Feedback welcome. Best on desktop. Works on mobile, but
needs more polish there.My concept, my guidance, and
Gemini Flash doing the work. Took about 4 hours and 50+
conversations with Gemini.Big Kudos to Gemini Flash
(since 3.5 and later), because I have had great success
with it on many projects.
kqr
Like many side scrolling airplane games, the object
controlled in this game behaves a lot more like a rocket
than an airplane. I suggest learning a little about the
physics of airplanes[1] to improve the feeling of flying.I
made a prototype[2] once (not working on mobile,
unfortunately) to show what can be done, and it takes
getting a lot of details right![3][1]:
http://av8n.com/how/[2]: https://xkqr.org/flightle/[3]:
https://entropicthoughts.com/sidescrolling-flight-simulato
r
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> trencedamp
Second this. I've been trying to build a casual flying
game in unity and getting the physics right is
hard.What I found particularly hard is simulating
accurately how gravity works against the aircrafts
momentum, and trying to get stall and recovery right
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> michaelteter
The goal was to make a game similar in look and feel
to an old console game I played when I was a kid.Just
like with many arcade racing games, the physics are
not intended to be hyper-realistic.I do love realistic
physics in flight/driving sims, but that just wasn't
my goal here.
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Suhinnall27
This was a nice game. It would be cool if you added some
more purpose to landing the plane, like if the fuel and
throttle were limited, making it actually useful to land
it. Overall great game and enjoyable. Also would be nice
to get some extra points for doing loop-de-loops or tricks
with the plane. A shield power-up is also a great idea.
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> michaelteter
Yes, you're right - I need to improve the whole ground
experience. The plane does gradually use fuel, but
you're vastly more likely to crash before you run out
of fuel.Landing and pausing on the runway refuels the
plane, but the control behavior on the ground sucks.
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Walf
I'd rather see AI being used to generate new games for old
platforms (console emulators) than these faux-retro things
with mixels, inconsistent graphics styles (some blocky
bits, some curves), and rotation of squares.Constraining
the canvas to a low-res pixel grid would be an instant
improvement. The recent post https://airport.apunen.com/
does a decent job of this but it, too, has an odd mix of
modern aircraft sound fx and vintage biplane graphics. It
doesn't feel very retro because it's full 3D rather than
limited 2D sprites of a 3D scene.
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> leothetechguy
I'd rather not see AI being used to generate new games
for any platform. I'm not gonna read something nobody
bothered to write, and I'm not gonna play something
nobody bothered to write. AI has no taste and it's not
a matter of post training because the Taste is the
human component and actual effort put into something.
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contingencies
For further inspiration, check out Wings of Fury, an old
DOS game.
https://www.myabandonware.com/game/wings-of-fury-taApparen
tly a newer 'inspired by' successor is
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1371710/Rogue_Aces_Delu
xe...
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> cube00
The Sopwith Camel, flight simulator memory unlocked.
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> esafak
I was expecting this before I clicked on the link and
I was not
disappointed.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_(vi
deo_game)
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krapp
The fake scanlines and position of the UI elements make
them difficult to read. The plane is too slow and its turn
radius is too tight, the physics (if there are any) need
to be improved to give a sense of weight and velocity to
the plane IMO, and that probably necessitates a bigger
playfield. Also it feels like it really needs a gun (edit:
OK it does.)Overall it feels like an OK prototype but I
agree it needs more polish.That said, HN is traditionally
for sharing code with the community. Maybe for AI
submissions people should share their prompts? I don't
know. I'd ask to see the code but since you didn't write
it you can't really discuss it.
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> cynicalkane
Yeah, this feels like a vibe-coded game that people
who played it for 1 minute are upvoting, but it just
really lacks the feel of how even a mildly solid and
entertaining game feels. I got bored very quickly.I
flagged it because of HN's AI content policy. I know
it technically doesn't apply to submissions, but I
think game submissions (or any others) should show
more humanity, instead of being like "look at this
momentarily pleasing thing Gemini coded for me".
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> > michaelteter
I guess the 6 hours of intentional dozens of
interactions I had with Gemini could be considered
slop to some. But I created this to scratch an
itch of an old game I enjoyed in the past. And I
enjoy playing this one.After 30 years of
hand-crafting code in 8 languages, I think I can
be excused from having to do the tedious work of
translating ideas into executable code.
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> tclancy
I think it might be interesting to know age ranges for
posters, because this made me smile as it reminded me
of hours spent trying to perfect Barnstorming by
Activision on my Atari, right down to the scan lines
and flight dynamics. Not sure it's supposed to be an
actual flight simulator, so your point (if there was
one) just seems like being a prick for no particular
reason. Did skin come off your nose while playing?
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> > krapp
I'm giving my honest impressions from playing the
game and suggesting ways that I think it could be
improved. If I ever posted anything here I'd
expect the same treatment.
