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Levelwick guide

How to make a platformer game with AI

Make a platformer that feels good with an AI game maker: jump tuning, coyote time, text-grid levels, touch controls and collision bug fixes.

Steps

  1. Describe the movement precisely. Specify run speed, jump height in tiles, stronger gravity when falling, and variable jump height.
  2. Add forgiveness features. Ask for coyote time and jump buffering of about 0.1 seconds each.
  3. Build levels from text grids. Write small level maps with characters for ground, coins, hazards and the goal.
  4. Test and fix collision. Run, jump and land on every edge. Fix falling through floors or sticking to walls with targeted prompts.
  5. Add touch controls. Request left, right and jump buttons with multi-touch for phones.
  6. Add levels and polish. Add more grids, checkpoints, a level select, particles and sounds once the first level plays well.

The jump is the game

Players judge a platformer within seconds by how the jump feels. Before asking for levels, enemies or menus, get movement right. Describe it with numbers and named techniques:

Run speed 200 px per second, jump height about 3 tiles. Gravity is stronger when falling than when rising. Releasing the jump key early cuts the jump short. Add coyote time and jump buffering of 0.1 seconds each.

Coyote time lets players jump a moment after leaving a ledge. Jump buffering remembers a jump pressed just before landing. Both are invisible to players but make the controls feel responsive and fair.

Draw levels as text

AI tools follow text maps very reliably. A small grid like this:

..........C.......F
.......####....####
..####....C........
#########.####.####

with a key (# ground, C coin, F flag) gives you exact control. You can edit the grid yourself later, without regenerating the game.

Fix collision before adding content

Test every kind of contact: landing on edges, hitting ceilings, running into walls, falling fast from high up. The two most common bugs have reliable fixes:

  • Falling through platforms: ask for movement in small steps with collision checks after each, and a cap on the time step.
  • Sticking in walls or corners: ask for collision resolved one axis at a time, X then Y, with a slightly smaller hitbox than the drawing.

Make it playable on phones

Ask for on-screen left, right and jump buttons that only appear on touch devices, at least 64 px, with multi-touch so players can run and jump at once. Also ask the game to prevent page scrolling while playing.

Grow the game in small steps

Once one level plays well, add:

  1. A second level and a "Next level" button.
  2. Checkpoints for longer levels.
  3. One enemy type with simple patrol behaviour.
  4. Particles on landing, a coin sound and a level complete jingle generated in the browser.

Add one feature per prompt and test after each one. If something breaks, describe exactly what happened and ask for only that bug to be fixed.

FAQ

Why does my character feel floaty?

Gravity is probably the same going up and down. Ask for stronger gravity while falling and a capped fall speed.

What is coyote time?

A short grace period, around 0.1 seconds, where the player can still jump after running off a ledge.

How do I design levels without coding?

Write them as text grids with one character per tile type, and ask the game to build levels from those grids.

Why does the player fall through the floor sometimes?

Usually the player moves too far in one frame. Ask for movement in smaller steps with collision checks and a capped time step.

Can I add my own character art?

Yes, once the movement works. Use a transparent PNG with one clear character, and keep the hitbox separate from the image size.

Browse the free prompts

Levelwick Pro

Ship a whole game, not just a first draft

30 fill-in master templates with worked examples, 12 multi-step build recipes (what to prompt, what to check after each step, and the fix prompt when it breaks), 40 bug-fix prompts by symptom, 20 art-direction briefs with upload tips, and a game-design + launch checklist. Markdown files, instant download.

One-time $12. Use and adapt the prompts in your own games, commercial ones included. 14-day fix-or-refund if it doesn't work as described. Secure checkout by Stripe.

Free sampler

T01 · Path defense master template (template)

Use it for: classic tower defense with a fixed route and placed towers. The most reliable starting point for the genre.

Variables

VariableWhat to writeExample
{{theme}}Setting in a few wordsbackyard garden
{{enemy}}Who walks the pathslugs
{{base}}What the player protectsthe garden gate
{{waypoints}}Path as a waypoint description6 waypoints snaking left to right
{{tower_1..3}}Name, price, rolePea Shooter, 25, single target
{{start_money}} / {{reward}}Economy100 / 5
{{lives}} / {{waves}}Lose and win conditions10 / 12
{{palette}}Visual styleflat bright greens and browns

Master prompt

Make a one-screen 2D tower defense game set in a {{theme}}.
PATH: {{enemy}} walk a fixed path through {{waypoints}} to {{base}}. Draw the path clearly. Enemies move from waypoint to waypoint and never leave the path.
BUILDING: The player clicks or taps an empty build tile beside the path to open a small menu of towers:
- {{tower_1}}
- {{tower_2}}
- {{tower_3}}
Greyed-out buttons when unaffordable. Tapping a built tower shows its range circle and a Sell button (refund 50%).
ECONOMY: Start with {{start_money}} coins. Each enemy defeated gives {{reward}} coins with a floating "+{{reward}}".
WIN/LOSE: {{base}} has {{lives}} lives; each enemy that reaches it costs 1. Survive {{waves}} waves to win.
WAVES: Waves start with a Start Wave button. Use a wave list: each wave adds enemies and +10% enemy health; every 4th wave adds a faster enemy type; the last wave has a boss with a health bar.
FEEDBACK: Enemies flash white when hit, pop into particles when defeated, and the screen shakes briefly when a life is lost.
HUD: coins, lives and wave number at the top; Start Wave and Pause buttons.
STYLE: {{palette}}, simple shapes drawn in code, no external images.
CONSTRAINTS: one HTML file, works with mouse and touch, all movement based on elapsed time, Restart button on the win and lose screens.

