Creating a "Snake" Game from Scratch Using ChatGPT-4

Updated: October 19th, 2023
 

I tasked ChatGPT with a creating "Snake" game in python. Even though the python code for the game  was available before GPT4 training was complete the resulting code was not the same as a published one. 

 I will walk you through the process of creating a "Snake" game from scratch using ChatGPT-4, a cutting-edge AI language model developed by OpenAI. I will provide valuable insights and commentary throughout the development process, and by the end of this article, you will have access to the complete game code for your reference. Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn from the best and develop your own version of this classic game!

I found myself with a burning curiosity: could the GPT-4 model autonomously craft a game, completely from scratch, without any coding assistance whatsoever? My only role was to provide the game's performance feedback, all while operating PyCharm from JetBrains to execute the scripts. 

And so, the game was set to appear in the "Pygame" window. With bated breath, I watched as GPT-4 began to churn out lines of code. The first version was completed in what seemed like a matter of moments. Alas, it was all for naught; the "Pygame" window closed immediately, accompanied by a discouraging "Process finished with exit code 0" message. 

Defeated, I reported this to ChatGPT. Unsurprisingly, GPT-4 offered a congratulatory response, mistakingly believing that the game had indeed run successfully. However, I had to clarify that the "Pygame" window had closed immediately, leaving the model with yet another challenge to overcome.

The GPT-4 attempted to produce another version of the game, but it failed to run. After being suggested to update the 'game_over' function, I did so, and the Pygame window remained, displaying only the "Game Over" message without any actual gameplay.

At this point, ChatGPT proposed updating the snake's position, but unfortunately, it didn't solve the problem. However, ChatGPT-4 did manage to update the game loop, resulting in a working version of the game (as shown below). The snake can now eat and grow, with the game ending when it collides with the field's border or chews on its tail. There are some minor glitches with the final "Game Over" screen, which blips in and out. Nevertheless, it's a decent outcome overall, considering I didn't have to provide any coding input.

Below is the code for the updated snake game, written entirely by ChatGPT-4:

import pygame
import sys
import random

# Initialize Pygame
pygame.init()

# Game window settings
WIDTH, HEIGHT = 800, 600
BACKGROUND_COLOR = (0, 0, 0)
SCREEN = pygame.display.set_mode((WIDTH, HEIGHT))

# Snake settings
SNAKE_COLOR = (0, 255, 0)
SNAKE_SIZE = 20
snake_pos = [[100, 100], [120, 100], [140, 100]]
snake_speed = 20
direction = "RIGHT"

# Food settings
FOOD_COLOR = (255, 0, 0)
FOOD_SIZE = 20
food_pos = [random.randrange(1, (WIDTH//20)) * 20, random.randrange(1, (HEIGHT//20)) * 20]

# Game settings
CLOCK = pygame.time.Clock()
SPEED = 10

def draw_snake(snake_pos):
    for pos in snake_pos:
        pygame.draw.rect(SCREEN, SNAKE_COLOR, pygame.Rect(pos[0], pos[1], SNAKE_SIZE, SNAKE_SIZE))

def draw_food(food_pos):
    pygame.draw.rect(SCREEN, FOOD_COLOR, pygame.Rect(food_pos[0], food_pos[1], FOOD_SIZE, FOOD_SIZE))

def check_food_collision(snake_pos, food_pos):
    if snake_pos[0] == food_pos:
        food_pos[0] = random.randrange(1, (WIDTH//20)) * 20
        food_pos[1] = random.randrange(1, (HEIGHT//20)) * 20
        snake_pos.append([0, 0])
        return True
    return False

def game_over():
    font = pygame.font.Font(None, 48)
    text = font.render("Game Over", True, (255, 255, 255))
    text_rect = text.get_rect()
    text_rect.center = (WIDTH // 2, HEIGHT // 2)
    SCREEN.blit(text, text_rect)
    pygame.display.flip()

    while True:
        for event in pygame.event.get():
            if event.type == pygame.QUIT:
                pygame.quit()
                sys.exit()

while True:
    for event in pygame.event.get():
        if event.type == pygame.QUIT:
            game_over()
        if event.type == pygame.KEYDOWN:
            if event.key == pygame.K_UP and direction != "DOWN":
                direction = "UP"
            if event.key == pygame.K_DOWN and direction != "UP":
                direction = "DOWN"
            if event.key == pygame.K_LEFT and direction != "RIGHT":
                direction = "LEFT"
            if event.key == pygame.K_RIGHT and direction != "LEFT":
                direction = "RIGHT"

    # Update snake's position
    for i in range(len(snake_pos) - 1, 0, -1):
        snake_pos[i] = list(snake_pos[i-1])

    if direction == "UP":
        snake_pos[0][1] -= snake_speed
    if direction == "DOWN":
        snake_pos[0][1] += snake_speed
    if direction == "LEFT":
        snake_pos[0][0] -= snake_speed
    if direction == "RIGHT":
        snake_pos[0][0] += snake_speed

    # Check for collisions
    if snake_pos[0] in snake_pos[1:] or snake_pos[0][0] < 0 or snake_pos[0][0] >= WIDTH or snake_pos[0][1] < 0 or snake_pos[0][1] >= HEIGHT:
        pygame.time.delay(500)  # Add a delay before game over
        game_over()

    check_food_collision(snake_pos, food_pos)

    # Draw game objects
    SCREEN.fill(BACKGROUND_COLOR)
    draw_snake(snake_pos)
    draw_food(food_pos)

    pygame.display.flip()
    CLOCK.tick(SPEED)

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