Creature Nexus TCG

About the project

🌟 Inspiration

I’ve always loved trading card games. As a longtime Yu-Gi-Oh! player, I’m passionate about the genre—but I’ve also been increasingly frustrated by the complexity of modern Yu-Gi-Oh!. On the flip side, I was inspired by the collectible simplicity of Pokémon TCG Pocket. So, I decided to build my own card game—one that blends simple but engaging gameplay mechanics with the collectible aspect of modern mobile TCGs.

🎯 Goals

• Create an entire trading card game from scratch using AI
• Deliver a gameplay experience that is easy to learn yet deep and strategic
• Build a cross-platform experience, accessible on both mobile and web

🧰 Tech Stack

• React Native + Expo (multi-platform application)
• Firebase + AsyncStorage (real-time data sync & local caching)
• RevenueCat (in-app purchases & subscriptions)
• DALL·E, ChatGPT (Codex), Claude Code (AI-assisted visuals, text, and code)
• GitHub + standard-version (version management and release automation)

🛠️ Development Process

• 💡 1 month to build the first playable prototype
• ⏱️ 2 months to reach the current version
• 👨‍💻 Fully solo development
• Implemented precise versioning and releases with standard-version
• Used AI to generate creature visuals, card descriptions, and lore

💥 Challenges

• Performance and optimization issues (especially on mobile)
• Designing a functional domain-specific language (DSL) for battle scripting
• Building an intuitive and engaging tutorial experience

🧠 What I Learned

With the help of AI, it’s absolutely possible for a solo developer to build a functional trading card game—including code, design, and art—in a short amount of time.

🔮 What’s next?

• 🌀 Creature animations
• 🎮 Multiplayer mode
• 🃏 Expanded card sets
• 🎨 Full UI redesign to improve player experience

Built With

• claude
• codex
• dall?e
• expo.io
• firebase
• github
• react-native