The Project
A hectic, projectile-dense co-op roguelite in the spirit of Risk of Rain Returns.
🎯 Goal
Ship a commercially viable co-op roguelite to Steam on a sub-$1,000 budget as a solo developer, using an AI-driven development pipeline.
🕹️ Genre
2D side-scrolling roguelite with online + local co-op, seeded runs, and a deep build-crafting augment economy.
⚙️ Tech
Godot 4.6 .NET. GDScript for gameplay, C# for the damage/augment math kernel and networking.
Playable Demo
A browser slice of the real game loop, playing as Yakov the gulag prisoner. Aim with the mouse and kite across platforms, clear waves of melee and ranged Rift enemies, and fight a boss every 5 rounds that drops a build-defining Kairox relic. Draft augments between rounds — with levels and tag synergies in the style of League of Legends Arena — then stack up to 3 Kairox relics (pick 1 of 3, reroll each once; some are actives on keys 1/2/3) that combo with your augment tags. Health, armor, the Gulag Toughness passive, and the augment tiers all mirror the Godot build. Press I for the stats panel.
How I Use AI to Build This Game
The core of this project is a disciplined, multi-agent AI workflow that I designed and run myself. Every cycle starts with a single command from me — “What's next?” — and each AI agent has a narrow, accountable role. I stay the architect and final reviewer for every decision.
| Agent | Lane | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Receptionist | Entry | Triggered by “What's next?” — surfaces one AI and one Human task and waits for me to choose. |
| Architect | AI | Turns my intent into a scoped, complexity-rated build spec before any code is written. |
| Implementer | AI | Executes the spec exactly — predictable output, no scope creep. |
| Auditor & Scribe | AI | Reviews and verifies the work in-engine, then updates docs, the roadmap, and commits. (Merged role.) |
| Human Coach | Human | Guides me through manual editor tasks with checklists and tutorials, then helps verify. |
| Me | Owner | All design decisions, manual editor work, art direction, and final approval. |
Strict engineering guardrails
I authored a project rulebook every agent must follow: fully static typing, signal-based decoupling, host-authoritative netcode, object pooling, and a fixed augment calculation order. AI output is held to my standards, not its defaults.
Anti-hallucination discipline
Agents must cite the design doc for claims, verify engine APIs against live documentation, and say “I don't know” rather than invent. Roadmap items are only checked off after in-engine verification.
Why this matters for a studio: AI is now part of real production pipelines. This project is direct evidence that I can take AI from a novelty to a managed, auditable engineering process — defining scope, enforcing standards, reviewing output, and shipping working software.
What I've Built So Far
A playable prototype with foundational systems implemented and verified in-engine.
Gameplay & Systems
- First hero (Yakov) — full 5-ability kit + passive implemented in code (final art & animations still in progress)
- Side-scroller physics conversion: gravity, grounding, platforms
- C# augment/damage math kernel with a strict 4-layer modifier order
- Object pooling (200 projectiles + 20 enemies) for performance
- Wave/round loop, enemy AI, grounded boss with HP bar
- Side-scrolling camera, HUD, gold economy foundation
Production & Planning
- 900+ line phased development roadmap with dependency tracking
- Full Game Design Document (lore, heroes, systems, economy)
- Pixel-art asset spec and animation frame budgets
- Networking design: host-authoritative, client prediction, RNG sync
- Business & legal planning, Steamworks account active
- CI pipeline (GitHub Actions) and version control discipline
Skills Demonstrated
The Road Ahead
A clear, sequenced path to a Steam vertical slice and beyond.
Next: Vertical Slice
One full stage playable start-to-boss at 60 FPS, with the augment delivery loop live — the gate for a Steam page.
Then: Core Loop
Remaining three heroes, full economy, the Rift Altar upgrade system, a planned Kairox-item (Rift Relic) layer that synergizes with augments, and 4-player online co-op with zero desync.
Goal: Launch
A polished six-stage roguelite with leaderboards and meta-progression, shipped to Steam.