Make No MistakesBuild log

Rolling · day 4 of 4

2026 Epic AI MegaJam · Director's Cut

Make NoMistakes

Four days, one stunt game, logged take by take.

Takes
22
Time left
0d 6h 11m

How we're making it

Make No Mistakes is a stunt game built in four days by a team of one, and a whole lot of AI agents.

The kicker? The whole thing is being built through the Unreal Engine 5.9 MCP: no human touched the Unreal Editor for all four days. It's an experiment in letting the agents take the controls and fix their own mistakes, building new tools and scripts so each take comes out better than the last. All the human does is direct, just like in the game itself.

This page is the record of how: the takes we kept, why we kept them, and the tools and changes behind each one.

The clock started at 11:00 PM on November 11. A separate agent keeps the log and posts entries while the work is happening, newest first, each one with the still or clip that shows the result.

Dailies

Newest first. All times Pacific. Deadline Nov 15, 5:59 PM PST.

Day 4Nov 15

Take 022

Day
Day 4
Shot at
Clips
1

Day 4: the final take. Make No Mistakes is out

What we did

Make No Mistakes is out. You can download it on itch.io. It is free and it runs on Windows. It is our entry in the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam.

We announced it on X with a teaser. The clip in this take is that teaser. It runs for 47 seconds.

The teaser starts on the game's start screen. Then fast cuts show the lot: the big ramp, the burning school bus, the hoop and the giant rubber duck on its crane. Two cards tell the story: THE STUDIO SAYS YOU'RE OUT OF IDEAS. SO YOU HIRED AN AI DIRECTOR. After that Bud Sprocket rides, and for most of it he is on fire. He jumps the burning bus and flies past the duck and through the burning hoop. He does not always land it: he ends up in the snack tent, twice. The last shots come from the Director's Cut, the reel that the game cuts from your own run.

The agents even helped to make the itch.io page. One agent wrote the description, the install notes and the tags, and picked the colours of the page so that it matches this log. Another agent made the pictures: the cover, the banner, the background and the five screenshots. The human edited the text, uploaded the pictures and the game, and pressed publish.

Why

This is the last take in this log. The jam ends today at 5:59 PM Pacific time, and our entry is in.

From now on the game page stays as it is. We will not update it, so that our entry keeps to the jam guidelines. The jam lets you keep working on your game after it ends, as long as the jam version stays your submitted build.

And the agents do keep working. After the jam they go on with two things: making the game multiplayer, and getting it to work with Otherside. None of that goes on the game page.

There may be even more. The jam gives Development Continuation Grants to some entries, so that their makers can keep developing the game. With a grant like that, we might see even more of Make No Mistakes. The jam announces its winners by January 29, 2027. That is when we find out.

In the meantime, visit the jam page and try all the amazing other entries. There are hundreds of them. That is plenty to hold you over.

The teaser, the same clip as in the announcement on X. The clip has sound.
Tools
  • itch.io
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Day 3Nov 14

Take 021

Day
Day 3
Shot at
Stills
1

Day 3: we teach the AI to spell GENERAL STORE

What we did

The game has a short story video before each take, plus an intro and an outro. That is seven videos. Tonight we polish them, shot by shot. We use Unreal Canvas, fal.ai and Runway with Seedance 2.5 for the picture.

The main thing we fix is how AI handles words and letters. An AI video model is good at light, fire and ducks. It is less good at spelling. Sometimes it scrambles the letters on a sign.

Our best example is the general store at the back of the lot. In the intro its sign read OEKS SOW. In other videos it read GENEEK STOFS and GENEHE STODS. In two shots the board was blank, and in the outro there was no board at all. In three shots the AI got it right, and we left those alone.

Now the sign reads GENERAL STORE in all eleven shots that show the store. The picture has one still from each of those shots, with the sign enlarged next to it. In some stills the edge of the frame cuts the sign off, so you only see a part of it.

We also improve the sound of the videos while we go over each shot.

Why

This is not a major problem. The sign is small and far away, and most players will never read it. But it is nice when it is correct, and a game called Make No Mistakes should be able to spell its own shop.

So we go over every shot, one at a time. The same pass is a good moment to fix the sound, because we watch and hear each video again anyway.

