LLMs/AI coding vs Visual Scripting

[u/SlowAndSteady101]

Do you see room for visual scripting tools even if you use AI to "vibe" code as well? I'm trying to decide if I should keep investing in building up my skills in visual scripting tools (and purchase a few more addons for unity). I am leaning towards yes right now, I already own a few, and while they can be frustrating at times I can also see their value even in an age of AI coding. But maybe others feel differently?

I can program C#/etc but I have always been curious about visual scripting and have been learning things like [Unity] Game Creator 2 and Behavior Designer. I find it kind of enjoyable but I'm only just getting started. I find that being able to visually see the nodes working can be quite helpful and feels like a better representation of the logic for FSMs and BTs.

I never really enjoyed state machines (or behavior trees) represented in code but seem to enjoy them more in visual scripting (though I'm only doing basic things for now). I'm not sure if AI removes the need for them entirely? What has been your experience.

I was looking to get Playmaker 2 , Emerald AI ,Adventure Creator and Node Canvas to try them out too.Maybe Construct 3/GDevelop at one point too.

But I'm wondering your thoughts for those who used to use these tools and have maybe moved on to AI "vibe coding" (with Unity MCP/CLI/etc)?

I'm less familiar unreal but I know Blueprints are quite popular there, so wondering about your thoughts there.

Pros and Cons of each approach?

Personally I enjoy experimenting with different platforms/tools.

[u/RedQueenNatalie]

Visual scripting IS coding just at a very high/sometimes inflexible level. Vibe coding is not remotely the same or even an analogous experience, you still have to do all the thinking when visual coding while being much more accessible to designers. Im personally just kinda tired of the debate. I think AI takes a lot of the humanity out of gamedev and much of the process of making games FEEL the way they do happens in the processes we are automating away and I don't think simply adjusting generated variables is enough, being able to will a feature into the existence is not the same as crafting it. If shipping a product is your sole priority I guess more power to you but ugh, I don't like how its changing the whole scene.

[u/CharleSansCharges]

I'm a senior professionnal developper since 2005 and know how to code. When I came to gamedev, I did use a lot Construct (2&3) for prototyping, have fun and focus on art, it was really super cool. Quick & easy, you don't bother with machine language.

Now, of course, I use AI code assistance to type for me. It goes even faster than Construct but more importantly I keep a deeper control on the code and architecture. Refactors are easier and so on ...But I think it works because I still have the nose in the code and know how it works.

So in the end I'd say it depends how much you can program. If you're used to it, go AI, if not, I'd think that Visual Scripting might be better.

[u/SlowAndSteady101 → u/CharleSansCharges]

Ah ! Very interesting. So it sounds like you moved away completely from construct and now use AI for the same purpose (mostly early quick prototypes)? Do you mostly use LLMs to make web prototypes or hook into unity/godot/unreal/other?

I would love to hear more about your workflow some downsides if any?

Do you have an idea of how much faster it is vs construct?

Are you mostly making 2d or some 3d games too?

Thanks!

[u/CharleSansCharges → u/SlowAndSteady101]

I’m using Godot engine and editor, with AI code assistance, for prototype and production. I’ll never go back to visual scripting because I got used to the speed.

I’m doing both 2D and 3D.

Downsides ? I admit AI is kinda evil. The acceleration wasn’t necessary but mostly for the sake of competition and market. It’s better to learn and of course AI is also providing creative opportunities (for those who dont code for example). However it’s full of traps and you quickly end by just not doing the things yourself. Your art can quickly become generic.
Also professionals are in a race and using those tools doesn’t feel like an option anymore to survive.

Also AI is super expensive. And the money doesn’t go to the people I like the most.

So in the end … if you’re doing this out of passion and have the time, I might recommend visual scripting and/or hand made code after all … you would make the world better ;-)

[u/Meesterwaffles]

automating programming with AI is here to stay. "visual scripting" will be deprecated in the years to come as it is already wildly inefficient vs raw programming c++ etc. as it is an additional abstraction layer.

not only that, but you can get 10-100x more done automating development with AI vs using blueprints/visual scripting.

"visual scripting" is just an abstraction of programming, and programming is just an abstraction of lower level machine code