SPLIT OR STEAL

A high-stakes multiplayer Prisoner's Dilemma. You have exactly two minutes to convince a stranger, a friend, or a manipulative AI to share the wealth before time runs out.

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Split Or Steal

A Real-Time Psychological Multiplayer Experience Built with MeDo

🚀 Inspiration

"Can you trust a complete stranger with your fortune?"

That single question became the foundation of Split Or Steal.

Inspired by social strategy shows like Golden Balls and the psychology behind trust and betrayal, we wanted to create a multiplayer experience where the real challenge is not combat, grinding, or mechanics — but human decision-making itself.

Most online games focus on:

  • fast reflexes,
  • complicated systems,
  • or endless progression.

We wanted to build something radically different:

✅ Instant psychological tension
✅ Emotionally unpredictable outcomes
✅ Mechanics simple enough to learn in 10 seconds
✅ Depth created entirely through human behavior

At the same time, we challenged ourselves technically:

Build the entire product — frontend, backend, AI systems, and deployment — using MeDo's prompt-to-product workflow as a full-stack development partner.

🎮 What It Does

Split Or Steal is a realtime browser-based multiplayer social strategy game.

Two anonymous players are matched instantly and receive:

💰 A shared prize pool
⏱️ A live 120-second countdown timer
💬 A realtime negotiation chat

Both players secretly choose:

SPLIT

Share the reward fairly.

STEAL

Attempt to take everything.

When the timer ends, both decisions are revealed simultaneously.

The result creates moments of:

  • trust,
  • betrayal,
  • bluffing,
  • greed,
  • negotiation,
  • and emotional tension.

All resolved in under two minutes directly inside the browser.

⚡ Key Features

  • ⚡ Realtime multiplayer matchmaking
  • 💬 Live negotiation chat
  • 🤖 MeDo LLM-powered AI opponent
  • ⏱️ Countdown pressure system
  • 🛡️ Anti-ragequit & disconnect protection
  • 🏆 Global leaderboard
  • 📱 Mobile-first responsive gameplay
  • 🎨 Western-cartoon inspired UI
  • 🚀 Instant browser play with no installation

🛠️ How We Built It

⚙️ Tech Stack

Layer Technology
Frontend React + TypeScript + Vite
Styling Tailwind CSS
Backend Supabase PostgreSQL
Realtime Sync Supabase Realtime
Serverless Logic Supabase Edge Functions
AI Opponent Engine MeDo LLM Plugin
AI Workflow MeDo Multi-Turn Chat + Full-Stack Generation

🤖 How We Used MeDo

MeDo was not a tool we used occasionally.

It became our:

AI Co-Architect

We used MeDo’s core capabilities throughout the entire project lifecycle.

1️⃣ MeDo LLM Plugin — The AI Opponent Brain

The most impressive feature MeDo helped us create was the AI opponent system powered directly through the MeDo LLM Plugin.

When no human player is available, our backend invokes the MeDo LLM with:

  • the current prize pool,
  • negotiation chat history,
  • player behavior,
  • and game context.

The AI does not choose randomly.

It evaluates:

  • trust,
  • deception,
  • risk,
  • bluffing,
  • and negotiation tone to simulate realistic human behavior.

Example Prompt

You are a player in a high-stakes trust game.
Prize pool: $X
Opponent said: [chat log]

Based on their behavior and tone,
decide whether to SPLIT or STEAL.
Reason like a real human player.

The result is an AI opponent that feels:

  • manipulative,
  • unpredictable,
  • and psychologically engaging.

2️⃣ MeDo Multi-Turn Chat — Full Development Collaboration

We used MeDo's multi-turn conversations to architect and refine nearly every system in the game.

Example Problem

Two players disconnecting could permanently deadlock matches.
How do we solve this?

MeDo Solution

  • beforeunload recovery handling
  • cleanup systems
  • automatic timeout decisions
  • fallback match resolution

Result:

✅ Zero deadlocked matches

Example Problem

The mobile layout breaks on smaller screens.

