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Why we use AI

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I'm Simon, the developer behind Forgotten Wilds. I use AI to build this game. Here is why, and what exactly it does.

How it started

I'm a senior developer and I've run a web agency for 26 years. Three or four years ago I started building this game in my free time. I really tried. But fixing C# bugs at 11 at night and still having a good life doesn't work, not with a company and two sons. The game stayed an idea.

AI changed that. It does work I would otherwise need a team for. So the choice was simple: a game made with help from AI, or no game at all. I picked the game.

Judge it by how it plays. If it's bad, tell me. If it's good, that's what counts.

What AI does

  • Code. Claude Code writes most of it. I plan every feature, check the result and decide what goes in.
  • The player character, tools and gear. They start as 3D models from Tripo. For the gear I use reference images of real bushcraft equipment, then clean the models up in Blender and scale them to real-world size.
  • Planning. I talk through design ideas with Claude before anything gets built.
  • Marketing. AI helps me get the word out. Without it, nobody would ever find this game.

What doesn't come from AI

  • Parts of the world. They come from the Unity Asset Store. I picked packs that match the forest I had in my head.
  • Sound. Bought sound packs and my own recordings from the woods.
  • The bushcraft. The techniques in the game come from my own nights in the woods. I show them on my outdoor channel, Kappe im Wald.
  • The decisions. What the game is and how it feels is up to me, and my sons have their say.
  • Anything while you play. The game uses no AI at runtime.

Why I'm open about it

Many players worry about low-effort AI games and copycats of games that already exist. I get that. This page lets you see what AI does here and judge for yourself.

Forgotten Wilds comes from more than 35 years of playing games, my own nights in the woods and ideas I've collected along the way. AI helps me turn all that into a game.

I also want more people to make their own games. With AI, someone with a job and kids can build something of their own.

Steam

Forgotten Wilds will carry Steam's AI content disclosure. It will match this page.

What would you rather have: no game at all, or a game built with help from AI?

Thanks for reading. See you in the forest.

Simon & sons