Hi,
I’d call myself a reluctant developer in BI Tools. I hate coding (I am more of a hardware type of person), however I consider myself advanced. But a recent project I’ve been able to use AI for 99% of the coding and it has taken a lot of stress out of my day.
Because of that, I was considering making a game with Gdevelop and maybe even lean heavy into AI side of gdevelop. I do suffer from ‘Shiny Object Syndrome’, so i’m afraid this might be just another idea to the wayside.
Questions:
Has anyone who’s in similar boat in that they are not a true ‘coder’, been able to successfully deploy a successful game with this platform?
How did you choose your game, did you poll interests first? I’m also afraid that if there is no interest then that will cause me to loose interest fast.
any other advice or tips?
Not I - I live to code, and I have a strong dislike for networks/hardware (other than building my own PC). Especially after the boss got me to setup a couple of Linux servers…
Don’t make something everyone else wants. Make something you have an interest in or are passionate about. If you do it for others then it becomes a chore and you quickly lose motivation to work on it.
And it’s perfectly fine to work on a project, then shelve it for a while when the interest wanes. When you do that, you can let it mull over in the back of your mind until you build up the interest again.
Final suggestion is to have a plan of what you want to make (like on an agile story board like Brisqi), break it down into sizeable chunks or milestones so that you can see the progress.
I think that if you’re completely new to it then just have a play about with it first to see what’s possible. Open some of the free templates and see how they work and quickly try a platformer, a top down and 3d game using the extensions and behaviours available and get used to working with variables. I think you’ll get inspiration from just seeing all the behaviours etc that gdevelop has to offer. I wouldn’t recommend going straight to ai to write the code as it’s much easier to debug something that you’ve created yourself. …but then I’m an old fart…and I view ai with fearful suspicion!
Thanks for the input.
It is interesting in regards to AI. All my developer friends ‘fear’ and don’t think AI can really to the job correctly.
Even though i’m not a coder by heart, I do understand coding and am able to read the logic. I just hate dealing with syntax. I have been able to use AI totally for my recent projects and I’ve been able to make small apps for my personal world, and also use AI for my day job and I know they are working. I guess I know how to use AI to break it down in chunks where I know I verify it accurately before move to the next.
BUT there is a part of me that see the other side which is the coders are much deeper level that AI cannot reach.
As for passion. there was an childhood multiplayer strategy tank game that I love playing when I was young. Seems they have tried keeping it going with emulation in the modern world, and maybe port of sorts and since appears to be abandoned. I have been entertaining bring that back on a modern platform that can be played by anyone. But really wondering how far I can take it with use of AI.
Hi, I’ve been using GDevelop for 5 years. I’ve developed several projects, including a puzzle game for Android (published on Google Play), and especially a complex editor for innovative Visual Novels that translates scripts into interactive films.
GDevelop is fantastic: it’s fast, simple, and very logical. There are engines that are much more powerful, but they require months or years of study and just as long to develop proper games.
However, over time I realized that the real issue with GDevelop isn’t its simplicity or performance — it’s the complexity involved in modifying a project’s architecture. Honestly, I get anxious at the thought of having to revisit the code of games I’ve already made. Everything is built like an antique clock, even though I followed all the best programming practices (state machines, thorough notes, code optimized after hundreds of tests).
But in the past year, everything changed thanks to AI. I’m not a JavaScript programmer, but I currently use ChatGPT Plus (I’ve also tested Gemini Pro, Cursor Premium, etc.) to create JS code for use in GDevelop. I’ve made huge progress and “discovered” several issues (I haven’t tried GDevelop’s new AI features yet). So I’m writing this to help you avoid wasting time:
Build your basic functions (controls, scene management, etc.) directly in GDevelop.
Find an AI that’s skilled in JavaScript (GPTo1 was great; GPTo3 is terrible, GPT-4.1 is good).
Never use a single JS script for multiple functions: whenever the AI corrects your code, it may unintentionally alter parts it shouldn’t touch.
Use one JS script per specific function.
Use JS for critical parts of your code that may need frequent updates or complete rewrites. Like I said, modifying my old games is extremely hard — but now I can just copy the JS sections and the AI fully understands how the system works, making debugging and even total architecture overhauls much easier.
Always tell the AI that you’re working in GDevelop. Clearly explain what scene objects you’re using, which variables, and their types.
Always group each JS script twice (Ctrl + G). This way you’ll have a “root” group named after the function, with many grouped versions of the JS inside, each of which can be disabled using the D key. Extremely useful for testing: in theory, you could test a hundred different “cores” of your game instantly (for bugs, performance, etc.). It’s amazing.
Don’t trust the AI too much: sometimes it doesn’t foresee future issues or doesn’t understand why bugs happen. But if you explain exactly what you see (even pasting screenshots from the game or the console), you can work together to figure out why some events occur — or don’t.
Final thought: why use GDevelop if AI can write all the code? For two reasons. First, because with long code, the AI gets confused or messes things up during multiple revisions. Second, because GDevelop has an excellent interface — simple and practical — and can export easily. It’s the perfect container for working creatively!
There - see! told you i was an old fart!
AI - there’s no need to shout at it and hope it goes away!
sorry - i read your post while tucking into at pastry diner at the motorway services and didn’t realize how familiar you were with logic etc - many apologies!