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Can You Make a 3D Game with AI, If You Don't Know How to Do Anything?

buildtounderstand.substack.com6 points1 comments
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A novice set out to test whether AI could help someone with no coding, 3D modeling, or game-development experience build a substantial game. The goal was a browser-playable opening to a science-fiction RPG-shooter, with combat, dialogue, a simple story, cutscenes, and free movement through a location. Using a one-page concept brief, ChatGPT to shape the initial instructions, and Codex to generate and revise the game, the creator had a playable prototype within hours and a working end-to-end version after a few days. The project used mostly free tools; Codex was the only paid service, costing about $15 in usage.

The creator generated character images, turned them into 3D models with Hunyuan3D, converted the files, and used Mixamo’s free animations. A consistent visual guide, inspired by Star Wars’ Battle of Hoth, helped establish the look. The process still demanded substantial human judgment: animation setup was fiddly, some creatures had to be redesigned to move on two legs, AI-generated sound lacked atmosphere, and dialogue needed rewriting. Several days went into fixing glitches and adding fog, snow, music, and cutscenes. After about ten days, the result was a playable but imperfect demo. The experience suggests AI makes experimentation and prototyping accessible to beginners, while emphasizing that a designer’s taste and choices remain central to crafting mood, story, and feel.

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