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> > > tclancy
Yeah, I know. What I'm suggesting is don't.
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> > > > krapp
This is a forum for conversation, you
don't get to decide who participates or
how.
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> > > > > tclancy
I mean, that's like your opinion man.
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> MRPockets
> Also it feels like it really needs a gun.It took me
less than 10 seconds into gameplay to pick up bullets
for the (already existing) gun. Your comment reads as
if you didn't try to play the game for more than a few
seconds.It's a fun little game; no need to be so
smugly dismissive.
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> > krapp
>Your comment reads as if you didn't try to play
the game for more than a few seconds.I made it a
few minutes, I admit it was boring. That isn't my
fault. In a better designed games these things
would be more obvious.edit: OK I tried it again,
got the gun, it autofires which still isn't fun.
If I actually got to control it and had less ammo
it would be more challenging. If that's a possible
mechanic I couldn't see how to activate it. Still
boring.
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> noir_lord
> I don't know. I'd ask to see the code but since you
didn't write it you can't really discuss it.Brusque
but not inaccurate, Welcome to our future I guess.
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> michaelteter
You would see about 50 conversations.Contrary to what
some negative comments suggest, this was not a simple
one prompt game. I made a lot of choices and gave a
lot of direction to Gemini.If I get motivated enough I
might try to make a meta doc describing the actual
process with key summaries of different types of
conversations.
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> amazingamazing
> I don't know. I'd ask to see the code but since you
didn't write it you can't really discuss it.Huh? Why
do you believe this? ever take a literature
class?Regarding scanlines, there is a setting to turn
them off.
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> > krapp
Literature is written by human beings, and if the
author was in the class I expect they would be
able to discuss their process and
methodologies.But the entire point of using an AI
to generate code is not to pay attention to any of
that. The author of AI generated code did not
write said code and cannot therefore provide any
insight into the process or methodology beyond
"here is the prompt and model I used." Nothing
that would be of value to the few of us left on
this site who actually care about such things.
Nothing, in other words, to gratify intellectual
curiosity.Also regarding scanlines, fake scanlines
shouldn't obscure UI elements or make them
difficult to read. Actual scanlines on actual CRTs
didn't do that.
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> > > amazingamazing
Most literature classes discuss works where
the author is unavailable.The point of AI is
not to generate code and not pay attention...
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> > > > krapp
>Most literature classes discuss works
where the author is unavailable.This is
not actually a literature class, and the
author, as such, is available. And the
purpose of Show HN is to have a
conversation with the author.>The point of
AI is not to generate code and not pay
attention...Yes it is. That's what "vibe
coding" is. That's what all AI workflows
converge towards. That's how most people
use it. And that's what makes discussing
AI generated posts so limiting.
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> > > > > amazingamazing
The author did not claim to have "vibe
coded" anything.> My concept, my
guidance, and Gemini Flash doing the
work. Took about 4 hours and 50+
conversations with Gemini.You are
right though. It is exhausting since
some people just can't get it through
their head that you can use AI and
still understand the output.
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> > > > > > krapp
Nobody's generating this in four
hours and understanding anything,
but if I'm wrong I welcome the
author's replies. It would make
more interesting conversation than
usual for these threads, which I
guess are just supposed to be for
kudos now.
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> > > > > > michaelteter
I am the author.Is code the art?
Or is the product of that code,
and the way people feel when they
use that product the point?At this
point, after enjoying the craft of
writing code for decades, I now
just want to build things I like.
At this point I care zero about
the details of the code as long as
the product meets my
requirements.Until you try
building a complete (if simple)
product, you may not realize how
many decisions are involved which
have nothing to do with code but
are critical to the success of the
product. That is my focus.
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> > > socalgal2
I agree with you the game is mediorce and
feels like a single prompt AI generated game
(whether or not it actually is)But, reguarding
AI code ... a movie director directs others
(actors, camera people, editors, set builders,
...) to make a movie. They don't do those
things themselves. Yet we still ask the
director about the movie they directed. I see
AI as similar. I direct it. To me there is
still value in knowing why a director made
certain decisions and their process for
getting the result they wanted.Because getting
slop is easy and slightly novel ATM, people
post it and it's crap, but I believe some
people will use AI as the tool it is and put
in enough effort *directing it* to get good
results and be worth respect.
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maxbond
I had a lot of fun, the scan line effect looks really good
and the obstacles are interesting and challenging. I'd
have liked to use my game controller, there's a browser
API for it. And to have changed my control settings. I
thought both mobile and desktop controls were good
though.I've been working on a browser game too lately.
It's a pretty great environment to work in. Three.js +
WASM have cured my desire to learn Godot, at least for
now.
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tom_
If you pick up an additional machine gun powerup, the
plane should fire more bullets simultaneously.
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> Configure0251
or fire bullets for longer, perhaps. it seems like in
this case, neither happens.
