He used Claude to build a game starring his child’s toys

In a video game Chris Harihar made with Claude, his child’s stuffed animals became characters playing in a world based off their apartment with his child’s artwork to collect. A child’s imagination is brought to life in a game played during time shared on a bus.

Your version could start with a drawing, an invented character or an inside joke amongst friends. The interesting part is getting to play with something that already means something to you.

Start with one playable idea

Claude Artifacts opens what Claude builds beside your conversation. You can try the result, describe a change and keep improving it in the same place. Artifacts are available on free and paid Claude plans; file creation needs to be enabled in Capabilities.

Give your character one job. A bear collecting hidden drawings is enough for a first version. So is a dog finding its favorite toys or a friend escaping a maze of office meetings.

Ask for simple artwork first. Play a round before adding more levels. Is the goal obvious? Can you move comfortably on your phone? Does something happen when you win? Those answers give Claude concrete changes to make.

Try this

“Build a small browser game starring [character] in [setting]. To win, the player must [goal] while avoiding [obstacle]. Use simple placeholder artwork and controls that are easy to use on a phone. Open a playable version beside this chat and show me how to play.”

Then give it one change you can see or feel: “Make the bear jump higher,” “Put the treasure somewhere harder to reach,” or “Make the buttons bigger.” Once the game is fun, bring in the details that make it yours: a familiar room, your own drawings, a character with a ridiculous name.