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You can make a deckbuilding roguelike with AI by describing its turn rules, card pool, enemy tells, and branching route as one playable loop. Use Slay the Spire as a broad design reference, then give your own game new names, characters, art, music, and story.
Make each card play answer a question
A card fight should make the player weigh safety against damage. When an enemy signals a heavy strike, spending energy on defense may prevent a hit but leave less room to attack. Start with a basic attack, a block, a draw effect, and a costly finisher. Those roles expose whether the turn has useful tradeoffs before unusual effects add complexity. Sound effects on blocks and hits make the tradeoff easy to hear.
| Design choice | What to decide |
|---|---|
| Run structure | How many route forks and rest points appear before a boss |
| Player turn | How energy, draws, blocks, and status effects resolve |
| Enemy intent | Which action is telegraphed before you commit cards |
| Deck growth | How rewards add cards without making every run identical |
| Relics | What persistent run modifiers change a tactical decision |
Keep intent and rewards legible
Show whether each foe plans to attack, defend, or apply a status, with damage values for direct strikes. A visible icon and short label let the player decide whether to block or end the fight quickly. Explain when a status triggers and clears. After combat, offer a few cards with different jobs and relics that visibly alter a rule, so a reward changes the next tactical choice. Enemy intents work like the attack tells in Hades-style combat. Readable intent icons come easily from a game asset generator.
Build a run from its first combat
Choose the right play space
For this design, start in 2D. The central challenge is reading cards, route branches, and enemy intent, so a clear interface matters more than a walkable world. Chatforce lets you choose 2D or 3D when creating a game, and that choice cannot be changed later. Ask for a card battle screen with a visible hand, energy counter, health totals, discard area, and an enemy panel. If you want a character portrait, use it as decoration around the combat board rather than hiding tactical information.
Write a compact combat contract
Describe one complete player turn in order: draw a fixed number of cards, gain a stated amount of energy, play cards, resolve enemy intent, then discard the hand. State whether unused energy or block carries over. Give three starter cards and one enemy with a telegraphed move, including example damage values so the AI can implement a testable encounter. Explain how status effects work with one example. Ask for a visible log or brief feedback text when an effect resolves, so you can spot rules that players may misread.
Add the route and reward rhythm
Once the first fight works, request a map with a handful of branching rooms, such as ordinary battles, a rest stop, a merchant, an event, and an elite. Tell the AI how route choice affects risk and recovery. Then add post-fight card rewards and a relic selection at meaningful milestones. Keep the first run short enough to reach a boss quickly. Use original room names and a setting that belongs to your game. Make the boss introduce one new pressure, such as a shield phase or a status that changes your next hand.
Shape a distinct run identity
Give the deckbuilder a character premise, visual direction, and mechanical signature that do not borrow the reference game's cast or terminology. For example, a courier crossing a storm-broken sky might use wind cards that move a charge between turns. Ask for a limited initial card pool with clear roles, then add a few reward cards that support different strategies. Direct the art toward readable silhouettes and distinct card frames. Request a first playable version, then replay it and report specific problems such as a route with no recovery or a card that is never worth its cost.
Example prompt: Make an original 2D deckbuilding roguelike about a mapmaker crossing a buried glass desert. Build a turn-based card battle with three energy each turn, a five-card draw, visible enemy intent, and block that clears after combat. Add branching routes with fights, water stops, strange discoveries, and one risky guardian. The mapmaker uses original cards named around surveying, mirages, and tools. Include relics that alter a rule in an understandable way. Use original character designs, card art, setting, names, music, and story, with a clean hand-drawn interface.
Tune the decisions, not just the numbers
Play several runs and watch for choices that collapse into an obvious answer. If an announced attack always makes the same block card mandatory, lower its damage or add a second response, such as weakening the enemy. If one card is always skipped, check its energy cost and the situations it was meant to solve. Adjust a single rule at a time, then replay the same kind of encounter. Keep boss mechanics understandable through intent cues, and make the final turn feel earned by the deck the player assembled. Games similar to Slay the Spire work best when each card choice changes the risk of a later turn. To compare tools for a card project, see Chatforce vs Astrocade. Pixel art cards stay readable at small sizes.
Publish a run friends can learn
When the combat flow is coherent, ask Chatforce to publish the browser-playable game at a shareable URL. Friends can try a run without an account, which makes it practical to ask where a card description or map choice caused confusion. The AI team builds code, art, and audio from your description, and you can iterate by chatting about what feels off and replaying the changed version. You own the work, and published games have no watermark. Keep your first shared version focused on one character, a small card set, and a boss that tests the main combat rules.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a direct copy of Slay the Spire?
Use it only as a reference for broad deckbuilding roguelike ideas. Create an original game with new names, characters, art, music, and story, and design your own cards, map events, enemies, and rules.
Should a deckbuilding roguelike be 2D or 3D?
A 2D layout is a practical fit for a hand of cards, branching map, and readable combat intent. Choose the format at creation because it cannot be switched later.
Does Chatforce include a built-in deckbuilding system?
Card battles need to be described in your prompt. Explain the turn sequence, card effects, reward choices, route rooms, and enemy intent rather than assuming a ready-made card system.
Related pages: How to make a game with AI · Make an idle game with AI · 2D game maker · Games like Slay the Spire · Browser game maker · Games made with Chatforce