Worked example

Make a one-screen 2D tower defense game set in a backyard garden. PATH: slugs walk a fixed path through 6 waypoints snaking from the left edge to the garden gate on the right… Towers: Sprinkler, 10 coins, slows enemies 40% in range; Pea Shooter, 25 coins, single target; Bee Hive, 40 coins, small area damage. Start with 100 coins, 5 per slug. 10 lives, 12 waves. Flat bright greens and browns…

After the first generation, check: enemies stay on the path; towers only fire within the drawn range; selling refunds the right amount; the boss appears on the last wave.

Strong follow-ups

  • "Add a 2x speed button. Don't change anything else."
  • "Add upgrades: tap a tower to upgrade to level 2 (+50% damage) for 1.5x its price."
T13 · Classroom quiz engine template (template)

Use it for: any subject quiz you'll reuse with new questions every week.

Variables

VariableExample
{{subject}}Year 6 science: forces
{{questions}}your list, pasted in the format below
{{timer}}20 seconds, or "no timer"
{{teams}}2 to 4 teams, or "single player"
{{reward}}a star burst and a "Great thinking!" message

Master prompt

Make a quiz game for {{subject}}.
DATA: put all questions in an editable array at the very top of the code, clearly labelled QUESTIONS. Each item: question, four answers, index of the correct answer, optional explanation. Use exactly these questions:
{{questions}}
FLOW: shuffle questions and answer order; never repeat within a game. One question at a time with four large buttons (keys 1-4 also work).
TIMER: {{timer}}.
TEAMS: {{teams}}. If teams: show whose turn it is; correct = +10 to that team; turns rotate each question.
FEEDBACK: correct: {{reward}}. Wrong or timeout: chosen answer red, correct answer green, explanation shown for 3 seconds.
END: scoreboard, list of missed questions with correct answers, Play Again.
DESIGN: high contrast, at least 28 px answer text, readable on a projector and a phone.
CONSTRAINTS: one HTML file, works offline, no external fonts or images.

Question format to paste

Q: What force pulls objects toward Earth? | Friction | Gravity* | Magnetism | Air resistance | Gravity pulls everything with mass toward the Earth's centre.

(An asterisk marks the correct answer; the last field is the explanation.)

Check: the asterisk is removed from displayed text; explanations show for wrong answers only; teams rotate correctly after a timeout.

Ship a tower defense in 6 prompts · Step 1 of 6 (recipe-step)
Make a one-screen 2D tower defense game. Cartoon beetles walk a fixed path of 6 waypoints from the left edge to a tree stump on the right. The player clicks or taps a grass tile to place a Leaf Turret for 25 coins; it shoots the nearest beetle within 120 px once per second. Start with 100 coins; each beetle gives 5 coins. The stump has 10 lives; each beetle reaching it costs 1. A Start Wave button sends 8 beetles. Show coins, lives and wave at the top. Shapes drawn in code, flat greens and browns. Restart button on game over.

Check after:

  • Beetles follow the path exactly and never cut corners through grass.
  • Turrets can't be placed on the path or on top of each other.
  • Coins rise on each defeat; lives drop when a beetle reaches the stump.

If it breaks:

  • *Beetles leave the path:* "Move enemies from waypoint to waypoint in a straight line at constant speed; when within 2 px of a waypoint, snap to it and target the next one. Don't change anything else."
  • *Towers placed on the path:* "Mark path tiles as unbuildable using a grid; highlight buildable tiles on hover in green and unbuildable in red."
A cozy farm in 8 prompts · Step 1 of 8 (recipe-step)
Make a cozy farming game with a 6x4 grid of soil plots. Tap a plot to cycle: till, plant, water. Seeds: Turnip (2 coins, 2 days), Carrot (5, 3 days), Pumpkin (12, 5 days), chosen from a seed bar. A Sleep button advances the day. Watered plots grow one stage per day (3 visible stages); unwatered plots don't grow. Tap a ripe plant to harvest into a basket. Start with 20 coins. Show coins and day.

Check: crops only grow when watered; watering resets each morning.

Checklist · Core loop (checklist)
  • [ ] I can describe the game in one sentence: the player does X to achieve Y while avoiding Z.
  • [ ] The main action is fun on its own for 30 seconds, before any upgrades or levels.
  • [ ] Every action gives an immediate visible result.
  • [ ] There's a reason to do the action again (score, progress, story, collection).
  • [ ] The game has a clear end state for a session (game over, level complete, day end) or a natural stopping point for idle/cozy games.
  • [ ] I removed features that don't support the core loop.
Fix prompt: "Remove [feature]. It doesn't support the core loop. Don't change anything else."
Checklist · Mobile and touch (checklist)
  • [ ] The game works with touch only, without hover.
  • [ ] Touch targets are at least 48-64 px, with space between them.
  • [ ] Multi-touch works (move and jump at once).
  • [ ] The page doesn't scroll, zoom or pull-to-refresh during play.
  • [ ] The game fits portrait and landscape, or clearly asks to rotate.
  • [ ] HUD stays clear of notches and rounded corners.
  • [ ] Audio starts after the first tap.

Works well with

Propwren Creator Asset Pack848 upload-ready images + 168 game audio files from our own packs, licensed for AI game makers. $19 once.Shipfern Web Game Starter KitTurn a prototype into a game you own: HTML5 template with levels, daily challenge, share cards, PWA, Stripe unlock, portal adapters. $49 once.Game asset packsTilesets, monsters, icons, VFX, UI, shaders, 3D and textures with live demos and free samplers.