ChatGPT Created a Game for Me in Seconds and I'm Completely Impressed; Programmers Should Be Very Worried.
The second time is the charm.
Almost two years after I initially sought help from an early version of a generative artificial intelligence chatbot to create a game, I decided to give it another try with ChatGPT 4o using the same request. The results were impressive. Since the arrival of OpenAI's generative AI platform, it has become common for people to use it to perform tasks they prefer to avoid or to attempt things that exceed their capabilities.
Although I have writing skills and am an amateur artist, programming is not my strong suit. My experience includes some HTML, JavaScript, and even BASIC, but my programming skills are quite rusty. Last year, I asked ChatGPT to help me develop a new game called Tic-Tac-Go, a more complex variation of Tic-Tac-Toe, played on a 12x12 grid where you need to align six "X"s or "O"s to win.
The first attempt to create the game started well, as ChatGPT provided the CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files, along with detailed explanations. However, the response was incomplete due to a character limit, which made it difficult to obtain the full code. After several trials and errors, I eventually abandoned the project.
In the following 20 months, ChatGPT has advanced significantly. When I began using ChatGPT 4o, I noticed that it was not only more effective than some Google searches but also seemed to lack the limitations of the previous version. Remembering my failed project, I decided to try my luck again, using the same prompt I had used before.
This time, ChatGPT 4o's response exceeded my expectations. It synthesized my game idea into a more coherent description and, most impressively, provided all the necessary code from start to finish, along with a clear explanation of each segment. Next, it suggested how I could test the code in a web browser.
At first, I couldn’t get it to work as I expected, and ChatGPT advised me to correct the file format and ensure it was saved correctly. Once I made the adjustments, I reopened the file in the browser and, to my surprise, the game worked just as I had envisioned, with a design for two players to mark "X" and "O".
In addition, I asked ChatGPT to include the game rules in the code, which further eased the experience. This was a significant change compared to my previous experience, where the memory and efficiency of the AI were limited.
With greater confidence, I decided to request an update to the game so that it could be played online. ChatGPT provided me with an overview of how it would be necessary to set up a server and the code required to manage real-time games, although I realized that the new technical demands were beyond my capacity.
As we witness these advances in AI-assisted coding, it becomes clear that as these tools become smarter, the need for human intervention might be reduced. The evolution and future of AI-assisted programming seem promising, although this raises questions about the future role of human programmers in this new landscape.