Frequently asked questions

Everything about Shiny Gen: pricing, the engines, platforms, ownership, export, and connecting AI assistants. New here? Start with What is Shiny Gen?

What is Shiny Gen?

Shiny Gen is an AI game maker: describe a game, play it, and edit its assets, code, and world with built-in AI tools, in your browser or on your phone. Games are real projects you own, on a real engine: the Godot engine in GDScript, or one of five retro engines we built (GBA, GBC, N64, GameCube, and DS) whose games compile to a real file you can download (a ROM, a GameCube .dol, or a DS .nds). It is free to make, play, and share games; AI generation uses gems, and new accounts get free gems.

What engines can I make games for?

You choose the engine when you start a game, and there are six. The Godot engine makes games written in real GDScript on the Godot engine. The five retro engines are engines we built for GBA, GBC, N64, GameCube, and DS games, and each one compiles your game into a real file you can download and keep: a ROM for GBA, GBC, and N64, a .dol for GameCube, or a .nds for DS (exporting the file needs any one purchase, from a $2.99 starter pack). The retro engines are not emulators and not ROM loaders: they compile games you make in Shiny Gen, and cannot play commercial or third-party ROMs.

Is Shiny Gen free to use?

Yes. Making, playing, sharing, and remixing games is free, and no subscription is required. AI generation spends gems: new accounts start with free gems, and you can buy a $2.99 starter pack, gem packs that never expire, or an optional membership that adds monthly gems. Any one purchase also unlocks exporting your games as files (a web zip, a ROM, a .dol, or a .nds). If you connect your own Claude or ChatGPT, the code it writes costs no gems.

Is Shiny Gen built on the Godot engine?

Yes. Shiny Gen is built on the Godot engine, a customized Godot fork with a WebGPU renderer, compiled to WebAssembly so the whole engine runs in your browser. Game code is GDScript, Godot's scripting language.

Do I need to know how to code to use Shiny Gen?

No. You describe what you want in plain language and Shiny Gen's AI writes the game code for you. The code is always there to open and edit if you want to learn or fine-tune, but you never have to.

Does the AI test the games it makes?

Yes. Shiny Gen's agent plays the game it just built: it runs it, takes screenshots, presses the controls, and reads the game's errors, then fixes what is broken. The built-in agent and a connected Claude or ChatGPT use the same tools.

Can I show the AI a photo?

Yes, in the iPhone, iPad, and Android apps. Tap the photo button in the agent chat to attach a picture from your library or take one with the camera, and the AI uses it as a reference: a sketch of a level, a pet to turn into a character, or a screenshot of a style you like. Photos are not in the web app yet.

Do Shiny Gen games use real GDScript?

Yes. Games are written in GDScript, the Godot engine's scripting language, running in the browser. Scripts run in a sandboxed GDScript subset for security, so a small number of engine APIs are unavailable; everyday game code works as it does in Godot.

What platforms does Shiny Gen run on?

Shiny Gen runs in any modern web browser; there is nothing to install. The app is also available on the App Store (iPhone and iPad) and Google Play (Android). Shared games also run in the browser, on desktop or mobile.

Is there a Shiny Gen desktop app?

The web app is the desktop version. The full engine and editors run in your browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chromebooks, with nothing to install, and the first load is about 17 MB. Phones and tablets get the iPhone, iPad, and Android apps. On a Mac with Apple silicon, the iPad app also installs from the Mac App Store. This is about Shiny Gen itself: a game you make is exported for the web as a zip or as a retro ROM, .dol, or .nds file (exporting needs any one purchase, from $2.99), not as a native desktop or mobile app.

Is there an AI game maker that works on web, Android, and iOS?

Yes. Shiny Gen lets you make, edit, and play games in any modern browser, in the iPhone and iPad app, and in the Android app, with your games saved to your account on every device. The Android app also runs on handhelds such as Retroid devices with their built-in controls, and DS games use both screens on dual-screen handhelds. The app is available in 17 languages.

Can Shiny Gen games be multiplayer? Can I trade or battle?

Yes. Games can be multiplayer, joined with a link or a room code. The Shiny Monsters games on Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and DS can trade and battle monsters with each other over the internet. Multiplayer works inside Shiny Gen; a game exported for the web plays solo for now.

Can I sell games I make with Shiny Gen? Who owns them?

Yes. You own the games and assets you create with Shiny Gen, including AI-generated art, models, audio, and code, and the Terms of Service allow personal and commercial use. To sell a game, export it for the web as a zip and publish it on itch.io or any store or site that sells web games, or download a retro game's ROM, .dol, or .nds file. Exporting needs any one purchase, from a $2.99 starter pack, and Shiny Gen takes no revenue share. As with any game, you need the rights to whatever you put in it. You grant Shiny Gen a license to use your content to run and improve the service; see the Terms of Service, section 4.

Who owns the assets I generate with AI?

You do. Images, 3D models, audio, and code generated in your project are yours, under the same terms as the rest of your content.

Can I export my game from Shiny Gen?

Yes. In the web app, open the Share menu on a game you own and choose Export for the web. You get a zip you can upload to itch.io or any web host. The exported game makes no calls to Shiny Gen, its engine version is pinned so it keeps working the same way after we update, and once a player has loaded it, it also plays offline. For a game on a retro engine you can download the file you own: a ROM (GBA, GBC, N64), a .dol (GameCube), or a .nds (DS). Exporting needs any one purchase, from a $2.99 starter pack. Every game can also be shared free with a link, and embedded on the web with the shinygen npm package.

Can I open a Shiny Gen game in the desktop Godot editor?