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Kuyawa
Loved it. That's exactly what AI should be used for.
Something that would take us one month at least, full of
bugs, AI now delivers in less than a day, ready to
shipThis is the essence, AI is a super power, the world is
ours
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> krapp
>This is the essence, AI is a super power, the world
is oursDon't me overdramatic. The guy who made Flappy
Bird did it in a weekend without AI. A simple game
like this wouldn't be difficult in any modern
framework. That it can be vibe-coded in less than a
day isn't really much value.
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> > michaelteter
It now exists. It did not exist before I "made"
it.For me it has value, because it is something I
wanted to play.
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> tom_
Well I dunno, man, this looks like the sort of amusing
prototype I'd expect to take a couple of days - though
not to understate the value of getting it in 4 hours
(and probably with less than 4 hours' continuous
effort from the human). Iteration time is an important
factor!(Regarding the parting shot, I find myself once
again, for the numerousth time, reminded of this
curious lobsters comment that I'm having difficulty
forgetting:
https://lobste.rs/s/omq8rt/vibecoding_gets_emacs_patch
_rejec... - perhaps not quite entirely directly
germane here, I don't think, but, still, somehow, not
quite entirely directly not.)
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> > karthink
> Once the user is sufficiently (l)ionized,
they're no longer receptive to neutral
positions.Every step in this argument
(particularly this one) seems tenuous at best, and
in need of citations.
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> > > tom_
Let us hope that the poster happens to see
this, and is moved to comment, so they can
address your points.
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> ricardobeat
Something that would take us one month at least, full
of bugs, AI now delivers in less than a day, full of
bugs
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jaylau47
Maybe this is intentional, but the up/down controls felt a
bit counterintuitive to me. Up makes the plane go down,
and down makes it go up - is that by design?
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> trencedamp
When you're in a cockpit you're pushing the stick
forward to dive, up key on the keyboard is often what
we use to represent that but it's not a perfect
analogy.
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> askvictor
That's how a real plane's control works, so many games
do the same.
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> > jaylau47
Yeah, that makes sense. I've never flown a plane
or played this kind of game before, so it felt a
bit unusual to me at first.
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> > kqr
Indeed. Trim wheels when rolled upward trim for
higher speed, i.e. nose down.Wait, this agrees
with GP's experience but not mine. Did OP invert
it?
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mikepalmer
suggestions:
switch L-R directions like Defender
dogfights with the red baron
vertical and horizontal (have to stall through them) hoops
ability to shoot up buildings
levels with different goals... then you fly somewhere else
to the next level.
aircraft carrier landings
other/faster planessome of the text in the UI is too
small, old games just had 1 font.
braking at landing is confusing... too easy to
accidentally switch to full throttle
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therein
That was relatively fun but there should be a penalty for
flying upside down and backwards, it should lose altitude
or something.
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fhn
I like it, reminds me of the old arcade games. I'd rather
use left and right keys instead of up and down but no big
deal.
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zwayhowder
This took me back to my first PC gaming experience at age
6ish. Circa 1988. Nostalgia unlocked!
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mikepalmer
Love the flight dynamics, super fun game!! Now can you
make GTA VII??
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scrolling
Cool, but work with AI to figure out gravity and stalls
better.
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kingforaday
Anyone else remember Sky Kid?Great game and this reminds
me of it. Thanks for sharing.
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sahilramani
Concept and visual look is great! Controls need a little
work.
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byako
stall warning, angle of attack and wind dynamics in a
balloon popping game, that is a lot of commitment to the
flight model. respect.
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> kqr
What is the wind dynamics? I would have expected to
climb when the headwind increased but I didn't. I also
didn't manage to stall, only invert when I went out of
bounds.
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vunderba
Nice job - it kind of reminds me of the rocket barrel
levels in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.Feedback:
Consider playing with the physics of the plane depending
on your pitch, so that some parts of some levels might
require you to deliberately pitch down for a few seconds
to build up some "stored speed".
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> michaelteter
It basically does this. If you are in level flight or
a dive, you increase speed up to a certain max (level
flight max is less than dive max). If you climb, you
bleed off speed. To reach high balloons, you often
need to build up more speed before you can climb high
enough.There's probably room for improvement, but it's
already enough fun that I can play it for several
minutes at a time.Now I'm trying to decide if there's
anything else of value to add - without making it too
much of anything. I think I'm about finished now.
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torranx
tried it and liked it but I wouldnt call it retro, at
least by the looks of it
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nnevatie
Triplane Turmoil was better.
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> michaelteter
Many games are better.Many comments are better too :).
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hydropax
The scan lines are a great touch. It makes it feel truly
retro
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superkuh
It is fun. Now make it multiplayer over websockets/etc
with some dev controlled signalling server (who peers
register with/etc) and STUN check to get peer IPs locally.
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