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Abhiram Mithur
Abhiram Mithur

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How I Rebuilt My Favorite Childhood Game with Amazon Q CLI in Minutes

Back in the day, I loved playing a flash game called Head Soccer. It was simple - two big-headed characters jumping and smashing a ball around - but I spent countless hours trying to win. That game stuck with me, and I always wanted to build my own version. With Amazon Q CLI, I finally did, and to my surprise, I built the whole thing in minutes, not weeks.

“Here’s how I recreated my favorite flash game - and yes, the full code is available here [https://github.com/Abhiram-Mithur/head_football_pygame/tree/main/head_football] if you want to try it. ”

Why I Picked Head Football

I chose this game because it’s fun, nostalgic, and had just the right amount of challenge to see what AI could really build. It needed physics, AI opponents, player movement, and scoring logic - all the stuff that makes a game feel real.

The Power of a Good Prompt

All I had to do was open the Amazon Q CLI in the terminal using the Ubuntu instance in Windows and give it a clear, simple instruction. Something like:

"Create a Head Soccer-style 2D football game using Python and Pygame with AI opponent, realistic ball physics, and goal celebrations."

For more specific tasks I was like asking for jump power, heading moves, or difficulty levels as follow up questions for the better result. It felt like giving a game idea to a smart developer friend who instantly got to work.

How AI Solved the Hard Stuff for Me

Amazon Q CLI didn’t just write some code - it understood how games work and solved common game dev challenges automatically, and I was a complete beginner to the Pygame environment and game development.
It guided me on the setup of the Python library, how to run it on my Windows system, and publish it on GitHub.
• It built a ball with gravity and bounce
• Created a smart AI opponent that changes with difficulty selection
• Handled goal detection and score tracking
• Added celebration effects when a goal is scored
• Generated separate files for characters, the ball, AI logic, and game loop
I didn’t have to spend hours on setup - it all just worked.

Key Features in the Final Game

Here’s what made the game truly feel like a polished mini-football experience:
• Single-player mode vs. AI opponent
• 3 difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, Hard
• 5 unique player characters with different strengths (like speed or control)
• Realistic ball movement with gravity and collision
• Responsive controls (jump, head, move left/right)
• Scoring system with confetti goal celebration
• Quick reset of players after each goal
• Simple UI and clean layout
All these features were included right out of the box but had to be polished a bit using effective prompts, built entirely by the AI, based on my prompts and suggestions.

Character selection menu to choose your player

Choose the AI opponent difficulty level

From Idea to Game in Minutes

Here’s what amazed me most: I didn’t write long lines of code or fix errors all day. Instead, I focused on fine-tuning the characters, adjusting settings, and just playing the game. Amazon Q CLI handled the rest - setting up the structure, assets folder, main files, and logic. It even gave me options to customize difficulty and player behaviour.

Gameplay Snapshot

Actual gameplay with an AI opponent of hard difficulty

Final Scoreboard after the game ends

Yes, this is an actual screenshot from the final version - a full-fledged, funny little football game with jumping, heading, scoring, and confetti celebrations.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve ever had a small game idea in your head but felt stuck, Amazon Q CLI is the easiest way to bring it to life. Just type what you want, and it builds everything around it. For me, it turned a childhood memory into a playable game in one evening - and that’s the power of AI done right.
Now it’s your turn. Go build your own Head Soccer - or whatever game inspired you.

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