The ultimate guide to making AI games with Cursor

I've studied vibe coders for weeks to collect all the do's and don'ts of developing AI games in Cursor.

Here are 30 of the best tips I've found:

1. Start with “vibe project management”

Before using Claude to code, use Grok 3 or ChatGPT o1-pro to write a plan.

This might include a PRD (product requirements document), tech stack specifications, guidelines for front- and back-end code, and more:

2. Set up Project Rules in Cursor

These custom instructions guide the AI’s behavior across your entire codebase —for example, by telling it to follow specific naming conventions or avoid modifying particular files.

Here's a great setup guide:

3. Generate multiple first versions of the game, then keep the best one

Starting off on the right foot is huge.

The video below demonstrates this with a platform called Rosebud AI, but to do this in Cursor, run Claude on the same initial prompt multiple times & direct each response into its own version folder.

4. Game idea #1 (of 4): Be a copycat

Make a new version of an already-popular game.

This will let you skip the validation process while also increasing the odds your game will get mentioned by the original creators.

Here's a thread of viral AI games:

5. For 3D games, use ThreeJS

Three.js is a JavaScript library that simplifies the process of creating and displaying 3D graphics in the browser.

It lets you quickly bring your creative 3D ideas to life with intuitive APIs, a huge ecosystem of examples, and support for things like lighting, physics, and model loading:

6. To create 3D characters, use Trellis and Mixamo

Trellis is a tool that makes it easy to generate stylized 3D characters you can customize for your game or experience.

And Mixamo lets you rig and animate those characters instantly, giving them lifelike motion with no manual animation work required.

Here's a guide:

7. For realistic 3D environments, use models from Sketchfab

Sketchfab is an online platform for discovering, viewing, and downloading 3D models.

A lot of artists and developers use it to source assets for games, VR, and other 3D projects:

8. To improve the physics of individual objects in your game, use AmmoJS

AmmoJS is a physics engine that simulates rigid body dynamics, soft body physics (e.g. cloth, jelly), collision detection, vehicle physics, and constraints (e.g. hinges, springs).

CannonJS is an older alternative that's really popular:

9. For 2D games, don’t bother using ThreeJS

Instead, try using VueJS, or avoid engines altogether:

10. Experiment with “procedural generation” for elements like water

Procedural generation is a technique where content like textures, terrain, or water is created algorithmically rather than manually — which allows for dynamic, often infinite variations with minimal asset creation.

This can reduce your game’s download size on web browsers while making your landscapes look more natural:

11. Use images for some of your Cursor prompts

Sometimes it’s difficult to describe game mechanics using only text-based prompts.

Attach images to your prompts to cover all the bases:

12. Commit often so you can roll back changes

“Vibe debugging” can be painful because current models don’t know how to stop digging when they take the wrong approach.

Save time by creating a long breadcrumb trail of commits you can revert to when times get tough:

13. Game idea #2: Education

Make an educational game.

It’s hard to make a game that’s more fun than other games. But it’s easy to make a game that’s more fun than generic educational material:

14. For background music, use Suno

Suno is an AI-powered music generator that lets you create custom songs or background tracks from text prompts.

It makes it easy to add original audio to your game without needing a composer:

15. For in-game sound effects, use ToneJS

Tone.js is a JavaScript library for creating interactive and dynamic sound effects in the browser.

It can give you fine control over audio synthesis, timing, and effects for your game:

16. Give your characters realistic voices

Try sourcing voices from the massive voice library on ElevenLabs.

Or record a conversation with one of the many Grok Voice Mode personalities:

17. Have Cursor play a sound notification after it’s done with each task

This will let you be more productive between prompts.

The vibe coder below explains how to set notifications up with a custom MCP server for Cursor:

18. Multi-task with a non-Cursor chatbot

During your downtime waiting for Cursor to generate code, use a separate chatbot to help you craft your next prompt:

19. Make small, local changes

Start telling Cursor to make small, local changes as your codebase grows. Additionally, tell it to use separate files for separate responsibilities:

20. Add a multiplayer option to your game

Tell Cursor to do this with Python websockets or WebRTC:

21. Add live chat to your multiplayer game

This way, users will be able to talk to each other:

22. Game idea #3: Controversy

Make a game on a controversial news topic (e.g. politics) to get traction fast.

It won’t be for everybody of course, but the people who DO like it will like it a LOT — and many of them will want to share it with their friends:

23. Add mobile support for your game.

By default, Claude will build your game for the web, but lots of users will want to play it on their mobile devices.

Most modern browsers have developer tools that allow you to test-drive your app for mobile:

24. To add virtual joysticks, use nippleJS

Use a library like nippleJS to add a virtual joystick for mobile devices.

This is especially useful for 3D games where characters or vehicles need to be able to move around while shooting:

25. Test ruthlessly along the way

Tell Cursor to write unit and integration tests.

Here's the testing workflow that Matthew Berman — an indie hacker with a popular YouTube channel — uses for his games:

26. Don’t just use AI to BUILD your game.

Find ways to also incorporate AI as an in-game feature:

27. Add a portal feature that links to other vibe coded games

This way you can partner up with other indie hackers and co-promote each other’s games for more traction.

28. Engage with users on X to decide on upcoming features

In most cases, you can handle this simply by replying to comments and posting a poll on X.

But if you have a larger user base, consider using an app like Featurebase to let users vote on your product roadmap and submit bug requests:

29. Deploy your game for free on HuggingFace

Hugging Face is a platform best known for hosting and sharing AI models, but it also supports deploying interactive web apps—including games—using tools like Spaces.

Deploying your game there for free gives you a public URL, easy version control, and built-in exposure to a tech-savvy community:

30. Game idea #4: Adapt a board game

Make a game based on a popular board game.

The game below was inspired by “Settlers of Catan”: