How I Built a Game With Zero Coding Experience

Using AI, Curiosity, and a Big Dose of Grit | 52,872 lines of code

With no further ado.

How did I build this game with 52,872 lines of code? (I think it’s even more by now)

I built this product (it’s better to call it a product) because I felt I could, and I can use my AI knowledge to build a product.

I have no experience in coding and no background in coding. You know me as a Founder & CEO of Belkins agency and a few other service companies, plus Folderly and other products (yes, I have a lot of them).

So how did I do that? As you know from the “Vlad is cooking” newsletter:

I’ve spent the last few months exploring in depth how to build a product with no team, no experience, or knowledge.

And to my surprise, it’s possible, and I did it.

So how it started: I casually worked in Claude after they released 3.7 Sonnet, and I liked it. It’s really good as an LLM, especially for programming.

LLM Rankings in Programming

Started creating mockups of random products….

Random product mockup.

Maybe, you never know.

…..and randomly generated a mockup of Gmail with gaming features.

Then it sparked in my head: THIS IS IT—I wanted to build a game that would be fun to play and would reflect my Belkins experiences. So that’s how I decided to build challenge.belkins.io.

The game basically simulates the experience of booking qualified B2B appointments with challenging prospects. You play as me, Vlad Podoliako, Founder & CEO of Belkins, and attempt to navigate difficult email conversations to secure meetings with potential clients.

And, trust me, this is so fun.