# How I Made A Good Game In a Weekend Using Claude Code

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa-Fu5Qw91M
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/aa-Fu5Qw91M
Generated: 2025-08-01T13:32:51.287+00:00

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## Quick Overview

The video demonstrates how to develop a simple 2D game called "Library Survivors" using JavaScript and the Vite build tool, showcasing how AI tools like Claude Code and Leonardo AI can assist in the development process, from generating game concepts and sprites to outlining a development plan and even providing foundational code.

**Key Points:**
- The video demonstrates a weekend game development process using AI tools like Claude AI for planning and code generation, and Leonardo AI for asset creation.
- The game concept, "Library Survivors," is a "vampire survivors clone" with a librarian protagonist fending off chaotic kids in a library.
- Claude AI was used to generate a comprehensive development plan, including a weekly breakdown of tasks and key implementation details.
- Leonardo AI was utilized to create 16-bit pixel art sprites for the librarian character and background assets, with iterative refinement of prompts.
- The game's core mechanics, including player movement, book interaction, and a "Chaos Meter," were implemented using JavaScript and Vite.
- The creator encountered and fixed issues with input handling and character scaling, using Claude AI to help diagnose and suggest solutions.
- The game is now playable, with a functional main menu, basic gameplay, and placeholders for sound effects and music, with the code and assets available on GitHub.

![Screenshot at 00:00: Host Matt Wolfe, wearing headphones and a GDC hat, introduces the video's topic and the game "Library Survivors."](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/aa-Fu5Qw91M/00-00-00.png)

**Context:** The video focuses on the process of game development, specifically for a game called "Library Survivors." The creator, Matt Wolfe, aims to showcase how AI tools can be integrated into the workflow to speed up and improve various aspects of game creation, from initial concept generation to coding and asset creation. He uses Claude AI for planning and code generation, and Leonardo AI for visual asset creation, demonstrating their practical application in a real-time project.

## Detailed Analysis

The video details the process of developing a 2D game called "Library Survivors" over a weekend, emphasizing the use of AI tools throughout the development cycle. The creator, Matt Wolfe, outlines the game's concept: a "vampire survivors clone" where the player is a librarian tasked with shelving books while fending off rowdy kids who knock books off shelves and increase a "Chaos Meter." The game is won by surviving 30 minutes without the chaos meter reaching 100%. The video then walks through using AI to flesh out the game concept, including defining the core gameplay loop, player resources, and progression systems. Specifically, it highlights using Claude AI to generate a development plan, which breaks down the project into weekly milestones, including core architecture, player movement, enemy AI, and graphics. The creator also demonstrates setting up Claude Code within VS Code for code generation and assistance, and then uses Leonardo AI to generate 16-bit pixel art sprites for the librarian character and the game's background. The video also touches upon implementing basic sound effects and music using AI tools like Suno AI. Finally, it shows how to set up a GitHub repository for the project and demonstrates the game's current playable state, including the main menu and basic gameplay mechanics, while also acknowledging some remaining issues like input handling and inconsistent character scaling that need further refinement.

### Game Concept

- Library Survivors - a "vampire survivors clone" where the player is a librarian shelving books and fending off chaotic kids
- Core Gameplay Loop: Survive 30 minutes of library chaos, manage chaos meter, level up to choose upgrades
- Win Condition: Survive 30 minutes without chaos meter reaching 100%
- Lose Condition: Chaos meter reaches 100%

### AI Tools for Development

- Claude AI used for game concept generation and development plan outlining
- Leonardo AI used for generating 16-bit pixel art sprites and backgrounds
- Suno AI used for creating background music and sound effects

### Development Plan

- Broken down into weekly milestones covering project setup, core architecture, player movement, enemy AI, graphics, sound, and meta-progression
- Key Implementation Notes: Prioritize responsive controls, use object pooling, implement debug mode early, keep timing/balance values configurable

### Technical Setup

- Installing Node.js and Claude Code extension for VS Code
- Using Vite for build system and project setup
- Creating a GitHub repository for version control and collaboration

### Game Mechanics

- Player movement with WASD/Arrow keys, Sprinting with Shift (uses stamina), Pause with P/Escape
- Book pickup/return mechanics, shelf interaction, chaos meter management
- Kids steal books, knock books off shelves, or run away with books

### Graphics and Sound

- 16-bit pixel art style for characters and environments
- Background music for menu and gameplay, sound effects for actions (book pickup/drop, chaos warnings, etc.)

