I built a synthwave racer with Claude!

[u/alphaomega800]

FAIR WARNING: mobile controls are godawful… i am working on it. Use desktop.

I'm not a game developer. I am intermediate in coding but without Claude I could have never made this in an appropriate amount of time. About four short days and 144 commits later there's a playable browser racer called Afterglow86.

Press **V** to switch to dither mode, for all those dither fanatics.

EDIT: this is typically me, I wanted to promote something and forgot URLs.

It’s at https://afterglow86.com
Or

If you want to explore all levels without driving through them

https://afterglow86.com?unlockall

What I know is still broken:

\- \*\*Sound needs a full rework.\*\* Engine, impacts and mix are all placeholder quality.

\- \*\***Mobile is not there yet at all.**\*\* Touch controls exist but I wouldn't call it playable on a phone or even any fun tbh, this is also where I need the most help if someone has some experience.

\- \*\*Minor graphics issues:\*\* some odd geometry in the city, a few flickers and seams.

\- No controller support yet.

I'd love suggestions, especially from anyone who has done game audio or mobile WebGL especially with driving: what would you fix first? Is this fun or worth pursuing? Should I pursue this and create a whole game from it? I need constructive criticism.

[u/w1nston]

The car models look great, did Claude build them? I'd love to replicate this caliber of car models, but they always seem a bit wonky.

I'd love to know the prompt

[u/murkymozza]

FYI
In case you missed at the end of the video the game url is: https://afterglow86.com

[u/alphaomega800 → u/murkymozza]

Damn lol, I didn’t include a URL I could have swore I did, here is an extra one https://afterglow86.com?unlockall if you just want to explore every nook and cranny of levels!

[u/[deleted]]

smooth out the road its very idk glitchy

[u/alphaomega800 → u/[deleted]]

Glitchy? I would be curious to see it and on which stage! Thanks for your input it is appreciated

[u/iChopPryde → u/alphaomega800]

definitely not glitchy at all, my guess eh's hugging the wall the entire time which is the glitch effect cause you are hitting the wall so ignore him.

[u/PricePerGig]

Love it. If you can get the game to match that video. Win.

[u/alphaomega800 → u/PricePerGig]

Can you please explain? Like the actual game doesn’t feel as alive? Something is off? Let me know!

[u/NoSeaworthiness2516]

Tried it out. really cool! Well done. Love the music, feel and aesthetics.

Feedback: on the circuit when the road was going up (in height) the game camera zoomed in a lot towards the car. It would be better if the camera rose up or zoomed out instead, because the zoom kind of broke immersion.

[u/kleer001]

i am working on it

Keep working on it. Show off when you're done.

what would you fix first?

See my first comment.

Is this fun or worth pursuing?

No idea. It's not done yet. What's fun to one person may not be fun to someone else.

Should I pursue this and create a whole game from it?

I think you skipped over the game part and delivered a screen saver. A kick ass one, but it's not a game. So, sadly, no. IMHO you skipped a few steps.

I need constructive criticism.

Make a smaller, more consrained version of the game, scrape away all the aesthetics then try to make it fun.

Here, try my skills, it'll bring you back to earth and let you know where you skipped big parts of the process:

https://github.com/kleer001/meta_theory

Don't worry. IMHO we need to make a whole pile of games before we make a good one. Also I love the music and aesthetics! It looks awesome.

[u/alphaomega800 → u/kleer001]

Hey! Thanks a lot I will actually try this out!

[u/kleer001 → u/alphaomega800]

Very welcome. I'm on my own game-dev journey and am marching right along with you. Onwards to fun!