Solo dev shipped a full Pharaoh-style city builder in a few months using Claude Code. Zero cost, playable in browser.
$FLOODPLAIN - Dutch low country sim with water tables, dike maintenance, walker-based goods delivery. Built in JavaScript + three.js.
What Claude crushed:
• Core simulation logic
• Procedural 3D models for every building type (houses, mills, churches, boats)
• Headless bot testing - AI players reported where they got stuck
Where it bricked:
• Campaign map rendering failed 4x until dev used the game engine itself
• Chapter 1 balance was broken (asked for 300 pop + cathedral) until human QA caught it
• UX details like "make warnings bigger" still needed human input
The workflow: Claude builds the world → bots stress test → human decides if it's actually fun.
This is what AI-assisted game dev looks like in 2025. One person, evenings only, full release.
$FLOODPLAIN - Dutch low country sim with water tables, dike maintenance, walker-based goods delivery. Built in JavaScript + three.js.
What Claude crushed:
• Core simulation logic
• Procedural 3D models for every building type (houses, mills, churches, boats)
• Headless bot testing - AI players reported where they got stuck
Where it bricked:
• Campaign map rendering failed 4x until dev used the game engine itself
• Chapter 1 balance was broken (asked for 300 pop + cathedral) until human QA caught it
• UX details like "make warnings bigger" still needed human input
The workflow: Claude builds the world → bots stress test → human decides if it's actually fun.
This is what AI-assisted game dev looks like in 2025. One person, evenings only, full release.