On AI and making this game — let me be straight with you

I've seen some criticism lately about how much AI is involved in developing Wizard's Castle: Shadows of Zot. It's fair criticism to raise, and you deserve a real answer rather than a defensive one.

So here's how it actually works. I build this game alone, alongside a full-time job. One person. No team, no budget for contractors, no art department. What I do have is a set of tools — and yes, AI assistants are among them, the same way a carpenter has a power saw instead of a hand saw.

But let me be specific about what that actually means, because "using AI" covers a huge range.

Every design decision in this game — the OSR mechanical foundation, the point-buy stat system, the shrine binding mechanic, the lore philosophy, the IP decisions around replacing D&D Product Identity terms — those came from me. Hours of thinking, reading, playtesting, and writing in a game design document that is currently 10,000+ words long and growing. I wrote that document. AI did not design this game.

What I use AI for: When I have a design idea and need to stress-test it, I'll use it as a thinking partner — the equivalent of talking it through with a colleague. But I drive that conversation, I push back, I reject suggestions that don't fit the vision, and I make the calls.

When I need to generate a first draft of something — a Patreon post, a devlog, a piece of flavor text — I use it the way a writer might use a voice recorder to get ideas out fast, then I edit and shape the result into something that actually sounds like me and fits the tone of the game.

When I'm doing backend PHP work or Vue component logic at 11pm after a full day at the office, I use it to move faster and catch errors — the same way any developer uses a smart IDE or a rubber duck.

What I don't use it for: making creative decisions on my behalf. The world of Arboria, the lore of the Fracturing, Lysandra's story, Silveryon as a character — these are mine. The dungeon design, the balance philosophy, the monetization ethics — mine. The things that make this game this game rather than any other dungeon crawler.

I understand the concern. There's a real conversation happening in creative communities about AI eroding the human craft behind a project. That concern is legitimate. My answer to it is: come and look at the work. The game design document exists. The commit history exists. The design reasoning exists in every devlog I've ever written.

This is a handmade game that uses modern tools. That's always been true of indie development — the tools just keep changing.

— Silveryon