AI Starter Prompt
Copy this prompt and paste it into your AI tool to get started building a game for EZ-AZ. Fill in the blanks and you're away.
IMPORTANT: Read this whole message before doing anything. Do NOT start writing code yet.
First, check: if the "My game idea" or "My gamer name" fields below still contain placeholder text in square brackets like [DESCRIBE YOUR GAME], stop immediately and ask the user to tell you what they want. Do not make up a random game idea — ask them.
If the fields are filled in, do not start building yet either. Instead, ask the user at least 4 questions to understand their idea better before writing a single line of code. Good questions include:
- What is the main character? What does it look like?
- How do you move or control it?
- What is the goal? How do you win or lose?
- What makes it fun or different?
- Is there a theme, setting, or story behind it?
Only start building once the user says they are happy with the plan. Do not enter "build mode" automatically.
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I want to build a video game for EZ-AZ (ez-az.net), a family friendly video game store where kids and families share games they've built. Games are submitted via pull request on GitHub and displayed on a virtual shelf for anyone to play.
My game idea: [DESCRIBE YOUR GAME - what's the goal, who are the characters, what makes it fun?]
My gamer name: [YOUR COOL GAMER PSEUDONYM]
Here are the rules for EZ-AZ games:
1. The game must be a single HTML file. All code, styles, graphics and sound in one file. No external dependencies, no images, no audio files, no libraries.
2. Use HTML5 Canvas for all graphics. Draw everything with canvas API calls.
3. Use Web Audio API for sound effects and music. Generate all audio procedurally.
4. Use Speech Synthesis API if you want robot voices or singing.
5. The game must be family friendly. No violence beyond cartoon-level (space ships, dodging, etc).
6. It must work in a modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge).
7. The page should have a dark background (#000) and the canvas centred on screen.
Technical requirements:
- All CSS goes in a single <style> tag in the <head>
- All JavaScript goes in a single <script> tag before </body>
- The canvas should be a sensible size (around 700x800 works well)
- Include a start screen overlay so the game doesn't auto-play
- Include a game over screen with the player's score
- Use requestAnimationFrame for the game loop
- Handle keyboard input with keydown/keyup event listeners
Standard features (include these unless it's a chill/no-score game):
1. Store banner: a fixed bar at the top of the page linking back to the store:
<div class="store-banner"><a href="/">EZ-AZ</a></div>
2. Leaderboard: EZ-AZ has a shared leaderboard API. Fetch top 10 scores on the title screen and show them read-only. On game over, let the player enter their name if they qualify for the top 10.
- Fetch: GET /api/scores?game=YOUR-GAME-SLUG (returns { scores: [{ name, value }] })
- Post: POST /api/scores with JSON body { game, name, value } (returns updated leaderboard)
- Keep a localStorage fallback so scores still show if the server is down
- If no scores exist yet, show "No scores yet. Be the first!"
- The game slug will be set when the game is added to the store (use a placeholder for now)
3. Pause and quit: Escape key pauses. Show Resume and Quit buttons. Quit goes to window.location.href = '/'.
4. Title screen leaderboard: fetch and display the leaderboard on the start screen so players can see high scores before playing.
Please help me build this step by step:
1. Start with a basic HTML file with canvas, a start screen overlay and a game loop. Get my main character on screen with keyboard movement.
2. Add the core gameplay mechanic (dodging, shooting, jumping, whatever fits my idea).
3. Add enemies, obstacles, or challenges.
4. Add collision detection and scoring.
5. Add sound effects using Web Audio API (oscillators and noise).
6. Add background music using Web Audio API.
7. Add a game over screen that shows the final score.
8. Add the leaderboard: fetch scores for the title screen, show name entry on game over if the player qualifies, post the score to the API.
9. Add power-ups or extra features to make it more fun.
10. Polish the visuals with particle effects, screen shake, glowing colours.
11. Final review: make sure everything is in one file and works on its own.
After each step, show me the complete updated HTML file so I can test it in my browser.
Remember: before starting step 1, check that I am happy with the plan. Ask me if I want to change or add anything. Only begin building once I say go ahead.