him, this workflow feels like this because of the fast turnaround and instant gratification: “Since the AI can think and type faster, the process of thinking quickly of what to do next is the addictive part. I could relate it to speed-chess. You are constantly thinking of next steps while the AI is coming up with the code”.

On the other hand, he recognizes that there is also an aspect of fire-and-forget, “which is to say that I can give the AI a prompt and walk away for a bit and come back and see the results, so while I am away, I am thinking of what it will come up with, and what I’d tell it do next”, he explains.

Setting the Stage: Arjun’s Initial Journey into Game Development

Before starting with Rosebud, Arjun already had an understanding of core concepts such as spawning bullets and handling collisions.

He had also experimented with other game engines and had a basic understanding of generative AI in the context of coding. As a result, he found the learning curve for Rosebud to be much more manageable compared to engines that require an understanding of frameworks and extensive tutorial engagement.

For Arjun, the intersection of AI with game development simplifies this process. Highlighting his work on Astro Jetpack, he noted that about 15-20% of the game was hand-coded for minor changes or fixes, with the bulk of the game logic being AI-generated.

This blend of AI assistance and personal touch exemplifies the balance Arjun seeks in game development, leveraging AI to shoulder the complexities while he focuses on refining and personalizing the gameplay.

From Shmups to Visual Novels with AI

Arjun's primary focus on Rosebud has been on creating shoot 'em ups, his favorite genre.

When asked about the games that sparked his love for this type of games, he mentions 1942 and Sky Force Anniversary: “Sky Force Anniversary actually blew my mind because when it first came out, the graphics were amazing but it ran on mid-range android phones perfectly well”.

Shmups appeal to Arjun because of their simplified coding requirements: “Since there is no gravity or floor or walls to contend with, the coding becomes much easier. Modern engines handle effects and multiple objects on screen really well, so it’s my first go-to genre when trying out a new engine”.

Looking towards the future, Arjun is excited about the potential of interactive visual novels as a perfect use case for AI in game development, “because it can understand context, the story, even the characters to a certain extent and combine that with its ability to convert that to code and generate art, it’s a really powerful tool”.

Beyond this, he aspires to develop the ultimate shmup—a game that rivals Sky Force Anniversary in terms of gameplay and graphics and enriches it with a compelling sci-fi storyline.

Following in Arjun's footsteps, why not explore the boundless possibilities Rosebud offers for both game creation and gameplay?

Join the Rosebud community to craft, experience, and share games that you want to play. Your journey into game development and exploration can start now with Rosebud.