How AI game mashups are made

Almost every mashup uses one of a few techniques. They trade off speed of building, how deeply the games interact, and whether you need the original games.

• Passthrough mod

  Both games run at the same time and trade state every frame. One game simulates, the other draws.

  5 documented

• Rust engine rewrite

  An AI-assisted from-scratch rewrite of a game's engine in Rust (usually on Bevy) that reads data from your own copy of the game.

  5 documented

• Character import

  One game's character, with its original movement code, is embedded as a library inside another game.

  1 documented

• AI decompilation port

  An agent decompiles or recompiles a game's own code into a new program, often a PC or browser port, that still needs the original game's data.

  1 documented

• Clean-room mashup

  Mechanics re-implemented from observed behaviour and documented values, with original code and original assets. Needs no game files at all.

  0 documented

• Undisclosed / video only

  Clips that went viral without released code, so the technique can't be verified.

  3 documented