Not as a project file. Your game's code is real GDScript you can read, edit, and copy, but it runs on Shiny Gen's sandboxed Godot fork, which the stock Godot editor cannot open. To take a game elsewhere, export it for the web, or download the ROM, .dol, or .nds of a retro-engine game.

Can I download my game's source code?

Not as a project download. Your game's code is real GDScript you can read and copy in the app, but it runs on Shiny Gen's own engine, a Godot 4.6.2 fork with a lot added, so a source export would not run in stock Godot. That is why exports are a web zip that runs anywhere, or a retro ROM, .dol, or .nds file. Exporting needs any one purchase, from a $2.99 starter pack.

What happens to my games if I stop using Shiny Gen, or if it shuts down?

Exported games keep working without Shiny Gen. A game exported for the web is a zip you host yourself: it makes no calls to Shiny Gen, its engine is pinned to an exact version of the public shinygen package on a public CDN, and once loaded it plays offline. A retro game's ROM, .dol, or .nds is a file you keep and can play without Shiny Gen. Games you have not exported live in your Shiny Gen account, so export the ones you want a copy of (exporting needs any one purchase, from a $2.99 starter pack). You own your games under the Terms of Service, and you can delete your account and its data at any time.

What is the Shiny Gen MCP server?

Shiny Gen ships a hosted MCP (Model Context Protocol) server at mcp.shinygen.ai, so AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT can connect to your project and build alongside you. Unlike MCP bridges that require a desktop engine running on your machine, Shiny Gen's MCP server is remote and drives your live browser project; there is nothing to install.

How do I connect Claude or ChatGPT to Shiny Gen?

There are two ways. From your open app: open your game, open the Agent tab, tap the model name to open the AI model picker, choose Connect external model with MCP, and press Host External Agent. Your assistant cannot connect this way until you do. Then add Shiny Gen as a connector (MCP server) in your AI assistant using the URL https://mcp.shinygen.ai/mcp, and approve access with your Shiny Gen account. Authorization uses OAuth with scoped permissions: projects.read, projects.write, and assets.generate. This way works while your app stays open. With an agent session link: if your AI can run a browser, give it a link instead, and it runs Shiny Gen in its own browser with nothing open on your side (see the next answer). Step-by-step setup.

Does Shiny Gen have to stay open while my AI works?

No, not if you use an agent session link. Hosting from your open app (Host External Agent) works while that app stays open. An agent session link does not need your app at all: on the + screen press Link under Bring your own agent (or, for a game you have open, Create an agent session link in the model picker's Bring your own AI page), choose 1 hour or 24 hours, and paste the copied link to your AI. It opens the link in its own browser, which can be a headless browser its code starts, and runs Shiny Gen there on that game. The link works once, within an hour; your account has one live agent session at a time; while it runs, your own copy of that game opens read-only; and you can revoke it any time under Agent access and spending.

What can a connected AI assistant do in Shiny Gen?

A connected assistant can read your project, write and edit game code, generate assets such as images, 3D models, and audio, and play the game it built: it runs it, takes screenshots, presses the controls, and reads the game's errors, so it can find and fix its own bugs. Permissions are scoped and revocable.

Why use Shiny Gen instead of just asking Claude or ChatGPT to make a game?

You can use both. Asked directly, a general AI assistant usually gives you a one-file web game in the chat, or code for an engine you install, run, and test yourself. Shiny Gen adds what sits around the code:

If you already pay for Claude or ChatGPT, connect it to Shiny Gen over MCP and it builds in your live project; the code it writes costs no gems. Asking an assistant directly is still a good fit for a tiny one-screen game, for any language or engine you like, or for a native desktop or app-store build, which Shiny Gen does not make yet (compare).

How is Shiny Gen different from Rosebud AI?

Rosebud AI is a fast way to prompt a playable browser prototype that lives on Rosebud's platform. Shiny Gen also builds playable games from a description in the browser, but on the real Godot engine, with GDScript code you can open, edit, own, and export for the web to run anywhere. Rosebud is excellent for quick experiments; Shiny Gen is built for games you keep.

How is Shiny Gen different from building with Three.js?

Three.js is a JavaScript 3D rendering library; with it, you hand-code everything else: physics, input, scenes, and tooling. Shiny Gen puts a whole game engine (Godot) in the browser, with physics, scenes, input, audio, and editors included, and AI that writes the GDScript. If you want full manual control of a renderer, Three.js is great; if you want a complete game without building an engine, that is Shiny Gen.

Can I import my own images into Shiny Gen?

Yes. You can import images from your device with a file picker or drag-and-drop, and use them alongside AI-generated assets.

What AI models does Shiny Gen use?

Shiny Gen uses leading third-party models, including Claude and Gemini, across image, video, audio, music, and 3D generation, plus specialized models for pixel art and image-to-3D. Models evolve over time, and each generation shows its gem cost up front.

Is Shiny Gen related to Pokémon shiny hunting?

No. Shiny Gen is an AI game maker and has no connection to Pokémon, shiny odds, or shiny-hunting tools; the name overlap is a coincidence.

Is Shiny Gen related to Shiny, the R and Python framework by Posit?

No. Posit's Shiny is a web-application framework for building data apps in R and Python. Shiny Gen is an unrelated AI game maker built on the Godot engine.

Is Shiny Gen a Godot plugin?

No. Shiny Gen is a standalone product built on the Godot engine, not an add-on you install into the Godot editor. You do not need Godot installed; everything runs in your browser at shinygen.ai, or in the app.

Still curious? Read What is Shiny Gen? or just start playing.

Last updated: October 10, 2026