Vibe Coding Your First Game: How to Build a Complete Game by Describing It

The term "vibe coding" has exploded in popularity, and for good reason. It's the idea that you can build software, or in our case games, just by describing the "vibe" or intent of what you want, rather than writing every line of code yourself.

With Summer Engine, vibe coding isn't just a buzzword. It's how thousands of creators are building their first games.

In this tutorial, we'll walk through creating a simple 3D platformer game without writing a single line of code manually.

What is Vibe Coding?

Vibe coding is a development style where you act as the director and the AI acts as the engineer. You provide the vision, the rules, and the "vibe," and the AI handles the implementation details.

It turns game development from a technical challenge into a creative conversation.

Step 1: Download Summer Engine

First, you'll need Summer Engine. It's free to download for Mac and Windows.

Download Summer here.

Step 2: The Initial Prompt

Open Summer and create a new project. You'll see a chat window on the right. This is your command center.

Instead of dragging files or writing scripts, we start with a Prompt.

Try typing this:

"Create a 3D platformer level. I want a player character that can jump and move with WASD. The world should be a floating island style with grass and floating platforms."

Step 3: Watch the Magic

Summer's AI agents will spring into action:

1. Scene Expert: Builds the 3D environment, adding a StaticBody3D for the ground and creating the floating platforms.
2. Scripting Expert: Writes the CharacterBody3D script for movement, jump logic, and gravity.
3. Asset Expert: Generates placeholder materials for the grass and sky.

In about 30 seconds, you'll have a playable scene. Click Play to test it.

Step 4: Iterating on the Vibe

This is where "vibe coding" shines. You don't debug code; you refine the vibe.

Say:

"The jump feels too floaty. Make gravity stronger and the jump snappier. Also, make the player move faster."

Summer will open the player script, adjust the JUMP_VELOCITY and GRAVITY constants, and update the movement speed. It understands "floaty" means low gravity and "snappy" means high gravity/jump force.

Step 5: Adding Visuals

Now let's add some style.

Say:

"Generate a low-poly tree model and place a forest around the starting area. Give the sky a sunset vibe."

Summer uses its integrated Meshy and Gemini models to:

1. Generate a 3D tree model.
2. Create a sunset skybox texture.
3. Scatter the trees procedurally around your level.

Step 6: Adding Mechanics

Let's add a goal.

Say:

"Add a coin that spins. When the player touches it, play a sound and make it disappear. Add a counter to the screen showing collected coins."

Summer will:

1. Create a Coin scene with an Area3D.
2. Animate the rotation.
3. Write a script to detect the player collision.
4. Generate a 'ding' sound effect using ElevenLabs.
5. Create a UI CanvasLayer with a Label for the score.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You just built a playable 3D platformer with mechanics, visuals, and audio, all by describing what you wanted.

This is the power of vibe coding with Summer Engine. It's not about replacing game developers; it's about giving everyone the power to create.

Ready to try it yourself? Download Summer Engine and start vibe coding your dream game.