ChatGPT coded a game for me in seconds and I am simply astounded – and coders should be very worried

ChatGPT just stunned me. Almost two years after I first asked an early version of the generative AI chatbot to help me code a game, I returned to ChatGPT 4o with the exact same prompt, and the results blew me away.

Ever since OpenAI’s generative AI platform arrived, people have been turning to it to handle tasks they’d rather not do or, in some cases, to attempt things even they’re not capable of. I can write, so I usually don’t ask ChatGPT to compose prose, and I’m an OK artist so I only use generative image creation for entertainment. However, I am not a programmer. I’ve done some HTML, Javascript, and even BASIC coding in the past, but my skills are beyond rusty; they’re calcified.

I wrote last year about asking ChatGPT to help me build a new game called Tic-Tac-Go. It’s like Tic-Tac-Toe but on steroids. I envisioned the playing field to be a 12×12 grid. Winning would take six “X” marks or six “O” marks in a row.

Here’s the original prompt:

I want to create a variant on the game tic-tac-toe, but I need it to be more complex. So, the grid should be 12-by-12. It should still use “x” and “o”. Rules include that any player can block another by placing their “x” or “o” in any space around the grid, as long as it is in one of the spaces right next to the other player. They can choose to place their “X” or “o” in any space, as well, to block future moves. The goal is to be the first one to have at least six “x” or “o” in any row, column, or diagonal before the other player. Remember, one player is “x” and the other is “o”. Please program this in simple HTML and JavaScript. Let’s call this game: Tic-Tac-Go.

I get that there’s no Wordle-grade cleverness here, but my idea still…