I'm a game designer who can't write a single line of code, draw a picture, or read a musical note. And this game was made entirely by me using AI.
It all started with curiosity. I was curious about two things: first, what is AI capable of? Second, as a game designer with over a decade of experience but zero technical or artistic skills, what kind of game could I create completely on my own using AI? Without the constraints or support of a team or commercial pressures, what could I produce? Would it be a game that I myself consider good, one that I would actually want to play? Not wanting to bother my ex-colleagues who are busy with their own jobs, I decided to just go for it and try to make a game entirely with AI.
Driven by this curiosity, I spent over half a year creating "Paradise Island". To be perfectly honest, it's a Frankenstein's monster of ideas, inspired by:
1,The famous game "Balatro".
2,Another excellent game, "Farm Keeper" (by Cuddle Code).
3,My personal love for merge/combination games.
4,My professional background – I've worked on simulation/management games for many years.
4.5.,This doesn't really count as a fifth point, hence 4.5 – there's a very light idle element. Well, I just love idle games, haha!
So ultimately, it became a merge-style simulation/management game mixed with roguelike deck-building (and a touch of idle gameplay).
It sounds a bit complicated, huh... and I guess that's also why the development process wasn't exactly smooth sailing; it was quite tough.
All the art assets in this game were generated by me using ChatGPT – over 2,500 images in total.
I used Cursor to handle the code...
Well, I had to check the backend stats myself. From March 2025 to September 28th, I sent a total of 12,756 requests to Cursor. That's an average of about 60 requests per day. In the final game, "Paradise Island" has:
Over 40 types of pieces.
More than 200 upgrade appearances (just showing a part of them, too many to post all!).
And over 100 cards with different abilities (we call them "Photos" in the game, again, just a sample here!).
Even though it might sound complex, your goal in this game is very simple: Survive! Survive as long as possible!
Staying alive isn't easy. You need to:
Place your pieces strategically.
Combine cards cleverly to maximize your pieces' output.
Explore the map to gather extra supplies.
Place your pieces strategically
Combine cards cleverly to maximize your pieces' output
Explore the map to gather extra supplies
Of course, there's more to discover! I hope you give it a try.
If you encounter any issues or have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact me. I would be genuinely thrilled to hear any feedback or ideas you have!
Thank you!!!
