May 13, 2026
So I built this thing called Qtown. Not for a job, not for funding. I wanted to see if I could get an AI developer to write most of the code for a complete simulation.
You know when you watch those old SimCity videos and the little people are walking around doing their thing? I wanted that, but where every single behavior came from AI. No hardcoded routines. No if-then statements saying "when hungry, go to restaurant."
## The Setup
50x50 isometric grid. Little pixel people wandering around. They need to eat, sleep, work. Standard simulation stuff. But then it gets weird.
These NPCs started trading with each other. Not because I told them to, but because Ralph (that's what I named the AI) figured out they needed an economy. They vote in elections. Some of them commit crimes. Others gossip about the crimes.
One NPC stole bread, got caught, and then three other NPCs were talking about it two days later. I didn't code any of that.
## Ralph Did Most of It
1,451 commits. 550 stories shipped. I counted: 88% of the code came from Ralph.
I'd write these little story cards like "NPCs should get hungry" and Ralph would implement the whole thing. Hunger system, food sources, restaurants, the works. Then NPCs started hoarding food. I didn't ask for that. Ralph decided hungry NPCs might plan ahead.
You ever try to explain to someone that you're not coding your own project? That you're basically a project manager for an AI? People look at you funny.
## The Weird Parts
NPCs develop personalities based on their experiences. One got robbed early on and became paranoid, always checking behind them. Another one kept winning elections by promising lower taxes (which don't exist in the simulation, but Ralph made them believe it anyway).
The gossip system is bonkers. NPCs remember who told them what, and information degrades as it spreads. By the time news reaches the other side of town, it's completely wrong. Just like real life, I guess.
Sometimes they do stuff that makes no sense. One NPC spent three days walking in circles around the fountain. When I dug into the code, Ralph had given them a "contemplative" personality trait. So they were thinking. About what? No idea.
## You Could Build This
Here's what I learned: you don't need to know how to code complex behaviors. You need to know how to describe what you want.
Ralph isn't perfect. Sometimes the code is weird. Sometimes NPCs get stuck in walls. But it works, and more importantly, it's alive in a way that my old hardcoded simulations never were.
I keep wanting to add more. Weather system. Relationships. Maybe businesses that actually produce things. But then I watch these little pixel people living their lives, making decisions I never programmed, and I think maybe it's already exactly what I wanted.
The stupid thing is, I probably spent more time writing story cards for Ralph than I would have spent just coding it myself. But I got something different. Something I wouldn't have thought to build.
And now I've got 50x50 blocks of pure chaos, where NPCs are doing whatever Ralph thinks makes sense. One of them is probably stealing bread right now.