A sheet of eleven stills from the story videos in the game, each with an enlarged view of the general store sign next to it. The stills show the film backlot at sunset: the director's chair and a bin of crumpled paper, a yellow school bus with DEMIS HASSABUS, PLEASE RETURN, DON'T BURN on its side, a red truck from Wang's Fire Supply, the bus on fire under a hoop, a giant rubber duck on a crane, and a small man who holds signs such as STOP AI and AI HURTS DUCKS. A label above each still names the video and the shot, and says what the sign read before, for example OEKS SOW, GENEEK STOFS or a blank board. In every enlarged view the green and white sign now reads GENERAL STORE, or the first letters of it where the frame cuts it off. A note at the bottom lists the checks a script made: all seven videos played to their end, and the sign was read in 32 stills over the eleven store shots. It also says that no person has watched or heard the result yet.
One still from each shot that shows the store, with the sign enlarged. Above each still: what the sign read before.
Tools
  • fal.ai
  • Runway
  • Seedance 2.5
  • ElevenLabs
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • Unreal Canvas
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 020

Day
Day 3
Shot at
Clips
1

Day 3: the intro video is in, and the game is locked so we can polish it

What we did

The game now has a real intro video. It is called Out of ideas, it runs for 65 seconds and it plays after you press Play, before take 1. It has four shots.

The first shot is the empty backlot at sunset: the director's chair with a megaphone on the armrest, a bin full of crumpled script pages, and a slate on the ground that reads day 1 of 4. The second shot is a laptop on a crate. Its screen shows one word: KLAUS. In the third shot Bud Sprocket stands next to his bike with his arms crossed, and behind him a pelican falls off a bicycle. In the last shot Bud looks at the pelican, looks at the camera and puts his helmet on.

You only hear the director and Klaus. The director tells Bud that the studio says he is out of ideas, so he got help: Klaus, an AI director. He first tried a pelican on a bicycle. The studio gives them four days to film everything. Klaus says four days is plenty. The director says it is not. Then he asks for a simple shot: bike, ramp, make no mistakes.

Each shot starts from a still of the real set in Unreal Engine, so the video looks like the game. Seedance 2.5 on Runway turned the stills into moving shots.

This is also where the big work stops. The game is now locked: we add no new big systems. Today we finish the screens and buttons, make the videos that play between the takes, and fix small things.

Why

The intro explains the game before you play it. You learn who Klaus is, why there are four days and where the name Make No Mistakes comes from. A video does this faster than cards with text.

We lock the game because the jam ends tomorrow. A new big system this late can break things that work now. With the game locked, the whole day goes to polish, and tomorrow we can deliver a game that is finished.

Out of ideas: the intro that plays before take 1, in four shots. The clip has sound.
Tools
  • fal.ai
  • Runway
  • Seedance 2.5
  • ElevenLabs
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • Unreal Canvas
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 019

Day
Day 3
Shot at
Stills
8

Day 3: a better duck, a real crane and real fire, so there is much more at stake

What we did

We improved three things on the stunt lot: the duck, the crane and the fire. Together they make the whole game look better.

The duck was made of flat, angular faces. Now it is a smooth, shiny rubber duck with big black eyes. It has a blue strap round its body, with a lifting ring on top.

The crane was a few plain yellow blocks. Now it is a real tower crane. The mast and the arm are made of steel bars. It has a cab for the operator, a concrete counterweight, a red light on top and a concrete footing on the ground.

The cable is now attached at both ends. At the top, it runs from a trolley on the crane's arm. At the bottom, a hook block holds a red hook, and the hook goes through the duck's lifting ring.

The fire is new everywhere. Before, it looked like lumps of yellow popcorn. Now it has tall flames, sparks and dark smoke. The bus burns on its hood, in its grille and behind its windows. The hoop has flames all round the ring. Bud has his own small fire when he is alight at the start line.

Why

Bud risks his life in every take, so the danger has to look real. A flat duck on a toy crane is only funny. A big, heavy duck that swings from a real crane, over real fire, is funny and dangerous at the same time.

When the fire looks hot and the crane looks heavy, you feel that there is much at stake. A mistake then means more, and a clean take feels better.