MeDo Solution

  • horizontal layouts
  • touch-friendly controls
  • safe-area spacing
  • responsive gameplay redesign

Result:

✅ Fully playable mobile experience

Example Problem

Two simultaneous player submissions may overwrite each other.

MeDo Solution

  • atomic database writes
  • isolated player state updates
  • collision-safe synchronization

Result:

✅ Stable realtime multiplayer synchronization

3️⃣ MeDo Full-Stack Generation — Prompt to Product

We began with a single prompt:

Build a realtime multiplayer browser game where two anonymous players negotiate and secretly decide to Split or Steal a shared reward.

From there, MeDo helped:

  • structure the backend,
  • design the database,
  • build matchmaking logic,
  • generate UI systems,
  • optimize responsiveness,
  • and accelerate deployment.

The workflow genuinely became:

💡 Prompt → Prototype → Product → Deployment

🔌 Plugins & API Integrations

Integration Purpose
MeDo LLM Plugin AI psychological decision engine
Supabase Realtime Live multiplayer synchronization
Supabase Database API Match records + leaderboard
Supabase Edge Functions Serverless backend logic
Supabase Presence API Matchmaking + connection tracking

🚧 Challenges We Ran Into

1️⃣ Deadlocked Matches

Problem

A disconnected player could trap the opponent forever.

Solution

We implemented:

  • disconnect recovery,
  • timeout systems,
  • and automatic fallback decisions.

Result

✅ Zero deadlocked matches

2️⃣ Realtime Synchronization

Problem

Simultaneous actions could create state conflicts.

Solution

Atomic isolated database updates.

Result

✅ Stable realtime synchronization

3️⃣ Mobile Gameplay

Problem

Desktop layouts failed on small screens.

Solution

A complete mobile-first redesign.

Result

✅ Smooth cross-platform gameplay

4️⃣ AI Security & Latency

Problem

Frontend AI requests expose credentials and increase latency.

Solution

Serverless Edge Function integration.

Result

✅ Secure AI workflows with fast responses

🏆 Accomplishments We're Proud Of

🤖 MeDo LLM as a Live Game Mechanic

The AI opponent became an active psychological participant instead of a simple scripted bot.

⚡ Smooth Realtime Multiplayer

Sub-second synchronization created a seamless competitive experience.

📱 True Mobile-First Design

The game was redesigned specifically for touch gameplay.

🎨 Strong Visual Identity

Every UI element reinforces the psychological tension of the game.

🚀 Full Product Built Through MeDo

From first prompt to deployed product, MeDo accelerated every stage of development.

🧠 What We Learned

🤖 AI Is More Powerful as a Collaborator

Using MeDo as:

  • an architecture partner,
  • debugging assistant,
  • design collaborator,
  • and iteration accelerator dramatically improved development speed and quality.

⚡ Simplicity Creates Strong Gameplay

The emotional complexity comes entirely from:

  • trust,
  • greed,
  • fear,
  • and human behavior.

Not from complicated mechanics.

📱 User Experience Matters Deeply

Small UI/UX improvements dramatically improved gameplay quality and accessibility.

🚀 What's Next for Split Or Steal

🔗 Short-Term Goals

  • private friend lobbies
  • voice chat support
  • tournament systems
  • party matchmaking

📈 Future Expansion

  • native mobile apps
  • multi-language support
  • spectator mode
  • cosmetic customization
  • creator integrations

🌍 Long-Term Vision

Transform Split Or Steal into:

A global social strategy platform where trust, deception, and human psychology become the core gameplay mechanic.

🎯 Final Thought

Split Or Steal demonstrates how Simple Prompt, MeDo’s LLM Plugin, multi-turn collaboration, and full-stack generation workflow can transform a raw idea into a polished realtime multiplayer product.

The opponent in this game isn't the code.

It's human nature.

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