A browser runner built inside the Vaultborn archive using the same human-AI collaborative methodology as the novel.
Einar Runner was not built the way most browser games are built. The same AI-collaborative process used to construct the Vaultborn novel — the Narrative Architect methodology — was applied here in a different domain: game design.
Claude served as structural thinking partner throughout development. Not as a code generator dropped into a prompt box, but as a collaborative architect. Mechanics were proposed, argued, discarded, and refined in the same way a story structure is tested before prose is written.
The result is a game that was designed by a human and built by two. The enemy AI, the zone progression, the shield system, the ammo reload mechanic — all of it was reasoned through in conversation before a single line of code was written.
2 starting shields. Small enemies cost 1, big cost 2, boss hits cost 1. Obstacles and pitfalls kill instantly. Regen 1 per 3s. Defeat boss to raise max.
10 shots. 1 pip regen per 2s. Each shot resets timer. Full empty = 5-second lockout.
Score from distance. +50 small kills, +100 big kills. Boss: +500. Score freezes during boss fight.
At 10,000 points. 15 hp, aimed projectiles, hovering. Defeat to advance zone and gain shield max.
Every version below is a design decision, not just a technical patch.
| v0.1 | Initial concept. Basic runner — jump, duck, obstacles. Einar drawn as pixel humanoid. |
| v0.2 | Shooting added. 10-shot magazine. Enemy collision. Score counter live. |
| v0.3 | Embedded into index.html as lightbox behind floating gamepad icon. Zero external dependencies. |
| v0.4 | Ammo regen redesigned. Slow pip regen every 2s. 5-second penalty on full empty. |
| v0.5 | Enemy charge behaviour. Face Einar, rush after 1s delay. Red eye telegraphs. Projectile shooting removed. |
| v0.6 | Shield system. 2 starting shields. Small cost 1, big cost 2. Obstacles kill instantly. 1s invincibility after hit. |
| v0.7 | Vault Guardian boss at 10,000 points. 15 hp, aimed projectiles, hovering. Run freezes during fight. |
| v0.8 | Four zone terrain system with distinct visuals. Transitions on boss defeat. |
| v0.9 | Mutated Bear and Wolf as Class I fauna. Dead trees in II, volcanic rocks and pitfalls in III. |
| v0.95 | Two endings. Obstacle → YOU DIED. Mecha contact → YOU'RE CAPTURED. |
| v0.98 | Global leaderboard, 3-char name entry, PHP backend. Debug panel with SHA-256 PIN gate. |
| v1.1 | Full balance pass. Pillar variants per zone. Comprehensive debug pass. This page added. |
| v1.1 | March 2026. PLAY NOW button added to hero with eye-tracking-informed placement. Game moved to lightbox — spacebar no longer scrolls page. Fullscreen removed. Mobile controls redesigned: duck and jump stacked left, shoot right. Rotate-to-landscape prompt added for mobile. Shield pip broken state fixed. Leaderboard submit centered and scrollable on mobile. Spacebar page-scroll prevention. Highscore reduced to top 5. SEO pass: VideoGame schema, expanded meta, Twitter card. Google Analytics added. How-to-play collapsible added under hero title. Current release. |
The game is a side note. The book is the record.
Dispatches on the writing process, Book II progress, and what human-AI collaboration actually looks like from the inside.