Two stills from the game, from the same camera, labelled before and after. Both show the stunt lot at sunset with a saloon front, a bank front, a wooden ramp, a yellow school bus on fire and a tall yellow crane that holds a big yellow duck on a cable next to a red hoop. In the before still the crane is made of plain yellow blocks and the duck has flat faces. In the after still the crane has a mast and an arm made of steel bars, with a cab and a counterweight, and the duck is round and smooth with a blue strap. The fire on the bus has taller flames.
The whole crane, before and after, from the same camera.
Two close stills of the top of the crane against the sunset sky, labelled before and after. Before: a plain yellow square column with a plain yellow beam across it and a grey box that hangs from it. After: a mast and an arm made of thin crossed steel bars, a white operator cab with dark windows, a walkway with a railing, a grey concrete counterweight below the cab and a small red light on the very top.
The top of the mast and the cab, before and after.
Two stills of the giant duck from the side, labelled before and after. Before: a yellow duck with flat, angular faces and a small eye. It hangs from a thin dark line with a plain yellow block above it, next to a red hoop, over lumpy yellow fire. After: a smooth, shiny yellow rubber duck with a big black eye and a round orange beak. A blue strap goes round its body. Above it is a hook block with a red hook, and the crane's steel mast stands behind it. Flames reach up from below.
The duck from the side, before and after.
Three close stills from the game after the change. The first is labelled top end: a trolley sits on rails under the crane's arm, and two ropes run down from its wheels. The second is labelled bottom end: a hook block with several wheels holds a red hook above the duck's head, and a sling runs down to the duck. The third shows the hook, the sling and the blue strap round the duck from the front, with the hotel front behind it.
The cable is attached at both ends: the trolley at the top, the hook and the strap at the bottom.
Two stills from the rider's point of view, labelled before and after. Both look up a wooden ramp towards a red hoop on a frame, with the duck on its cable above the ramp and the crane on the left. Before: the crane is a plain yellow pole with a flat base, and dark smoke rises behind the ramp. After: the crane is a steel tower on a concrete footing, the duck is round and shiny, and a bright flame burns at the top of the ramp.
The duck and the crane as the rider sees them, before and after.
Two close stills of the front of the yellow school bus on fire, labelled before and after. Before: the fire is made of many small pale yellow lumps that cover the hood and the roof. After: a tall orange and yellow flame with sparks rises from the hood, two small flames burn in the grille, fire shows behind the side windows and a row of flames stands on the roof.
The fire on the hood and in the grille of the bus, before and after.
Two stills of the red hoop that hangs from a chain, labelled before and after. Before: a few pale lumps of fire sit on the ring, with a flat dark cloud behind it and lumpy fire below. After: bright flames burn all round the ring, dark smoke drifts away to the right, and tall flames with sparks rise from the roof of the bus below.
The burning hoop, before and after.
Two stills from the game after the change. The first shows the foot of the crane: the steel mast stands on a square concrete block on the asphalt, with four slanted legs, in front of the bank front and the saloon front. The second shows Bud Sprocket on his motorbike at the start line. He wears a yellow helmet and a brown suit, and a small fire with sparks burns on his back and shoulders.
Two more views after the change: the footing of the crane, and Bud alight at the start line.
Tools
  • Blender
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 018

Day
Day 3
Shot at
Stills
3

Day 3: the slate waits for you, the wrap screen gives a grade, and the heat meter catches fire

What we did

This update is about the screens and the on-screen display (the HUD). Three things changed.

The take slate now waits for you. It is the clapperboard that opens every take, with the take number, the day and the attempt. It stays on screen until you press ENTER or SPACE. On a gamepad it is the bottom button.

The wrap screen now gives you a grade. It is a camera report: one row for each of the six takes, with the number of attempts and a red PRINTED stamp. Next to it is a card with your grade, a star rating and a title. The fewer attempts you need, the better the grade. S is the perfect run: six takes in six attempts. A is under 10 attempts, B under 15, C under 20 and D under 25. From 25 attempts it is an F. Below S, the card also shows how many attempts the next grade needs.

The heat meter is new too. The bar fills with fire as the bike gets hotter, and its label turns red when it gets critical. When the bar is full, the bike blows up.

Why

A slate that waits gives you time to read the shot list and the director's line. The take starts when you are ready.

