Thanks for sharing your experience! 😄
I actually agree with a lot of what you're saying, especially about having a clear vision and developing a game in phases.
One thing I've learned from making my three games is that AI can create something surprisingly quickly, but getting everything to work properly and making the gameplay genuinely fun is a completely different challenge.
I've had plenty of moments where something worked perfectly, then I tried adding a new feature and suddenly something else broke. 😂 That's definitely taught me how important planning and testing are.
I also agree about using proper assets. I've been experimenting with existing 3D models and looking for ways to make my games look better rather than relying entirely on AI-generated visuals.
And regarding the AI stigma, I completely understand why people are skeptical. There's a lot of low-effort content out there. But I hope people will eventually judge games more by their gameplay, creativity, and the effort behind them rather than immediately dismissing them because AI was involved.
I'll definitely take a look at Echolumination. It's always interesting to see what other people are managing to create with these tools.
Thanks again for the thoughtful response!