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Workflows / Indie game

Make an indie game with AI coding tools

AI is useful for game code, tooling and boilerplate. It is weaker at feel, pacing and fun, which is still your job. This workflow uses Godot (free, open source) and keeps the AI on scripts and systems.

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The steps

Recommended tools link to their Agentdex pages. These are starting points, not rankings: pick what you already pay for.

  1. Plan

    A one-page design doc: core loop, controls, win and lose.

    Use Claude Code. Good at structured docs and can keep a design file updated as you go.

    Or try: Cursor, Gemini CLI

    Help me write a one-page game design doc. Ask me about the core loop, controls, the feeling I want, and scope for a 2-week build. Cut anything that is not the core loop.

  2. Prototype

    A grey-box build of the core loop, playable in an hour.

    Use Godot. Free and open source, with a light editor and a scripting language AI tools know well.

    Or try: Unity

    Write a GDScript player controller for a 2D platformer: run, jump with coyote time and jump buffering. Expose the tuning values as @export vars.

  3. Build

    Systems: enemies, levels, save data, UI.

    Use Cursor. Reads your scripts across files, so it can wire systems together.

    Or try: Claude Code, Windsurf

    Read the project structure. Add a save system for player progress using Godot's FileAccess. Keep it in one autoload script and explain the file format.

  4. Playtest

    Find bugs and feel problems fast.

    Use Claude Code. An agent can write debug tools and checklists, but people still have to play it.

    Or try: Aider, Cline

    Write an in-game debug overlay (toggle with F3): FPS, player state, current level. Then give me a 10-point playtest checklist for this build.

  5. Release

    A build on itch.io with a page that sells it.

    Use itch.io. Free to publish, built for indie and jam games.

    Or try: GitHub Copilot

    Write my itch.io page: a two-line hook, a short description, controls, and 3 tags. Plain words, no hype.

  6. Maintain

    Patch from player feedback.

    Use GitHub Copilot. Handy for small fixes and reviews inside your editor and on GitHub.

    Or try: Jules, Zed

    Here is player feedback. Group it into bugs, feel issues and requests, and suggest the 3 smallest changes with the biggest impact.