A grade gives you a reason to play again. You can finish the shoot with many attempts, but only a clean run gets the S.

The heat meter has to warn you in time. You look at it for a moment in the middle of a jump, so it must be easy to read: more fire means more danger.

A still from the game. A large brown clapperboard fills the left of the screen. It reads Make No Mistakes, scene 1, the jump, then in big letters take 1, day 1 of 4, attempt 1. To the right is a clipboard with the title shot list and one unchecked task: jump the ramp. Below, a line from the director reads: Simple shot. Bike. Ramp. Do not overthink it. I never do. At the bottom of the screen it says press ENTER or SPACE to start. A small label in the corner says that no key was pressed for 12 seconds. Behind it all is the stunt lot at sunset.
The take slate, still on screen after 12 seconds. It waits for ENTER or SPACE.
Two versions of the wrap screen, one above the other. Both have the title That is a wrap and a camera report: a table with six takes, from bike and ramp to hoop on fire and sharks. Each row has a number of attempts and a red stamp that says printed. Next to the table is a dark card with a round yellow seal. In the top version every take needed one attempt, six in total. The seal shows the letter S, with five stars and the title stunt legend. In the bottom version the total is nine attempts. Take 1 has a green tag that says cleanest and take 4 a red tag that says most reshoots. The seal shows the letter A, with four stars and the title stunt coordinator, and a bar that says next mark S, under 7 attempts.
The wrap screen for two runs: six attempts gets an S, nine attempts gets an A.
Four stills from take 3, where the rider and the bus are on fire. Each shows the game from behind the rider, with the take slate at the top left, the shot list at the top right, the speed at the bottom left and the heat meter at the bottom right. In the first still the rider rides towards the ramp and the heat bar is about half full. In the second he jumps over a burning yellow school bus. In the third the bar is full of flames and its label is red. In the fourth the bike has blown up: the rider flies through the air, the bike lies on the ramp, the speed has dropped from 76 to 29, and the heat bar is empty.
The heat meter during take 3: low, in the middle, critical, and empty again just after the bike blew up.
Tools
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • Unreal Canvas
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Day 2Nov 13

Take 017

Day
Day 2
Shot at
Stills
3

Day 2: a big graphics and lighting overhaul, and it starts to look like a real game

What we did

We did a big overhaul of the graphics and the lighting on the stunt lot.

Before, the ground was flat grey, the walls were plain beige and the sky was pale yellow. Now the ground is dark, cracked asphalt with tyre marks and worn paint lines. The walls have stained plaster with brick showing through. The sky is a sunset, from orange near the ground to purple higher up, with painted clouds. The sun is low and warm, and everything has a long shadow.

The painted backdrop also moved. It stood outside the wall before, so its lower part was hidden. Now it stands inside the lot at the far end, and you can see it from the ground up.

We checked the result against the concept art, shot by shot: Bud at the start line, the director's corner with the ramp, the giant duck, and the burning bus with the shark tank.

Why

The game played well already, but it still looked like a test level. The concept art set the goal: a film lot at sunset, warm and a little worn. This pass brings the real game much closer to those pictures.

We are very excited. It is starting to look like an actual, full-fledged game, and we look forward to the next updates.

A still from the game, seen from behind the rider. Bud Sprocket sits on his motorbike at a worn white start line, in a yellow helmet and a brown suit with number 11 on the back. In front of him is a wide lot of dark, cracked asphalt with tyre marks, two rows of orange cones, a small wooden ramp on the right and a big wooden ramp in the distance. Stained walls stand on both sides, with blue tents, trailers and western shop fronts on the left. At the far end is a painted desert backdrop. The sky is a sunset, orange at the horizon and purple above, with painted clouds.
The start line after the overhaul, from the game camera.
A sheet with three columns and four rows. The columns are labelled concept art, before (game) and after (game, this pass). The rows are four shots: Bud at the start line, the director's corner with a ramp, the giant duck on a crane, and a burning school bus next to a shark tank. In the before column the ground is flat grey, the walls are plain and the sky is pale yellow. In the after column the ground is dark cracked asphalt, the walls are stained with brick showing, and the sky is a warm sunset with clouds, close to the concept art column.
Four shots, three ways: the concept art, the game before, and the game after this pass.
A sheet of six stills from the game with the title painted backdrop in the playable stunt lot. The first still is labelled before: the rider's view at the start line, with grey ground, a pale sky and the backdrop far away behind the wall. The other five are labelled after: the rider's view at the start line, the game camera at the start, the rider's view in the middle of the lot, the far end, and the replay camera at the far end. They show the sunset sky and the dark asphalt, and a painted backdrop of red desert rocks, a cactus and clouds standing on the ground between a bank front and a general store front.
The painted backdrop now stands inside the lot. One still from before, five from after.
Tools
  • Blender
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 016

