Three games in three weeks: Block 89 rebuilt, Outburn 87 new, and a new engine for Snake '97
Games are where I learn fastest about building software with AI agents.
- Answers
- Why are games a good proving ground for building software with AI agents?
- Topics
- AI · creating · design · game · programming · snake
- Full article on willem.com
- https://willem.com/en/2026-02-25_three-games-in-three-weeks/
Summary
In February 2026 I shipped three games in three weeks with AI agents: a rebuild of Block 89, the new arcade racer Outburn 87 and a new engine for Snake '97, the game millions carry in their pocket.
Full text
Each was a different kind of job. Block 89 was a rebuild of something that already worked. Outburn 87 was new everything: a title, a look, a feel. Snake '97 was the most delicate: a new engine under a classic that must stay exactly as people remember it. The agent is good at volume: assets, boilerplate, variations, a night of iterations. What stays with me is taste, respect for the original and the judgement about what ships. The early screenshots are work in progress, and they show how much of that judgement happens after the code exists. The games earn little and that is fine. They are a development ground: what I learn there ends up in everything else I build, and all three sites run on the same publisher.