BuddyBot

egg1 evolution

Inspiration

I was inspired by virtual pet and browser games of the early internet! I wanted to reimagine it with modern AI by creating a pet that doesn't follow scripted interaction, but learns, remembers, and evolves based on the players choices: ex: there isn't a set amount of XP the pet gets from each action, but Gemini will choose the amount based on what the player does.

What it does

BuddyBot is an AI-powered virtual pet that evolves! Starting as an egg, BuddyBot develops its own personality, memories, and evolution path through real time interactions. It has 5 stages, egg -> baby -> teen -> adult -> legendary!

Players can:

Feed, play, talk, and sleep
Create memories that influence future conversations
Watch BuddyBot evolve from an egg into a legendary pet

Unlike traditional virtual pets, BuddyBot uses Gemini to generate responses, adapt its personality, and create a different journey for every player.

How I built it

BuddyBot was built as a full-stack web application.

Frontend:

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Backend:

Node.js + Express server
Gemini API integration

AI System:

Gemini acts as BuddyBot's personality engine
Each interaction sends the pet's current stats, personality traits, and recent memories to Gemini
Gemini generates responses, updates trust and XP, creates memories, and determines possible evolution changes

Pet data is stored locally so each player's BuddyBot maintains its unique journey.

Challenges we ran into

One of my biggest challenges was time! I joined the hackathon when there was less than 12 hours left, so this was definitely something that pushed me more to finish this project.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I am proud of creating a game where each player's experience is unique. BuddyBot does not have a fixed personality or evolution path, the player and AI shapes the outcome. I also loved the idea of combining the nostalgic feeling of classic browser games with AI technology to create an interactive experience to enhance the games!

What I learned

I learned that AI is so much more than just a chatbot! It can be used for games and lots of other applications! I also learned more about web design :)