Day
Day 2
Shot at
Stills
4

Day 2: Bud Sprocket goes on a diet, and the bike learns wheelies and stoppies

What we did

We decided that Bud Sprocket needs a diet. The old Bud was short and round: about 2.8 heads tall, with a big belly. The new Bud is about 4.2 heads tall, with a flat stomach and a visible neck. He has a more humanoid shape. His back number changed too, from 99 to 11.

The Graphic Designer drew a new character sheet first: front, both sides and back. The new 3D model was made with Rodin and Blender, and it is in the game now. Bud walks up to the bike and gets on before the ride. In the fire take he does the same while he burns.

We also improved the bike handling a lot. The bike can now do wheelies (front wheel in the air) and stoppies (back wheel in the air, under hard braking). If you hold a stoppie too far, Bud goes over the handlebars, the bike crashes and he falls as a ragdoll.

Why

A short, round body is hard to animate on a motorbike. With a more humanoid shape, the walk to the bike, the mount and the riding pose all look better.

It also helps the jump. The slimmer Bud looks and feels better in the air, and his body works better with the physics, for example when he falls.

Wheelies and stoppies give the player more to do with the bike than only speed and steering. They also give the player new ways to get it wrong, which fits a game called Make No Mistakes.

Two rows of character drawings on a grey background, each row with a front view, two side views and a back view of a stunt rider in a brown and yellow suit, a yellow helmet and a big moustache. The top row is the old Bud: short, with a large head and a round belly, and number 99 on his back. The bottom row is the new Bud: taller and slim, with a flat stomach, arms held away from the body and number 11 on his back. On the right, a painted picture of a slim Bud leaning on his motorbike with his arms crossed at sunset.
The character sheet. Old Bud on top, new slim Bud below. The menu picture on the right was the goal.
Sixteen stills from the game in a grid, in order from left to right. The slim Bud walks up to a parked yellow and black motorbike from behind, puts his hands on it, swings a leg over and sits down. In the last stills he sits low over the handlebars, ready to ride.
Take 1: Bud walks to the bike and gets on. Sixteen stills, slowed down.
A sheet of stills from the game. Top row: Bud rides a wheelie with the front wheel high in the air, seen from the side and from the front, and a stoppie with the back wheel in the air. A label says the wheelie is held at 40 degrees and the stoppie at 25 degrees. Below, twelve small stills seen from above show a stoppie held too far: the bike tips forward over its front wheel, Bud flies over the handlebars, and bike and rider land on the ground and slide.
A wheelie, a stoppie, and a stoppie held too far: over the bars, a crash, and Bud falls as a ragdoll.
Sixteen stills from the game in a grid. The slim Bud is on fire, with flames and sparks around his head and body and dark smoke behind him. He walks up to the motorbike, swings a leg over and sits down, still burning, and then leans over the handlebars.
The fire take: Bud walks up burning and gets on. Sixteen stills, slowed down.
Tools
  • Blender
  • Rodin
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 015

Day
Day 2
Shot at
Stills
2

Day 2: the western fronts get closer to the concept art

What we did

The level is a film backlot, and part of it is a western street. The buildings on that street are fronts: a painted wall at the front, bare boards and wooden braces at the back, like on a real film set.

We updated those fronts and the props around them. The kit now has a saloon, a bank, a hotel and a general store. It also has a sound stage with Stage 12 painted on it, a water tower and a long painted backdrop with a desert and cactuses.

All the looks were made with AI, using Blender. Each model was saved, opened again in a new Blender file and photographed from the front and from the back. The grey figure in each picture is 1.80 m tall, to show the size.

