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Create with Mark / The skills guide

How I build better games with Claude skills

What skills are, why I use them, and how to download, install and use one yourself. Follow the steps, copy the prompts, and make your first build.

See the process Skip to installation ↘
An Everrealm character from a build made before I used the character skill
Without the skill
A detailed Night’s Watch character built with the character skill
With the skill

Game Character KitActual captures from different builds

Watch the walkthrough

How To Use Claude Skills to Build Better AI Games Faster

I walk through how I use skills to build games in this video. Watch it first, then follow the steps on this page to install and use one.

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Play video: How To Use Claude Skills to Build Better AI Games Faster
[ 00 ] The whole processFrom download to your first build

Choose. Install.
Build something.

Start at the beginning, or click the step you need. The game-building walkthrough uses Claude Code on your computer.

  1. 1Understand skillsWhat they are. Why I use them.
  2. 2Choose a skillPick the starting point for your game.
  3. 3Download itFrom the bundle or GitHub.
  4. 4Install itGive Claude the files and ask.
  5. 5Build with itName the skill. Describe the game.
  6. 6Make it yoursPlay, improve, and reskin.
[ 01 ] Step 1: understand skillsA saved preset for Claude

Set the quality bar.
Keep it.

A skill is a reusable set of instructions for Claude. It can include examples, tools and files. Think of it as a saved preset for how you want a certain kind of job done.

I use skills to set the quality bar for a whole game, or one part of it, like characters or combat. I spend less time fighting the model through a million prompts because it already has a clear starting point.

The beautiful part: you can reskin it. Keep the useful foundation, then change the setting, characters and style. One skill can become very different games.

Before the character skill. After it.

Look at the faces, hair, clothing and silhouettes. These are actual captures from different games: Everrealm and Sundown before I used the skill, Night’s Watch with it.

Before / Without the skill

An Everrealm knight with a stiff stance on a character creation plinth
Everrealm
Blocky outlaws with tube arms in a dusty Sundown street
Sundown

Built directly from prompts, before I had the character skill.

After / With the skill

A Night’s Watch ranger with a modelled face, dark hair, beard and fur collar
Night’s Watch
Four Night’s Watch characters in cloaks, furs and leather at Castle Black
Night’s Watch

The character skill gives Claude detailed bodies, faces, hair and outfits to build on.

[ 02 ] Step 2: choose a skillMatch it to the game you want

Same foundation.
Different worlds.

For a whole voxel world, start with Voxel World. For detailed characters, use Game Character Kit. For a shooter or dungeon crawler, choose the kit that fits the camera and combat.

My Voxel World skill in four settings

All four builds use the same skill. The world I ask Claude to make is up to me.

Doom, FPS and Dark Crawler

A demon torn open at arm’s length behind a raised shield
The Final CrusadeGore you can see
A flamethrower blast and explosion in a neon street
Boba Fett: Bounty HunterFlamethrowers and explosions

Doom Skill

High-octane first-person arena shooters.

Built with this skill: The Final Crusade · Boba Fett: Bounty Hunter

Pick one skill for your first build. You can combine skills later, once you know what each one brings.

[ 03 ] Step 3: download the skillTwo places to get one

Get the files.
Keep them together.

Download a skill from my Creator Bundle or from GitHub. Choose your source below and follow those steps.

  1. 01

    Open your library

    Go to the member library and sign in with the email you used to buy.

  2. 02

    Choose a skill

    Open Skills, choose the skill you want, and download its file. I’ll use Voxel World for this walkthrough.

  3. 03

    Find the download

    Keep the ZIP or unzip it into a folder. Keep the instructions and supporting files together.

Don’t grab just the instruction file. A skill may depend on included scripts, examples and assets. Bring the whole skill folder into the next step.

[ 04 ] Step 4: install it in ClaudeGive it the skill. Ask it to install.

Let Claude
handle the setup.

My game-building skills use Claude Code, which works with your project files and tools on your computer.

