# AI dodge game maker: one rule, one score, one more try

This page: https://www.teleplay.ai/guides/ai-dodge-game-maker
Updated: 2026-11-07

## Quick answer

A dodger is a game where you stay alive while things come at you, and the score is how long you lasted. It is the smallest complete game there is, so it is a sensible first thing to make on Teleplay: one short sentence, and about half an hour later you are playing it in the browser. Making a new game needs Pro or Extreme.

## Dodge games to try first

- [Puffbelly Reef](https://www.teleplay.ai/play/3cc247a2-6838-4ddd-90de-af688cf6a1f7): One-button flyer
- [Stormlight Catcher](https://www.teleplay.ai/play/stormlight-catcher-70a54cae): Dodger
- [Starbreaker](https://www.teleplay.ai/play/starbreaker-7d01f8f9): Dodger

## Why it suits a first attempt

Most failed first games ask for too much: a story, an inventory and three modes. A dodger asks for almost nothing, which leaves all the attention for the feel. Whether it is fun comes down to a few numbers, and those are exactly the numbers you can change with a slider while it runs.

| Slider or setting | Too low | Too high |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How fast things fall | You can read a book between dodges | A run ends before you learn anything |
| How often they appear | Empty screen, no tension | No gap exists, so skill stops mattering |
| Your speed | You always arrive late | You overshoot every gap |
| How fast it ramps up | A run never ends | Everyone dies at the same second |

## A prompt to start from

This one is a little more than a pure dodger, because it adds pickups to reach for. Reaching for something is the cheapest way to make dodging interesting: every bubble is a small risk you choose to take.

> Tap to puff up Pip the puffer fish, rise and sink through endless coral towers, grab bubbles and dodge jellyfish for a new best score.

(Puffbelly Reef: made)

## Three changes worth asking for next

- "Add a near-miss bonus": points for passing close to danger, which turns caution into a choice.
- "Make the hazards arrive in patterns": patterns can be learned, and learning is what brings people back.
- "Add a shield that lasts one hit": a single forgiving moment makes long runs less cruel.

## Questions

**What counts as a dodge game?**

Any game where avoiding things is the main verb and survival is the score. Falling-object games, bullet dodgers and lane dodgers all qualify.

**Will it work on a phone?**

Games made with the code engine draw their own touch controls, and a dodger needs very few of them. For making games, a computer is recommended.

**Can I change the theme after it's built?**

Yes, if you made it: describe the change in the editor, and you can redraw a picture in the game's own style.

**Does it keep a high score?**

Ask for a best score in your sentence. Each game's page says what it has once it is built, so read the plan before pressing Create.

## Read next

- [AI action game maker: describe the fight, then play it](https://www.teleplay.ai/guides/ai-action-game-maker)
- [How to make a flappy-style game with AI](https://www.teleplay.ai/guides/how-to-make-a-flappy-style-game-with-ai)
- [How to make an endless runner with AI](https://www.teleplay.ai/guides/how-to-make-an-endless-runner-with-ai)
- [Pixel art cleaner: snap AI art to its true grid](https://www.teleplay.ai/tools/pixel-art-cleaner)