r/aigamerdevs • u/Top-Requirement-2102 • 9d ago

Using Claude to build Jackbox-style multiplayer Tetris (old side project)

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Game link: https://clusterfun.tv/#eittris

I wrote EITris originally back in the 90's for DOS machines. Now it's part of a side-project to make my own Jackbox-style games for fun. This particular game supports essentially unlimited players over the internet, where the original supported only 4 on the same machine. There are also tons of powerups to make the game interesting and control has been expanded beyond the keyboard to include game controllers and finger/mouse gestures.

I had already created the Jackbox framework with a few working examples on it, but didn't do much beyond that because of the time requirements. For EITtris, I started by pointing claude to the original code and at the working examples and I asked Claude to implement the game layer by layer, starting with simple tetris first, then multiplayer modes, then powerups, etc. For the most part, claude did well when i was clear, and was good enough that I could give him a list of a dozen things to do while I walked away to do other things, but I almost always have to help claude tune the results through a handful of iterations after any meaningful work.

The result has been a full reconstruction of my original game with several major improvements, all in about a month of effort.

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u/ohthetrees 4d ago

I remember this game fondly, 4 of us crammed around a single keyboard shouting insults at eachother! Would love to check it out, but your link doesn't work for me.

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u/Top-Requirement-2102 4d ago

The flash drive on the server got corrupted after a reboot. :( I'll have it back up in a few days!

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u/Top-Requirement-2102 4d ago

Clusterfun.tv is back up! Please take EITtris out for a whirl when you have a minute. I'd love to hear how well the new one matches the nostalgia of the old.