LIGHTLINE
A laser tower-defence game for GameDev.tv Game Jam 2026: bend a single beam of light with reflectors to burn enemies on their way to your base. The developer set out to make it without writing a line of code.
Official site billwaa.itch.io, verified Nov 3, 2026. The developer's own itch.io page (Billwaa), credited “A game by Billy Hau” with a link to the developer's site, and linked from its jam submission.
Where to play
Every platform this game is on. Links are checked against official sources; we never host or mirror games.
- Play free — itch.ioitch.ioReleased · Listed as “Prototype” on itch.io; GameDev.tv Game Jam 2026 entryFree
Plays in the browser on itch.io. No download.
Browser (no download) · Mobile · Official link verified Nov 3, 2026.
About LIGHTLINE
LIGHTLINE is a tower-defence game built around the jam theme Connection. A single beam of light enters the grid at one end and is your only weapon. Enemies follow a fixed path towards your base; between waves you place reflectors on the grid (10 credits each) and click them to rotate through eight angles, routing the beam over as much of the path as possible, and every pulse damages the enemies caught in its light. Right-click, or hold on mobile, removes a reflector and returns some credits; with the Beam Split upgrade, a double-click turns a reflector into a T-split that both reflects the beam and lets it pass straight through. After each wave an upgrade shop sells faster pulses, base repairs and new abilities, and surviving all ten waves wins. Four maps ship with the game, from the introductory First Light to the winding Labyrinth sandbox, and a map editor lets players design maps and share them as files; the developer invites players to guess which of the bundled maps were designed by AI and which by hand. The developer, Billy Hau (Billwaa on itch.io), says the aim was to vibe code the entire game and see whether a game can be made without writing a single line of code, using the OpenCode agent with DeepSeek V4 Flash for planning and Claude Sonnet 4.5 for implementation. Free in the browser on itch.io, where it is listed as a prototype.
How it was built
VerifiedThe itch.io page says development was carried out with OpenCode, an AI coding agent, using DeepSeek V4 Flash for planning and iteration and Claude Sonnet 4.5 for implementation, and that the codebase was structured, debugged and refined through an ongoing conversation with these models. The stated aim was to vibe code the entire game and see whether a game can be made without the developer writing a single line of code. The concept was co-created with DeepSeek in a brainstorming session, and a full game design document was drafted with it before any code was written; both music tracks were made with Suno. OpenCode, DeepSeek and Suno are not in our tool list; Claude is recorded because the page names Claude Sonnet 4.5 as the implementation model. The page's AI disclosure ticks AI Assisted, Code, Graphics, Sounds and Text.
- DeveloperGameDev.tv Game Jam 2026 submission: one person worked on the game in total, and no existing assets were used. — itch.io (GameDev.tv Game Jam 2026, hosted by gamedevtv)
Written in vanilla JavaScript, HTML and CSS with no frameworks or libraries, just a canvas and a game loop, per the itch.io page. All visuals are drawn in code on an HTML5 canvas and the sound effects are synthesised in real time with the Web Audio API, with no audio files; the two music tracks, Laser Bastion for the title screen and menus and Laser Gate Patrol in game, were made with Suno. The developer says the levels the AI designed lacked character and personality, which is why a map editor is included and some of the shipped maps are the developer's own.
- Engine / framework
- No engine (vanilla JavaScript on an HTML5 canvas)
- Languages
- JavaScript
- Team size
- 1 (solo)Developer Reporteditch.io (GameDev.tv Game Jam 2026, hosted by gamedevtv)
- Development time
- Not disclosed
- Development cost
- Not disclosed
- AI-written code
- Not disclosed
“Therefore, this year, I am trying to vibe code the entire game to see if it is possible to make a game without writing a single line of code myself.”Verification notes: AI use, gameplay, maps, art and audio from the itch.io page; team size (1) and “no existing assets” from the developer's answers on the GameDev.tv Game Jam 2026 submission page. The page names OpenCode as the agent and DeepSeek V4 Flash and Claude Sonnet 4.5 as the models; Claude is recorded as the tool because only it is in our tool list, and DeepSeek's planning role is described in the usage text. The developer states the aim of writing no code by hand but gives no code share, so none is recorded. The itch.io page shows no date; the release date is derived from the submission, made 5 days 7 hours before the 25 May 2026, 21:00 UTC deadline (about 20 May 2026, 14:00 UTC). The jam ran 15–25 May 2026 with 831 entries; voting closed on 1 Jun 2026. Results as shown on 4 Nov 2026 (UTC): #545 overall (adjusted 2.339, raw 3.167) from 6 ratings, with Theme (#404) the best placing. The game's code loads its maps from local files and makes no calls to AI services (checked). Location and background from the developer's own site, linked from the game page. The game was not played through.
Development history
Published on itch.io and submitted to GameDev.tv Game Jam 2026 (theme: Connection), 5 days 7 hours before the deadline.
Jam voting closes. Final result: #545 overall in a jam of 831 entries (adjusted score 2.339) from 6 ratings; best placing #404 for Theme.
Game performance
Each figure measures something different — concurrent players, owners, downloads and sales are never interchangeable and are never added together. Labels show where each number comes from.
itch.io
Free in the browser (listed under itch.io's Free category).
No public metrics recorded for this listing.
Not publicly available: itch.io rating, Gross revenue.
Sales & revenue (all platforms)
Browser game — there are no downloads to count.
Reviews & rankings
Not yet reviewed by our editors.
Not currently ranked.
Sources
| Source | Type | Published | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| LIGHTLINE by Billwaa itch.io | Store page | May 20, 2026 | Nov 3, 2026 |
| LIGHTLINE by Billwaa for GameDev.tv Game Jam 2026 itch.io (GameDev.tv Game Jam 2026, hosted by gamedevtv) | Official site | Not confirmed | Nov 3, 2026 |
| GameDev.tv Game Jam 2026 itch.io (gamedevtv) | Official site | Not confirmed | Nov 3, 2026 |
| Billy Hau Billy Hau | Official site | Not confirmed | Nov 3, 2026 |
| Official game page (language check) Billy Hau | Official site | Not confirmed | Nov 3, 2026 |
