Claude 3.5 Sonnet Tower Defense Game Dev Playbook

Short answer

This playbook shows how you can use Claude 3.5 Sonnet to build a production-ready tower defense game quickly. It covers the step-by-step workflow, prompt patterns, debugging tips, artifact use, and real examples like Trash TD. Use it to plan and ship in weeks to months.

Why this works

If you want to build a full tower defense game but don't want to write every line yourself, Claude 3.5 Sonnet is a proven helper. Developers have used it to produce complex games with many towers, waves, upgrades, maps, and UI in short timeframes.

See a live example at Trash TD on itch.io and read more about Claude's capabilities at Anthropic's announcement.

Who this is for

• Indie developers and hobbyists who want to build a tower defense game quickly.
• Intermediate programmers who want to offload boilerplate and iterate faster.
• Teachers and students using AI to learn game design and JavaScript.

High-level timeline to ship in 3 months

1. Weeks 1–2: Concept, core loop, and prototype (playable enemy path, one tower, one enemy).
2. Weeks 3–6: Add more towers, enemies, and simple upgrades.
3. Month 2: Maps, balance, UI, payment/currency systems, and polish.
4. Month 3: Playtesting, performance tuning, bug fixes, and release packaging.

Core workflow (repeatable)

1. Define scope. Pick features for the MVP. Example: 60 waves, 7 towers, 3 maps, upgrade tree.
2. Prototype core loop with Claude. Ask Claude to generate a minimal HTML/JS prototype that spawns enemies, moves them along a path, and lets one tower shoot.
3. Iterate features. Add towers, enemy types, and upgrades in small steps. Generate test cases and balance numbers with Claude's help.
4. Use Artifacts for previews. Use the Artifacts feature to view rendered output alongside code to speed debugging. See a guide at Artifacts guide.
5. Polish & release. Optimize assets, add maps, run playtests, and package for web or desktop.

Quick checklist

• MVP prototype with enemy pathing and one tower
• Damage, range, and cost system
• Wave manager and spawn schedule
• Upgrade trees and one ultimate per tower
• UI for money, lives, and wave counter
• Basic sound and rustic art assets

Prompt patterns that work

Use short, targeted prompts. Ask Claude to produce one small file or feature at a time.

• Feature prompt: "Create a JavaScript module that spawns enemies along a path and returns an array of active enemies. Keep it under 200 lines."
• Refactor prompt: "Refactor the enemy module to expose spawnEnemy(x,y,type) and add debug logs for health and position."
• Bug prompt: "A unit teleports when pathing. I will paste the module and console logs. Suggest a fix and a one-line unit test."

Debugging with Claude: practical tips

• Give Claude logs or exact error messages.
• Add simple debug prints before asking for fixes: console.log("spawn", enemy.id, enemy.pos).
• When stuck, ask Claude to create a minimal repro that isolates the bug.
• If a change makes things worse, ask Claude to roll back to the previous state or provide a patch using unified diff format.

Example debug prompt

"My tower stops firing after wave 20. Here is the tower loop and log output: [paste]. Suggest 2 reasons and a code patch to fix each."

Artifact & preview workflow

Artifacts let you view rendered HTML games inside the assistant. Use it to quickly test UI changes and validate collision and hit detection without switching tabs.

• Quickly test UI changes.
• Validate collision and hit detection without switching tabs.
• Share interactive previews with teammates.

Read about Artifacts at the Artifacts guide and learn more on Anthropic's page.

Sample code snippet

// Simple enemy spawn loop
function spawnWave(waveConfig){
  const enemies = [];
  waveConfig.forEach((cfg, i) => {
    setTimeout(() => {
      enemies.push(createEnemy(cfg.type, cfg.path));
    }, i * cfg.delay);
  });
  return enemies;
}

Balancing and design tips

• Start with units that teach the player: slow tanks, fast small enemies, and a ranged shooter.
• Use upgrades that change playstyle: damage, range, special effect.
• Introduce ultimates late (around wave 20+) to keep early progression simple.

Real-world evidence

HawkDev1 built Trash TD with many features: 7 tower types, 60 waves, multiple maps, and advanced ultimate upgrades. Another project, Tower of Time, shows AI-written code on GitHub.

Coverage and comparisons appear in articles like VentureBeat and a practical walkthrough at AllAboutAI.

Common pitfalls and fixes

• Physics drift: add fixed time steps and test with slow motion. Ask Claude to convert your loop to a fixed-step loop.
• State sync issues: centralize game state in one manager. Prompt Claude to refactor for a single source of truth.
• Performance drops: profile draw and update loops, then ask Claude to batch draws or lower update frequency for off-screen entities.

Prompt templates you can copy

1. "Create a JS class Tower with methods place(x,y), upgrade(level), and fire(target). Use simple math for range and damage."
2. "Make a WaveManager that reads an array of wave definitions and spawns enemies on a given path."
3. "Generate unit tests for the pathfinding function that ensure no unit leaves the defined path."

Playtest and polish

Ask Claude to write short playtest scripts and bug checklists. Use small tasks to validate core systems.

• Does the game end if lives reach zero?
• Do tower upgrades apply immediately?
• Is there a visible cooldown or ammo indicator?

Quick checkpoint: can you launch a prototype that spawns enemies and lets one tower shoot? If yes, you're ready to add the next tower.

Release tips

• Bundle as an HTML5 web game for itch.io or export with Electron for desktop.
• Use simple analytics to capture top failure points and average session length.
• Keep an easily editable balance file so you can tweak numbers post-launch without code changes.

Further reading and examples

• Trash TD on itch.io — real example of a Claude-assisted build.
• Tower of Time — GitHub with AI-written code.
• Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet — product page and features.
• VentureBeat coverage — comparison and reactions.

FAQ

Can beginners use this playbook?

Yes. The steps are small and Claude can generate example code you can run. Use the Artifacts preview to learn faster.

Will Claude write the whole game?

Many projects used Claude for 70–95% of the code. You still need to guide, test, and polish the output.

What if Claude gets something wrong?

Provide logs, narrow the repro, and ask for a patch. Claude works best with small, specific tasks.

Closing encouragement

You don't need a large team to ship a feature-rich tower defense game. Start small, iterate with Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and use the checklist above. Try a tiny experiment: ask Claude to make a one-tower, one-enemy prototype in 10 minutes and see how it feels.