Pet Shark Productions

Build log

Tanks Mate 2: Toon Tanks Dev Log

Tanks Mate 2: Toon Tanks went from a brief to its 14th test build in under five days, from 3 to 8 October 2026. Four more builds were stopped before they reached my kids, each over a problem the agent found in its own checks.

I made it for my kids, as a fun game to play together. I wrote the brief, made the design calls, played the builds and passed on what my kids said. Claude Code, an AI coding agent, wrote the code, the tests and the tools, made the game's own sounds and music in code, tested its own builds, and wrote each decision into the project's GitHub issues for me to check. OpenAI's Codex drew the logo, the game icon and the pictures on the newer skins. Times are Pacific time.

  1. 3 October

  2. First build Played by me the next morning The brief and the first build A brief for a toony LAN tank game, two art packs, and a first playable build by morning.

  3. 4 October

  4. First test build To my kids 4 October, 12:07 The over-the-shoulder camera and the whole town My first playtest changed the camera and the size of the battlefield, and the props learned to react.
  5. Second test build To my kids 4 October, 15:55 Gamepads, camera views and an aim assist Controls for keyboard and gamepad, three camera views, and an aim assist to try out.
  6. 0.2.3 To my kids 4 October, 20:06 The camera workshop and numbered builds Feature work stopped until the camera and the driving felt right, and every build got a version number.
  7. 0.2.6 To my kids 5 October, 01:01 Choosing the explosions A playground scene to compare explosion effects side by side, and camouflage and cow-print tanks.

  8. 5 October

  9. 0.2.8 To my kids 5 October, 08:23 Two tanks, exploding cars and a radar The heavy Bruiser joins the quick Scout, cars explode, and hit markers and a radar show what is going on.0.2.7 held back
  10. 0.2.9 To my kids 5 October, 12:49 Power-up slots switched off Saving power-ups for later worked, and after playing it I asked for the old way back.
  11. 0.2.10 To my kids 6 October, 04:21 Ricochets, the scope and climbing cars Fixes from my notes on 0.2.9, from bouncing shells to a scope that looks down the barrel.

  12. 6 October

  13. 0.2.12 To my kids 6 October, 06:38 Team matches and ten seats Ten seats for up to four people, and a team mode, Red against Blue.0.2.11 held back
  14. 0.2.14 To my kids 6 October, 09:58 Finding a game on the network On real PCs a game sometimes did not show up in the list. Now the searching PC asks, and hosts answer.0.2.13 held back
  15. 0.2.16 To my kids 6 October, 15:09 The game's name The game gets its full name and my studio's splash screen, and the bots stop aiming at rooftops.0.2.15 held back
  16. 0.2.17 To my kids 7 October, 04:49 The logo, twelve new skins and a fairer Bruiser A logo drawn by OpenAI's Codex, a tool that paints pictures onto tanks never made to be repainted, and a Scout that can win.

  17. 8 October

  18. 0.2.18 To my kids 8 October, 14:38 Five bot levels, picked by each player Each person picks their own difficulty, the levels are tuned to measured hit rates, and shells leave scorch marks.
  19. 0.2.19 To my kids 8 October, 16:40 Bot tactics by level The higher their level, the more tactics the bots use, from going for repairs to waiting round corners.
  20. 0.2.20 To my kids 8 October, 19:06 Fair explosions and free respawn points Your own explosions no longer hurt you, and a tank never comes back on top of another.