### Current Progress

- Game is playable with basic mechanics, menu navigation, player movement, and some AI
- Issues Identified: No Kid spawning system, collision detection issues, inconsistent character scaling, missing sound effects
- Next Steps: Implement Kid NPCs with state machine AI, add collision detection, create upgrade selection UI, implement weapon skills, add sound effects and music

![Screenshot at 00:00: Host introducing the video's topic and the game development concept.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/aa-Fu5Qw91M/00-00-00.png)
![Screenshot at 00:02: Title card "CHAPTER 1 PLANNING THE GAME" appears.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/aa-Fu5Qw91M/00-00-02.png)
![Screenshot at 00:16: Screenshot of the game "Vampire Survivors" is shown as a comparison.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/aa-Fu5Qw91M/00-00-16.png)
![Screenshot at 00:18: Image of a librarian from "The Librarian" game.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/aa-Fu5Qw91M/00-00-18.png)
![Screenshot at 00:19: A person looking at books stacked on a table.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/aa-Fu5Qw91M/00-00-19.png)
![Screenshot at 00:20: A young boy looking through a magnifying glass.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/aa-Fu5Qw91M/00-00-20.png)
![Screenshot at 00:21: A young man taking a book from a bookshelf.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/aa-Fu5Qw91M/00-00-21.png)
![Screenshot at 00:23: A person sitting on the floor reading a book surrounded by other books.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/aa-Fu5Qw91M/00-00-23.png)
![Screenshot at 00:25: A man in a suit standing in front of bookshelves.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/aa-Fu5Qw91M/00-00-25.png)
![Screenshot at 00:27: A view down a library aisle lined with bookshelves on both sides, with a window at the end showing greenery outside, suggesting a calm and studious atmosphere, fitting for the game's theme and setting.\|00:28:A woman browsing books on a shelf in a library, her hands reaching out to select a book, capturing the essence of the game's mechanics and the player's interaction with the environment.\|00:30:The host appears on screen, wearing headphones and a "GDC" cap, ready to explain the game's concept.\|00:32:Screenshot of the game "Library Survivors" showing shelves, books, and characters.\|00:46:Visual representation of the "Chaos Meter" filling up as books are scattered.\|00:56:Animated sprites of a character and a winged monster, representing the game's protagonist and an enemy.\|01:00:Multiple pixel art characters swarm around a central character, illustrating the "swarms of kids" concept.\|01:10:A text box displays the game's description and the prompt asking for help with development.\|01:33:A dropdown menu showing different AI models available for use, including GPT-4o, O3, O3-pro, O4-mini, and O4-mini-high.\|01:49:The AI "Claude" is shown to have reasoned for 5 minutes and 12 seconds on the game development concept.\|02:09:Screenshots of the game's design document, detailing core gameplay loop, player stats, kid behavior system, and difficulty scaling.\|02:33:Animation showing a librarian character interacting with a kid who is holding a book.\|02:49:A graph showing the relationship between player level, XP required, and difficulty.\|03:03:The AI is asked to create a markdown file with the plan and a full explanation of all game details.\|03:13:The AI generates a markdown file named "library\_survivors\_design.md" with the complete web development plan.\|03:33:The development plan is displayed, outlining the game's structure, phases, and key implementation notes.\|03:44:A tweet from Matt Wolfe asking for AI tool recommendations is displayed.\|03:53:Multiple tweets recommending AI tools are shown, with Claude being the most frequently recommended.\|04:08:The website for "Claude Code: Deep coding at anthropic.com/claude-code" is displayed, showing installation instructions.\|04:18:The Node.js download page is shown, instructing how to download and install Node.js.\|04:46:The Visual Studio Code website is displayed, offering a download for macOS.\|04:51:The VS Code interface is shown, highlighting the "Extensions" icon.\|04:59:The VS Code extensions marketplace is shown, searching for "Claude.".\|05:01:The "Claude Code for VSCode" extension is displayed with its details and install button.\|05:13:The "Claude Code for VSCode" extension is installed, showing the "Installing" and "Auto Update" options.\|05:20:The VS Code file explorer is shown, with the "Library Survivors" folder opened.\|05:29:The file explorer window shows the "Code" folder and the "Library Survivors" folder within it.\|05:38:The "Library Survivors" folder is opened in the file explorer.\|05:42:The "Library Survivors" folder is opened in VS Code, displaying the project structure.\|05:52:Claude Code prompts for confirmation to trust the files in the "Library Survivors" folder.\|06:13:The "Library Survivors" folder is opened in the VS Code file explorer, showing the "library\_survivors\_design.md" file.\|06:33:The "library\_survivors\_design.md" file is opened in VS Code, displaying the game's development plan.\|06:40:The "library\_survivors\_design.md" file is opened in VS Code, showing the detailed development plan.\|06:50:Claude Code generates a detailed development plan for "Library Survivors" in markdown format.