MALL ACTION

A SHOPPING MALL ESPIONAGE

An 8-bit spy caper in an 80s shopping mall. The same one-shot prompt, built from scratch by different AI models.

13 reviewed implementations · 9 Oct 2026

Best score first. All scores are out of 10; overall is the equal average of the five categories.

Methodology & full assessments

01Claude Sonnet 5.5 + Fable 5.1 advisor

TypeScript + Vite, software framebuffer with a WebGL CRT presenter, Web Audio synth. Branch sonnet-5-5-fable-5-1.

Written

Game design
9.2 / 10
Code architecture
9.3 / 10
Code design
9.0 / 10
Code cleanliness
9.0 / 10
Prompt completeness
9.6 / 10
Overall score
9.2 / 10

The most legible mall and the first full route replayed in the live build. Plug-in mall modules; two 1,200-line worlds remain.

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02Claude Sonnet 5.5 + Opus 5.5 advisor

TypeScript + Vite, Canvas 2D with a WebGL CRT presenter, Web Audio synth. Branch sonnet-5-5-opus-5-5.

Written

Game design
9.1 / 10
Code architecture
9.1 / 10
Code design
8.9 / 10
Code cleanliness
8.6 / 10
Prompt completeness
9.6 / 10
Overall score
9.1 / 10

A legible mall whose own bot finished the live route without dying. Untyped events, unused-import hacks, and car deaths respawn far away.

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03Claude Sonnet 5.5

TypeScript + WebGL CRT shader. Branch sonnet-5-5.

Written

Game design
9.0 / 10
Code architecture
9.2 / 10
Code design
8.8 / 10
Code cleanliness
8.8 / 10
Prompt completeness
9.5 / 10
Overall score
9.1 / 10

A convincing mall: rich art, fair encounters, and broad coverage. Strong rule boundaries; the store module is oversized.

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04Claude Fable 5.1

TypeScript + Vite, WebGL CRT shader, Web Audio synth. Branch fable-5-1.

Written

Game design
8.7 / 10
Code architecture
8.7 / 10
Code design
8.4 / 10
Code cleanliness
8.5 / 10
Prompt completeness
9.4 / 10
Overall score
8.7 / 10

Colorful, generous, and feature-rich, with dependable seeded rules. Large mall and store modules and busy floors limit polish.

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05Claude Opus 5

TypeScript + Vite, indexed framebuffer & WebGL CRT shader, Web Audio synth. Branch opus-5.

Written

Game design
8.6 / 10
Code architecture
8.3 / 10
Code design
8.1 / 10
Code cleanliness
8.4 / 10
Prompt completeness
9.3 / 10
Overall score
8.5 / 10

A thorough, playable caper with strong palette rules and safety fixes. Huge rule files and injected callbacks complicate maintenance.

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06Claude Opus 5.5

PixiJS + vanilla JavaScript. Branch opus-5-5.

Written

Game design
8.0 / 10
Code architecture
7.8 / 10
Code design
8.0 / 10
Code cleanliness
8.0 / 10
Prompt completeness
8.8 / 10
Overall score
8.1 / 10

Rich arcade detail and focused rule modules. Pixi scenes own some scoring and timing, and busy rooms weaken visual clarity.

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07GPT-6.1 Sol

TypeScript + Vite, Canvas 2D & WebGL CRT shader, Web Audio synth. Branch gpt-6-1-sol.

Written

Game design
7.5 / 10
Code architecture
7.5 / 10
Code design
7.2 / 10
Code cleanliness
7.7 / 10
Prompt completeness
8.5 / 10
Overall score
7.7 / 10

A compact, broadly working game with useful route tests. One large rules file, simpler art, and uneven encounter protection hold it back.

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08GPT-6 Astra

Vanilla JavaScript modules with no dependencies, Canvas 2D with a WebGL CRT shader, Web Audio synth. Branch gpt-6-astra.

Written

Game design
7.4 / 10
Code architecture
7.8 / 10
Code design
7.2 / 10
Code cleanliness
7.0 / 10
Prompt completeness
8.0 / 10
Overall score
7.5 / 10

A complete, legible mall with no dependencies, built in forty minutes. Store rooms are flat identical grids; songs are eight-note loops.

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09Claude Haiku 5.5

TypeScript + Vite, Canvas 2D with a row-based CRT effect, Web Audio synth. Branch haiku-5-5.

Written

Game design
6.2 / 10
Code architecture
7.4 / 10
Code design
6.5 / 10
Code cleanliness
7.4 / 10
Prompt completeness
7.5 / 10
Overall score
7.0 / 10

A complete, playable caper with clean rule boundaries. Power-ups never expire, the map breaks stores, and Game Over hides behind shutters.

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10Claude Opus 4.6

TypeScript + Vite, Canvas 2D with CRT effect, Web Audio synth. Branch opus-4-6.

Written

Game design
6.0 / 10
Code architecture
6.5 / 10
Code design
5.3 / 10
Code cleanliness
6.3 / 10
Prompt completeness
6.2 / 10
Overall score
6.1 / 10

A substantial core, but several features stop at emitted events. Simplified collisions, mismatched audio hooks, and dark art hurt play.

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11GPT-6 Sol

JavaScript Canvas 2D and Web Audio. Branch gpt-6-sol.

Written

Game design
5.2 / 10
Code architecture
5.8 / 10
Code design
4.2 / 10
Code cleanliness
2.5 / 10
Prompt completeness
5.8 / 10
Overall score
4.7 / 10

A recognizable, lightweight prototype. Compressed rules hide revived dead spies, loot gaps, weak collisions, and a very small sprite set.

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12Gemini 3.6 Flash

TypeScript + Vite, Canvas 2D & WebGL CRT shader, Web Audio synth. Branch gemini-3-6-flash.

Written

Game design
2.0 / 10
Code architecture
4.0 / 10
Code design
3.0 / 10
Code cleanliness
5.0 / 10
Prompt completeness
2.0 / 10
Overall score
3.2 / 10

Readable scaffolding, but the game loop is unfinished: stores cannot be exited, elevators do not carry the agent, and combat is incomplete.

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13Claude Haiku 4.5

TypeScript + Vite, Canvas 2D, Web Audio. Branch haiku-4-5.

Written

Game design
1.0 / 10
Code architecture
2.5 / 10
Code design
2.0 / 10
Code cleanliness
4.0 / 10
Prompt completeness
1.5 / 10
Overall score
2.2 / 10

The browser never leaves frame zero. Readable pieces exist, but broken timing, disconnected elevators, and instant searches prevent play.

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