Gaming · Do this yourself

Port a 1993 assembly game to a modern engine with Claude.

✅ He says the first port took an evening, with a few more weekends to get the feel right and ship.

No X data

Based on rabahs on Hacker News (opens in new tab)

Who it’s for

Hobbyists, game makers and anyone who wants to build something fun with AI.

Adapt it to your industry

  • Teacher: a small quiz game for your class
  • Shop or brand: a daily puzzle that brings customers back
  • Event organizer: a simple trivia game for your audience

Step by step

  1. Write the game idea in three sentences: what the player does, how they win, how long one round takes.
  2. Open Claude (artifacts) or ChatGPT (canvas) and paste the prompt below with your idea.
  3. Ask for a single-page web version you can play right in the browser.
  4. Play it, then ask for one change at a time (“make it harder”, “add a score”).
  5. When you like it, ask how to put it online for free (for example on Vercel or Netlify) and follow the steps.
  6. Share the link with 5 friends and watch where they get stuck.

Ready-to-copy prompt

Here is the original assembly. First reassemble it until the binary matches, then document each routine, then port the game loop to Godot.

Start with AI

Opens the AI with this guide and the prompt filled in.

Open in ChatGPT (opens in new tab)Open in Claude (opens in new tab)Open in Grok (opens in new tab)
Cost
$0–20/month (free tiers or one AI plan)Our estimate
Time
An evening for the first port (sourced)From the source

How to make money from it

Pricing idea: Keep the game free and earn from light ads, a small paid tier with extra modes, or sponsors.

Finding your first 10 customers

  • Share it in communities about the game’s topic.
  • Add a “share your score” button so players bring friends.
  • Post a short clip of gameplay on social media every day for a week.

Ideas, not promises. Results vary.

Details: source, numbers and tags

What they did

Rabah Shihab gave Claude his 1993 source, notes and repos. It first reassembled the code until the binary matched the original, then ported it to Godot.

How it went

He says the first port took an evening, with a few more weekends to get the feel right and ship. He is releasing the original for free.

Worth knowing

Claude wrote the first draft of his write-up, which he edited line by line.

Difficulty
AdvancedOur rating
Time to build
An evening for the first port (sourced)From the source
Monthly cost
Not reported
Revenue
Not reportedWe only show revenue the source states
Engagement
381 HN points133 comments · fetched Oct 15, 2026
X buzz
No X data

Posted · Added Oct 16, 2026

Original builder recipe

  • Claude
  • Godot
  • Original source
  1. Describe the game or mod you want.
  2. Build it with your agent in small playable steps.
  3. Playtest after each step.
  4. Share or publish, respecting copyright.

Tags

Agent Claude
Tool Godot
Industry Games

Read the original

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