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To make a compelling metroidvania, start with a small, connected world where each ability changes how the player reads familiar paths. Chatforce can turn that design brief into a browser playable platformer, then you can refine its movement, combat, map gates, and art through chat.
Plan the loop before the map
A metroidvania earns its sense of discovery through relationships between places, abilities, and obstacles. Before asking for a large world, decide what the player can do at the beginning, what blocks progress, and how a later upgrade makes an old route newly useful. A compact prototype with two regions and one meaningful return trip can explain the idea better than a long list of rooms.
Hollow Knight is a useful reference point for atmosphere and interconnected exploration, but your project should have its own setting, characters, silhouettes, names, music, and story. Chatforce builds original games with original art; a reference should communicate broad goals such as quiet ruins or careful exploration, not request copied content or assets.
| Design choice | What to decide |
|---|---|
| Dimension | Choose 2D or 3D before creation. |
| World loop | Define a hub, one route, one gate, and an ability that opens it. |
| Combat | Start with a readable attack and a small enemy pattern. |
| Art | Describe original shapes, palette, and atmosphere. |
A practical four step workflow
Choose the dimension and platformer base
Decide on 2D or 3D before creating the project. That choice is fixed afterward, so make it based on the experience you want to play and the art direction you can describe clearly. For a side view, ask for a platformer scaffold with responsive movement, jumping, safe starting space, and a camera that keeps the character legible. For a 3D world, describe the real time space, generated models, lighting, and camera direction you want. Keep this first request focused on movement and one test area. A platformer engine is useful when you need precise side view movement, jumping, and traversal tools.
Sketch connected regions and ability gates
Describe a few named regions and the route between them in plain language. Mark one path that is visible early but inaccessible until the player earns a specific movement ability. Then explain where the ability is found and how it changes traversal. Ask for landmarks that help players remember junctions, plus a shortcut that makes backtracking feel purposeful. You do not need a giant map to test the structure: a hub, a side route, and a return gate are enough to see whether the loop communicates.
Make combat readable
Specify what the player can do, how enemies signal danger, and when the player can safely respond. A useful brief names a basic attack, a defensive or evasive option, and two enemy roles with different rhythms. Add one boss encounter with a small pattern that teaches observation before it tests execution. Ask that hazards stand apart from background decoration and that damage feedback remains easy to read. Play the encounter and adjust its pace, spacing, and recovery windows in chat rather than adding many enemy types at once. Enemy tells work like the warnings in fighting games.
Set the art direction and iterate
Describe a palette, shape language, lighting mood, and environmental materials that belong to your world. You can choose art styles, provide reference images, use stylized fonts, and paint over concept art to guide the direction. Keep those references focused on mood and broad visual qualities, and ask for original characters and environments. Chatforce typically produces a first playable in 10 to 15 minutes; test it in the browser, then ask for specific changes such as clearer gate markings or a stronger silhouette.
Write a brief that can be tested
A strong first prompt describes player actions and a small proof of the world idea. Avoid treating a reference title as a complete specification. State the camera perspective, the first minute of play, one obstacle, one useful ability, and what success looks like. Then ask for a browser playable prototype so you can judge whether the movement and route logic work before expanding the map.
Example prompt: Make an original 2D platformer metroidvania set in a moonlit archive beneath a flooded city. Begin in a compact hub with two visible exits. The player can run, jump, and strike; place one slow enemy on the first route. Put a sealed vertical passage in view and introduce a dash ability beyond the side route so returning opens it. Use original art with muted teal stone, warm window light, and distinct silhouettes. Make the passage and dash interaction easy to understand.
Keep the first map intentionally small
World scale is tempting, but every additional branch creates questions about navigation, pacing, and what abilities are available. Start with a map that has a clear mental model: a central landmark, one optional room, and one blocked route. Add a second region only when the return path feels useful. If players miss the gate, improve the landmark or the ability cue before adding extra dialogue. If the route is obvious but unrewarding, change what the player discovers on the other side.
Test the map by describing the intended path aloud and comparing it with what a new player actually does. Watch where they pause, what they mistake for decoration, and whether the ability teaches itself when used. A good gate creates anticipation without making the player guess at arbitrary rules. Keep a short list of observations and turn each into a concrete iteration request.
Publish and gather a useful first response
Once the prototype communicates its core loop, Chatforce can publish it at a shareable browser URL. Friends can open the game without an account, which makes a quick playtest easy to arrange. Ask testers focused questions: Which landmark did they remember? Did they understand why the passage was closed? Which enemy felt unfair? Their answers can guide the next chat iteration more clearly than a broad request to make everything better.
Chatforce is an AI game studio on the web: describe a game and an AI team builds code, art, and audio into a browser playable project. The creator owns the work. Published games have no watermark. Paid plans start at $20/month, chip packs start at $5, and the Creator Program is available by application. Choose the 2D or 3D direction carefully at creation, since it cannot be changed later.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a 2D or 3D metroidvania?
Chatforce supports 2D and 3D creation. Choose the dimension when you start because it cannot be switched later.
Can I make a direct copy of Hollow Knight?
Use Hollow Knight as a reference point only. Make an original game with original art, characters, places, and story.
How long until I can play a first version?
A first playable typically takes 10 to 15 minutes, after which you can iterate in chat.
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