LLM plays an 8-bit Commander X16 game using structured "smart senses"

[russellharper]

I connected the ChatGPT API (model gpt-4o) to an 8-bit shoot-'em-up game, PvP-AI, running on a Commander X16 emulator.

Instead of pixels or audio, the model receives structured text summaries, what I’m calling "smart senses", based on the game's existing touch and EMF-style inputs.

The LLM maintains notes between turns, develops strategies across games, and even discovers an exploit in the built-in AI's behavior.

Write-up, technical details, and three sequential gameplay recordings: https://pvp-ai.russell-harper.com/#v3

[pragmatick]

Please add a button to disable a background animation (or just remove it). It adds visual noise and is so distracting I closed the website after reading a couple of sentences.

[russellharper]

Thanks for the feedback. I've updated the page to honor the "prefers-reduced-motion: reduce" media query, so the background animation won't show for those who have animations disabled in their OS or browser settings.

[msephton]

The flow charts don't fit on mobile. Also, I would lead with a video as that's surely what everybody wants to see, it's a video game after all.

[Folcon]

They've linked video, here's the links:

- Game 1 - "lucky win" : https://youtu.be/reM4ojB48Kw

- Game 2 - "be aggressive" : https://youtu.be/hD7wBwrfj8E

- Game 3 - "wait it out" : https://youtu.be/X0IKxCrAbpI

[msephton]

Sure, I saw the video links at the bottom of the article. What I meant was that it would be more engaging if there's was an embedded video with a big play button at the top of the article.

[Folcon]

Ahh, sorry I misunderstood you

Agreed

[Folcon]

Well done OP!

I've been thinking about doing this for the game I've been working on and you've inspired me to put some energy behind accelerating it