影だけが先に行く / SHADOW GOES FIRST
One torch and your shadow: move the light to cast a path, then send your shadow on ahead.
Official site bell1236.itch.io, verified Nov 3, 2026. The developer's own itch.io page (Bell1236), linked from its official AI Browser Game Jam 5 submission page.
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Plays in the browser on itch.io. No download.
Browser (no download) · Official link verified Nov 3, 2026.
About 影だけが先に行く / SHADOW GOES FIRST
A short top-down 2D puzzle game in eight rooms, with Japanese text. You carry one torch, and by moving yourself and the light you cast your shadow onto marks that open bridges and doors. At first the shadow follows you; from the fifth room it walks ahead, and you send it from a departure mark, wait for it and call it back to cross places you cannot reach alone. The torch can be put down and picked up again, and in the last room your relationship with the light leads to the ending of a small story. There are no falls, game overs or time limits. The developer, Bell1236, says the game was almost entirely created by AI with OpenAI Codex: the detailed design, the GDScript code, all eight rooms, the graphics drawn in code, the writing, the music and sound effects, testing and the submission materials; ChatGPT was used for the first concept discussion. The human creator chose the concept and direction, proposed putting out the torch at the end and set the scope. Made in Godot for AI Browser Game Jam 5 (theme: Torch); free in a desktop browser on itch.io with a PC keyboard (no touch controls).
How it was built
Partially verifiedThe itch.io page says, in Japanese and English, that almost all of the production was handled by OpenAI Codex: the code, the detailed room design and layouts, the graphics drawn in code, the writing, the presentation, 16 original synthesized audio assets, testing, the final review and the submission materials. The jam submission specifies GDScript code and Web build preparation, says the 16 audio assets were synthesized offline with AI-written Python code, and mentions an independent AI reviewer using GPT-6 Astra in the workflow. It separates AI testing and review from human evaluation of how the game plays and sounds, which it does not claim as complete.
- DeveloperAI Browser Game Jam 5 submission, AI Tools Used: “Almost entirely created by AI using OpenAI Codex, with ChatGPT for the initial concept discussion. Codex produced the detailed design, GDScript code, all eight rooms, programmatic graphics, dialogue and instructions, music and sound effects”. — itch.io (AI Browser Game Jam 5, hosted by Focaccai)
Used for the initial concept discussion only, per the jam submission.
Made in Godot 4.7.2 for AI Browser Game Jam 5. The human creator chose the concept and direction, proposed extinguishing the torch at the end, set the requirements and scope, and pointed out that the continuous fire noise was too much, which led to its on/off option. Codex did the rest, from the detailed design and GDScript to the eight rooms, the graphics drawn in code, the Japanese text and the final review. The 16 sound and music assets were synthesized offline by Python code that the AI wrote; no third-party artwork, recorded samples or background music are used. The font is Noto Sans JP (SIL Open Font License), and the licences ship in the build's LICENSES folder.
- Engine / framework
- Godot 4.7.2
- Languages
- GDScript, Python
- Team size
- Not disclosed
- Initial build time
- Not disclosed
- Development time
- Not disclosed
- Development cost
- Not disclosed
- AI-written code
- Not disclosed
“制作のほぼすべてをAI（OpenAI Codex）が担当した作品です。”Verification notes: AI use from the “AI利用・クレジット / AI use and credits” section of the itch.io page and the AI Tools Used answer on the official AI Browser Game Jam 5 submission page, both re-read on 4 Nov 2026. Both say Codex made almost all of the game, including the code; “almost entirely” covers the whole production rather than the code alone, so no AI code share is recorded. GPT-6 Astra is named only as an independent reviewer and is not listed as a tool. The title is given as the page writes it, Japanese first with the English title after a slash. Publication and last update (both 30 Oct 2026, 17:24 UTC) from the itch.io page; the entry was submitted 9 hours 33 minutes before the jam deadline. The page refers to “the human creator” but does not state a team size. The engine version and the font come from the page's credits. The Godot web loader makes no calls to AI services; the researcher also searched the game's .pck data file and found none, which we did not repeat. Jam voting was still open on 4 Nov 2026, so no placement is recorded; itch.io shows no public rating. The game was not played.
Development history
Published on itch.io (17:24 UTC) and submitted to AI Browser Game Jam 5 (theme: Torch), 9 hours 33 minutes before the deadline.
AI Browser Game Jam 5 submissions close; voting was still in progress on 4 Nov 2026.
Officialitch.io (Focaccai)
Game performance
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itch.io
Free in a desktop browser (HTML5) with a PC keyboard; touch is not supported and WebGL 2.0 is required. In-game text is Japanese.
Not publicly available: itch.io rating, Gross revenue.
Reviews & rankings
Not yet reviewed by our editors.
Not currently ranked.
Sources
| Source | Type | Published | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 影だけが先に行く / SHADOW GOES FIRST by Bell1236 itch.io · Japanese | Store page | Oct 30, 2026 | Nov 3, 2026 |
| Rate 影だけが先に行く / SHADOW GOES FIRST for AI Browser Game Jam 5 itch.io (AI Browser Game Jam 5, hosted by Focaccai) | Official site | Not confirmed | Nov 3, 2026 |
| AI Browser Game Jam 5 itch.io (Focaccai) | Official site | Not confirmed | Nov 3, 2026 |
| Official game page (language check) Bell1236 | Official site | Not confirmed | Nov 3, 2026 |
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