\|07:08:Claude Code's plan for "Library Survivors" game issues is displayed, outlining fixes for input handling.\|07:30:The game's file structure within VS Code is shown, with "development\_plan.md" and "library\_survivors\_design.md" visible.\|08:10:The AI-generated web development plan for "Library Survivors" is displayed, including technology stack and project structure.\|08:23:Chapter 2 title card "SETTING UP CLAUDE CODE" appears.\|08:33:Claude Code is installed as a VS Code extension, indicated by its logo in the VS Code interface.\|08:44:A demonstration of how Claude Code works within VS Code, showing it generating code and providing suggestions.\|09:13:The game's development plan is displayed in markdown format, outlining various tasks and progress.\|09:33:The completed development plan is shown, including project setup, game loop, state management, and input systems.\|10:00:A Rubik's cube is shown as a visual metaphor for problem-solving in game development.\|10:14:The game's main menu screen is displayed, showing "Library Survivors" title and menu options.\|10:28:The game's main menu screen is shown with functional arrow key navigation.\|10:56:The "Library Survivors" game's main menu is displayed within VS Code, with the "Claude Code" extension active.\|11:13:The "Extensions" tab in VS Code shows "Claude Code" installed.\|11:28:Claude's plan to fix input handling issues is displayed, outlining changes needed in "InputManager.js".\|11:44:The game's main menu is shown, with the player character visible but not responding to input.\|11:52:The console logs in VS Code show input events being registered, but the game still not responding to input.\|12:03:The console logs show that the "Keys map size" is changing erratically, indicating an issue.\|12:13:The "InputManager.js" file is shown in VS Code, with the suggested fix for handling undefined values.\|12:23:The console logs show the input events being registered correctly after the fix.\|12:33:The game's main menu is shown working correctly, with arrow key navigation functioning.\|12:44:The game's instructions screen is displayed, showing controls and gameplay tips.\|12:55:The game is running, demonstrating the core mechanics of picking up and shelving books, and the chaos meter.\|13:13:The game's main menu is displayed with a different background image.\|13:23:Leonardo AI interface is shown, with various AI models and styles available for image generation.\|13:33:The "Library Survivors" development plan is displayed in markdown format.\|13:54:A prompt is entered into Leonardo AI to generate librarian character sprites.\|14:07:Leonardo AI generates several librarian character sprites, with slight variations.\|14:21:A specific librarian sprite is selected for upscaling.\|14:33:Claude AI generates a detailed development plan for "Library Survivors" game issues.\|14:44:The game's main menu is displayed, showing the librarian character and the game's aesthetic.\|15:05:The game's main menu is shown, with characters and books on the floor.\|15:15:The game is running, demonstrating character movement and book pickup mechanics.\|15:25:The game's UI elements, including stamina and book counts, are visible.\|15:45:The game shows characters moving around and interacting with books.\|15:56:The game's mechanics are demonstrated, with characters picking up books and the chaos meter increasing.\|16:15:The game's characters are shown interacting with the environment, including knocking books off shelves.\|16:27:The game's code is displayed in VS Code, showing the implemented fixes and updates.\|16:37:The game's main menu is displayed, with the character sprites and background appearing correctly.\|16:50:The game's sprites and background are shown in the game, demonstrating the visual improvements.\|17:03:The game's main menu is displayed, showcasing the updated character sprites and background.\|17:15:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with characters moving and interacting with books.\|17:25:The "Level Up!" screen is shown, offering upgrade choices for the player.\|17:40:The "Level Up!" screen is shown again, this time with the "Long Arms" upgrade selected.\|17:51:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, showing characters moving and picking up books, with the chaos meter increasing.\|18:02:The game's gameplay is shown, with characters interacting with books and the chaos meter rising.\|18:13:The game's gameplay is shown, with multiple characters and books on the floor, and the chaos meter increasing.\|18:23:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with characters interacting with books and the chaos meter increasing.\|18:33:The game's sprites and backgrounds are shown, demonstrating the visual improvements.\|18:44:The game's characters are shown in different poses and with varying color schemes.\|18:55:A GitHub repository page for "the-librarian-game" is displayed.\|19:03:Claude Code's output in VS Code shows the generated development plan in markdown format.\|19:13:The "development\_plan.md" file is opened in VS Code, displaying the detailed plan.\|19:23:The game's core mechanics are demonstrated, with characters moving and interacting with books.\|19:33:The game's development plan is shown in VS Code, detailing tasks and progress.\|19:43:The game's characters are displayed with slightly adjusted sizes and color differences.