Real AI agent use cases, with sources and setup prompts

Build a Factorio-style game for the Nintendo DS with Claude Code

Never having coded for the DS, the author wrote the specs, design and balancing while Claude Code wrote most of the C: a 2048x2048 world computed on the fly, palette-swap nights, power grids and trains with signals on a 67 MHz ARM9 with 4 MB of RAM.

Free tierSeveral weeksAdvancedSource linked

Source

j_leboulanger on Hacker News · 2026-10-13 · Project link

Written in our own words. Credit to the original author. Link checked 2026-10-16.

What they did

Never having coded for the DS, the author wrote the specs, design and balancing while Claude Code wrote most of the C: a 2048x2048 world computed on the fly, palette-swap nights, power grids and trains with signals on a 67 MHz ARM9 with 4 MB of RAM.

Result (as claimed)

Game and detailed write-up published; 5 points on Show HN.

Tools they used

Claude Code

Cost: Claude Code: free plan, paid from $17/mo. Checked 2026-10-14.

Set it up

  1. Write a one-page brief

    Describe the app in plain words: who it is for, the 3 core screens or actions, and what "done" looks like.

  2. Start the project with your agent

    Open Claude Code and paste the brief. Ask it to propose a stack and a file plan before writing code.

  3. Build one slice at a time

    Ship the smallest working flow first, run it, then add features one by one. Commit after each working step.

  4. Test it like a user

    Click through on desktop and phone. Ask the agent to add basic tests and fix anything that breaks.

  5. Check security and ship

    Keep keys in environment variables, check auth and database rules, then deploy and share the link.

Copy the full setup prompt

Paste into your agent and it will walk you through the setup, asking before anything that sends, posts or spends.

You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Claude Code.

Goal: Build a Factorio-style game for the Nintendo DS with Claude Code
What the original author did: Never having coded for the DS, the author wrote the specs, design and balancing while Claude Code wrote most of the C: a 2048x2048 world computed on the fly, palette-swap nights, power grids and trains with signals on a 67 MHz ARM9 with 4 MB of RAM.
Reported result (as claimed by the author): Game and detailed write-up published; 5 points on Show HN.
Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50076586
Tools they used: Claude Code
Category: Vibe coding & apps

Please:
1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like).
2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure.
3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data.
4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.

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