Lock12

LOCK12 transforms an original physical strategy game into a real-time virtual world combining AI, a Shadow World, custom communication, original interaction systems and one shared official game state.

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Inspiration

LOCK12 began as an original physical strategy game designed from scratch by Esra Brunyanszki. The goal was to create a game that looks clear and approachable on the surface, while containing deep strategic possibilities underneath.

The physical game was later rebuilt as a real-time virtual world in which human players and AI can play inside the same connected environment.

What it does

LOCK12 supports:

  • Human vs Human
  • Human vs AI
  • AI vs AI
  • Real-time synchronized multiplayer
  • Manual player decision-making
  • A shared official game world
  • Communication and social interaction
  • Original audiovisual systems
  • Learning and practice features

Every action during a human turn remains under the player’s control. The system supports the match, interface, communication and synchronization, but does not make the player’s decisions automatically.

A central concept is the Shadow World: a separate internal simulation space used by the AI to evaluate possible future situations before one fair decision enters the official match.

The AI follows the same game rules as human players. It cannot manipulate dice outcomes, bypass the rules or alter the official game state unfairly.

How it was built

During OpenAI Build Week, Codex and GPT-5.6 were used as development partners to help:

  • reason through interconnected game systems;
  • debug multiplayer and synchronization behavior;
  • inspect and improve architecture;
  • test complex match situations;
  • trace failures across the real-time game flow;
  • refine interface behavior;
  • generate supporting media;
  • accelerate implementation and verification.

The digital version combines the original physical-game design with multiplayer architecture, AI gameplay, communication systems, audiovisual feedback and synchronized state management.

Challenges

One of the largest challenges was keeping multiple systems synchronized while preserving a fair and authoritative official match state.

Human players, AI players, animations, dice, communication, sound and multiplayer events all had to remain coordinated without allowing local visual behavior to overwrite the official result.

Another challenge was building an AI that can evaluate the wider game situation while remaining fully bound by the same rules as a human player.

What was learned

Building LOCK12 demonstrated the importance of separating simulation, presentation and official game authority.

Codex and GPT-5.6 helped accelerate debugging and development, but the original game concept, rules, creative direction and system design remain human-created.

Intellectual property

LOCK12 is an original proprietary game.

This public submission demonstrates the scope, experience and technical ambition of the project without revealing the complete proprietary rule system, internal algorithms or design details required to reproduce the game.

LOCK12 © 2026 Esra Brunyanszki. All rights reserved.

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