\|19:53:The game's main menu is shown, with the new character sprites and background.\|20:14:The game's main menu is displayed, with the corrected character sprites and background.\|20:23:The game's main menu is displayed, with the refined character sprites and background.\|20:34:The game's main menu is displayed, showcasing the improved character sprites and background.\|20:44:The game's main menu is displayed, with the character sprites and background appearing as intended.\|20:54:Leonardo AI interface is shown, with various image generation options and results.\|21:04:The generated librarian character sprite is displayed, with its colors adjusted to match the desired aesthetic.\|21:14:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, showing characters moving and interacting with books.\|21:24:The game's gameplay is shown, with multiple characters and books on the floor, and the chaos meter increasing.\|21:35:The "Level Up!" screen is shown, offering upgrade choices.\|21:46:The "Level Up!" screen is shown again, with different upgrades available.\|21:56:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with characters moving and interacting with books.\|22:06:The game's characters are shown with different color variations, and some issues are identified.\|22:17:The game's characters are shown with improved sprites and corrected colors.\|22:27:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, showing characters moving and interacting with books, with the chaos meter increasing.\|22:38:The game's sprites and backgrounds are displayed, showcasing the refined graphics.\|22:49:The game's characters are shown in different poses and with varying colors, reflecting the improvements.\|23:00:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with multiple characters and books on the floor, and the chaos meter increasing.\|23:11:The game's UI elements are shown, including level, stamina, and books.\|23:22:The game's characters are shown with improved sprites and color consistency.\|23:33:The game's gameplay is demonstrated with refined graphics and sound effects.\|23:44:The game's title screen is displayed with the "Start Game" button highlighted.\|23:55:The game's instructions screen is displayed.\|24:05:The game's gameplay is shown, with characters moving and interacting with books.\|24:15:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with characters and books on the floor, and the chaos meter increasing.\|24:25:The game's gameplay is shown, with multiple characters and books on the floor, and the chaos meter increasing.\|24:36:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with characters moving and interacting with books and the chaos meter increasing.\|24:47:The game's gameplay is shown, with multiple characters and books on the floor, and the chaos meter increasing.\|24:58:The game's gameplay is shown, with characters interacting with books and the chaos meter increasing.\|25:09:The "Level Up!" screen is displayed, showing upgrade options.\|25:20:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with characters moving and books being shelved.\|25:31:The game's gameplay is shown, with multiple characters and books on the floor.\|25:42:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with characters interacting with books and the chaos meter increasing.\|25:53:The game's gameplay is shown, with multiple characters and books on the floor.\|26:04:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with characters moving and interacting with books.\|26:15:The game's gameplay is shown, with multiple characters and books on the floor.\|26:26:The game's characters are shown with improved sprites and color consistency.\|26:37:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with characters moving and interacting with books.\|26:48:The game's characters are shown with different poses and animations.\|26:59:The game's main menu is shown, with the background music playing.\|27:10:The game's instructions screen is displayed, with the background music playing.\|27:21:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with characters moving and interacting with books.\|27:32:The game's gameplay is shown, with multiple characters and books on the floor.\|27:43:The game's characters are shown with improved sprites and color consistency.\|27:54:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with characters moving and books being shelved.\|28:05:The game's gameplay is shown, with multiple characters and books on the floor.\|28:16:The game's characters are shown with improved sprites and color consistency.\|28:27:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with characters moving and interacting with books.\|28:38:The game's characters are shown with different poses and animations.\|28:49:The game's main menu is shown with background music playing.\|29:00:The game's instructions screen is displayed with background music.\|29:11:The game's gameplay is shown with characters moving and interacting with books.\|29:22:The game's gameplay is demonstrated, with multiple characters and books on the floor.\|29:33:The game's characters are shown with improved sprites and color consistency.\|29:44:The game's gameplay is shown, with characters moving and interacting with books.\|29:55:The game's characters are shown with different poses and animations.\|](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/aa-Fu5Qw91M/00-00-27.png)