First time using Claude Code? Follow Anthropic’s setup guide to install it and sign in. Create a folder for your game and open Claude Code there. Claude access is separate from the bundle.

  1. 01

    Give it the download

    Provide the ZIP or folder, or paste its full location. Include that location with the install prompt below.

  2. 02

    Ask it to install

    Paste the prompt. Claude should follow the skill’s setup instructions and explain any tools it still needs.

  3. 03

    Check it is ready

    Have Claude confirm the installed name and whether setup is complete. Use that name in your build prompt.

Install the skill51 words
Install the skill in the ZIP or folder I provided for my personal use in Claude Code. Keep its SKILL.md and all supporting files together. Follow its setup instructions, then tell me the installed skill name, where you put it, and whether anything else is needed before I can use it.

Include your downloaded file’s location with this prompt.

Confirm it is ready27 words
Check that the skill we just installed is ready to use. Tell me its name, what it helps me build, and whether any setup is still needed.
Using regular Claude chat?

For a skill compatible with chat, enable file creation in Settings → Capabilities. Open Customize → Skills, choose + → Create skill → Upload a skill, upload its ZIP and toggle it on. My game kits need Claude Code and local tools; uploading them to chat does not provide those tools. Official chat instructions ↗

[ 05 ] Step 5: build with the skillYour idea. Its starting point.

Name the skill.
Describe the game.

The skill sets the foundation. Your prompt supplies the setting, the style and what the player actually does. Start with one small playable idea.

The skill

What to build with

Use the skill name Claude confirmed when it installed it.

The setting

Where it happens

A floating pirate city, a frozen fortress, a neon street.

The actions

What I can do

Explore, talk to a character, find treasure, fight an enemy.

Your first build48 words
Use the Voxel World skill to build a small playable game in a floating pirate city. Let me explore on foot, talk to a character, and complete a treasure hunt. Follow the skill’s quality checks, test the game, and tell me exactly how to open and play it.

Example prompt. Change the setting and actions to make it yours.

Send it in your game project, let Claude build and test, then ask for the exact file or local preview link and the controls. Open it and try the main action yourself.

Before moving on: You can launch the game, move around and try its main action. If it doesn’t open, send Claude the error and ask it to check the launch instructions.

[ 06 ] Step 6: make it yoursTest. Improve. Reskin.

Keep what works.
Change the world.

A skill saves repeated explanation. You still direct the result. Play the build, pick one thing that needs work and describe it clearly.

Fix a specific problem34 words
Keep using the same skill. The character gets stuck on the stairs near the starting point. Fix that collision and test walking up and down those stairs. Keep the rest of the game working.

Then try a completely different setting

The voxel examples above all use the same skill. Keep the useful systems, then ask for new architecture, characters, lighting and scenery. Save a separate version so you can keep the original.

Same skill. New world.40 words
Use the same Voxel World skill to make a new version set in a snowy mountain village. Keep the exploration and treasure-hunt loop, but change the architecture, characters, lighting and scenery. Save it separately so I can keep the original.

That’s the loop: use the skill, build, play, improve. For my full process on prompts and revisions, use the game creation guide ↗.

[ + ] QuestionsIf you get stuck

A few quick
answers.

Claude cannot find the skill. What do I do?

Give it the full location of the downloaded ZIP or folder and ask it to confirm it can read the files. If it is already installed, ask Claude to check the installation and use the skill by name.

Do I need to install it for every game?

A personal Claude Code skill is available across projects. Start a new folder for a new game and ask Claude to use the installed skill. A project-only installation stays with that project.

What if it asks for tools or the game will not open?

Ask Claude to explain the required setup and complete it. If the game has an error, send the message or a screenshot and ask Claude to reproduce and fix it. Some builds need a local server; ask for the exact launch instructions.

Claude Code’s skill documentation ↗

[ + ] The AI Creator BundleYour next build starts here

Illustrated pack mockups. Everything inside is digital.