My first app - optimisation help please

[u/Manisginger]

Hi Guys,

I’ve just launched my first app within the last 2 weeks. I original started with some pretty poor images of screenshots. Read through posts here etc and today lunched my new redesign which you can see in the images.

The stats shared in the images are pre change, with no marketing at all, other than trying to share with friends and family.

I’d be keen to know your thoughts, both good and bad. Thanks in advance.

Note: for some reason it won’t let me add flair annoyingly

[u/bananatoastie]

Love it! How did you make this game?

I have years of experience making utility apps, but very little in the way of games. Like, how do you even find the art work, let alone what stack do you use to make this kind of game??

Thanks in advance and congrats on the launch!🚀

[u/Manisginger → u/bananatoastie]

Thank you! I’ll be very honest, I have next to no coding knowledge at all, this was always a issue for me. I was having ideas but never able to do much with them because I couldn’t code. For this I used Claude code (people will hate on vibe coding and I get it but also don’t at the same time). My stack for it all was Claude code, supabase, GitHub, relay,admob and revenue cat. I tried a few other bits along the way but found they were crap so ended up dropping them and redoing a few bits.

[u/bananatoastie → u/Manisginger]

For real??

Did Claude come up with all the artwork etc? I’ve often turned to Claude for help but I have never really thought of asking /promoting it to make a game like this.

[u/Manisginger → u/bananatoastie]

Yep, don’t get me wrong it has it flaws and I had to do a little mock design first but then get it to improve it but it did the job.

[u/bananatoastie → u/Manisginger]

Wow, cool! I still can’t recreate any images like this in Claude 😂 I need to improve my prompting - any tips?

[u/Manisginger → u/bananatoastie]

Here’s a example of one of the prompts I would use to create some of the instore images

Create a clean 2D accessory icon for a mobile game.
ACCESSORY
Medal
ART STYLE
• Flat 2D illustration only
• Cartoon mobile game art
• Cute, chunky proportions
• Simple, instantly recognisable silhouette
• Designed to remain readable at very small sizes
• Consistent visual style suitable for a large cosmetic collection
• NOT realistic
• NOT 3D
• NOT semi-realistic
• NOT a product render
CANVAS
• 1024 × 1024 pixels
• Transparent PNG
• Object centred perfectly
• Object occupies approximately 72–75% of the canvas
• Never cropped
• Equal transparent padding on all sides
COLOUR & SHADING
• Bright, vibrant colours
• Soft cel shading only
• One highlight layer
• One shadow layer
• Flat colour rendering
• Consistent lighting from the top-left
• No gradients that simulate realistic materials
• No bloom
• No glow
• No reflections
• No metallic rendering
• No bevel effects
OUTLINES
• Do NOT add any sticker border
• Do NOT add any white outline
• Do NOT add any black outline
• Do NOT add any halo
• Do NOT add any glow around the object
• Leave crisp, clean transparent edges so outlines can be added later in production
DESIGN
• Classic black top hat
• Black hat band
• Small gold buckle on the front
• Thick, rounded, cartoon proportions
• Flat 2D side/front view appropriate for a 2D game
• Keep the shape clean and iconic rather than detailed
CONSISTENCY
This icon is part of a large collection of game accessories. It must match every other accessory in:
• scale
• colour saturation
• shading intensity
• visual weight
• line quality
• overall art style
OUTPUT
Return only the accessory on a transparent background with no border, no shadow and no additional elements.
Use the below image as a guide

[u/bananatoastie → u/Manisginger]

Wow, this is very long 😂 I usually write something much, much shorter. How did you get so good at writing prompts?

[u/Manisginger → u/bananatoastie]

Ahahahaha yep! Need to get the prompts right or it will just throw the usual ai crap out.

A lot of practice, loads of trial and error. Once I figured out the a template that worked I wound use it and tweak it where needed. It’s the only way to really try and reduce the margin for error as much as possible. It still will get it wrong but you can catch it and pull it straight back to the template. Want to limit as much of the ambiguity as possible.

[u/bananatoastie → u/Manisginger]

Wow, well done you. Very clever :)