How I AI

Vibe coding a 3D multiplayer game in 15 minutes—with no game dev experience | Cody De Arkland

Cody De Arkland is the senior director of developer experience at Sentry, leading a team that empowers developers to build and ship software with greater safety and efficiency. Watch him speed-run the creation of a 3D multiplayer flight simulator—from scratch—in just 15 minutes, demonstrating the power (and creativity) that vibe coding enables. *What you’ll learn:* • How to approach building complex applications with AI by starting broad and iterating on specific features • The process of using multiple AI coding assistants simultaneously to build different components • Techniques for learning new technologies and frameworks through AI-assisted exploration • How to troubleshoot and fix issues when AI implementations don’t work as expected • The parallels between building fun projects and enterprise software with AI assistance • Strategies for keeping AI tools focused when they go off track or add unwanted features • The incredible velocity and productivity gains possible with modern AI coding tools • How anyone can now build sophisticated applications with minimal prior experience *Brought to you by:* Enterpret—Customer superintelligence platform for product and CX teams: http://enterpret.com/howIAI WorkOS—Make your app enterprise-ready today with WorkOS: https://workos.com?utm_source=lennys_howiai&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=q22025 *Where to find Cody De Arkland:* Website: https://codyde.io/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/codydearkland/ X: https://x.com/Codydearkland GitHub: https://github.com/codyde *Where to find Claire Vo:* ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/ Website: https://clairevo.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/ X: https://x.com/clairevo *In this episode, we cover:* (00:00) Introduction to Cody (02:45) AI tools he’s using (04:38) How Cody vibe coded a multiplayer game: Spaceflight (09:37) Demo: Starting a new flight simulator project from scratch *(12:22) "Tip: Keep your initial coding input general and broad"* (13:49) How to learn about libraries and technologies for projects (17:06) First run of the new flight simulator game (19:26) Using multiple AI coding assistants simultaneously *(19:31) "Tip: Use multiple AI coding assistants simultaneously to build different components"* (20:43) Unexpected features and visual improvements (21:26) Testing the multiplayer functionality (22:31) Reflecting on the development process and iteration (26:47) Lightning round and final thoughts *Tools referenced:* • Cursor: https://www.cursor.com/ • Windsurf: https://windsurf.com/ • Claude: https://claude.ai/new • Bolt: https://bolt.new/ • React: https://react.dev/ • v0: https://v0.dev/ *Other references:* • Sentry: https://sentry.io/ • MCP: https://www.anthropic.com/news/model-context-protocol • Spaceflight: http://spaceflight.gg/ • Three.js: https://threejs.org/ • Socket.io: https://socket.io/ _Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co._

CACody De ArklandguestCVClaire Vohost

May 5, 2025·31m·Watch on YouTube ↗

📖 CHAPTERS

1. 1

   Vibe coding as a general software workflow (games to “real apps”)

   Cody frames vibe coding as a repeatable way to build software: start from a blank scaffold, give a broad direction, then iterate feature-by-feature. Claire tees up how this approach applies beyond games to everyday application development.

2. 2

   Cody’s AI tool stack and “junior devs” metaphor

   Cody tours his desktop and explains how he runs multiple AI tools concurrently, treating each as a specialized helper. The segment highlights the practical reality of modern AI-assisted development: lots of parallel contexts and tools.

3. 3

   Showcase: Spaceflight.gg—multiplayer space flight sim built via AI

   Cody demos his game Spaceflight, including login/name selection, ship choice, and live multiplayer presence. The game evolved from a simple prototype into a more ambitious project as he kept iterating.

4. 4

   From intimidation to first game: how Spaceflight began

   Cody explains he had no prior game dev experience and started with a simple ask: a space flight simulator. He describes the early ugly prototype (starfield + gray cube) and how repeated small requests shaped the game.

5. 5

   Learning 3D assets and Three.js through the build (glTF/GLB, orientation, models)

   As AI introduced new concepts, Cody used it to teach him what it was doing—especially around 3D model formats and importing. He details practical issues like model orientation, defining “forward,” and reusing fixes across assets.

6. 6

   Live build kickoff: scaffolding a new flight sim with Vite/React + Claude Code

   Cody starts a brand-new project from scratch and initializes Claude Code to ingest project context (claude.md). He emphasizes staying intentionally vague early to get a working v0 prototype, then refining.

7. 7

   Cody’s prompting philosophy: broad strokes, then controlled complexity

   Cody contrasts lightweight planning with over-specified “mountain of tasks” prompts that often fail. He illustrates an iterative pattern—prototype, add one capability, validate, then layer in complexity (also used in productivity apps).

8. 8

   How he chooses libraries/tech: ask AI, then verify with research and feedback loops

   Claire probes how he knows which technologies to use. Cody explains his loop: ask an LLM for options, do traditional research, then bring findings back to the model as if pairing with another engineer.

9. 9

   First run surprise: a working game from a short prompt—then immediate debugging

   The newly generated flight sim runs quickly and looks impressive, including an unexpected controls guide. But issues appear: camera is reversed and controls are inverted, prompting an iterative debugging session.

10. 10

    Parallelizing with multiple AI instances: building frontend and multiplayer backend simultaneously

    Cody demonstrates a “not so often used hack”: open another Claude instance and start a server directory while the first continues UI/game fixes. He scaffolds an Express/WebSocket setup and asks for join handling + chat UI.

11. 11

    Iteration outcomes: controls improve, unexpected environment features appear

    As fixes land, the camera and visuals improve, but new issues and new features emerge—some not requested (mountains, flight strip, zoom, cockpit-like views). The segment captures the “two steps forward, one step back” reality.

12. 12

    Multiplayer test in minutes: multiple players show up, UI bugs remain

    They confirm multiplayer signals (joins) and open extra tabs to see multiple players in-session. While the chat and UI layout are imperfect, the core multiplayer loop exists far faster than a traditional build.

13. 13

    Reflection + lightning round: making AI “listen,” balancing fun vs work, and sharing builds

    Cody reflects on the speed gains despite imperfections and outlines tactics for steering models when they drift. He closes with how his hobby workflow mirrors professional dev work, plus where to find him and why sharing projects matters.