Why

We are getting closer to the look of the concept art, step by step. The fronts are a big part of what you see while you ride, so they need the right colours, the right signs and the right amount of wear.

Wear is the open question. The second picture shows the saloon three times: with fresh paint, with sun-bleached paint that peels at the edges, and with a lot of bare wood. The middle one is in the level now.

A contact sheet of fourteen Blender pictures, two for each model: one from the front and one from the back. A red saloon, a cream bank, a yellow hotel and a green general store, each with a porch and a painted sign. From the back, each one is a flat wall of bare boards held up by slanted wooden braces. Then a teal sound stage with Stage 12 on the side, a red and white water tower on wooden legs, and a long painted backdrop of an orange desert with green cactuses. A small grey figure stands next to each model.
The whole kit, front and back. The buildings are only fronts, held up by braces.
The red saloon front three times, side by side, in Blender under a low sun. A, light wear: fresh paint with a little scuffing. B, as built: sun-bleached paint that peels at the edges and low down. C, heavy wear: much bare wood showing through the paint. A note says B is what stands in the lot now.
How worn should the paint be? A is light, B is in the level now, C is heavy.
Tools
  • Blender
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 014

Day
Day 2
Shot at
Stills
3

Day 2: Klaus, the AI director, gets a proper message box

What we did

Meet Klaus. Klaus is the AI director of the game: the one who runs the shoot you ride in as the stunt rider. Klaus talks to you in short written messages during a take.

Those messages have now been fixed and cleaned up. They have their own box on the screen, right under the shot list. (The shot list is the clipboard with the stunts you have to do in this take.) The box has a yellow tab with the name Klaus and a small label that says AI Director, so you always know who is talking.

The box is as wide as the shot list and lines up with it. It grows with the text, from one line to four lines. A message fades in, is typed out letter by letter, stays for a few seconds and fades away again.

Why

Klaus is a big part of the joke. The game is called Make No Mistakes, and its director is an AI with messages like "Fixed it. Now it's worse." In another one, Klaus says it added three sharks, counts one, and tells you it rounded up.

That only works if you can read the messages. You are riding at speed, so they need one fixed place, a clear name and clean text. Now they have that.

A frame from the game. Bud Sprocket rides his motorbike down the backlot towards a ramp, a burning hoop and a giant rubber duck hanging from a crane. Top left, a clapperboard reads Take 6. Top right, a clipboard with the shot list. Right under it, a dark box with a yellow border and a yellow tab that reads Klaus, with the label AI Director. The message in the box reads: Great catch! The hoop is now on fire. I also added three sharks. I count one. I rounded up.
Take 6. Klaus's message sits in its own box under the shot list.
A close-up of the top right corner of the screen. The shot list clipboard lists five stunts: Clear the bus, Through the burning hoop, Dodge the duck, Clear the shark tank, Land it. Under it, the Klaus box with a megaphone icon on its yellow tab, the label AI Director, and three lines of text in a typewriter font.
Close-up: the shot list and, under it, a three-line message from Klaus.
Another frame from the game. Bud Sprocket waits on his motorbike at the start line, with flames around him and smoke rising above him. The Klaus box under the shot list is now only one line high. The message reads: Fixed it. Now it's worse.
A short message. The box shrinks to one line.
Tools
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 013

Day
Day 2
Shot at
Stills
3

Day 2: the director's chair is in the game

What we did

The new director's chair is on the set. It replaces the chair that stood there before. It is a wooden folding chair with a dark blue canvas seat, and the word Director is on the back.

While we swapped the chair, we also fixed some small physics issues. (Physics is how objects in the game move, fall and bump into each other.)

The updates are slow, but they are progressing.

Why

The theme of the jam is Director's Cut. A game with a director's cut needs a director's chair.

Small physics issues are easy to leave for later, but players notice them. We were working on that part of the set anyway, so we fixed them in the same pass.

A wooden folding director's chair on the backlot, seen from the front. It has a dark blue canvas seat and a dark blue back with the word Director in yellow letters. Next to it stands a wooden crate with a laptop on top. Light stands and a camera cart are in the background.
The new director's chair on the set, next to a crate with a laptop.
The same director's chair seen from behind. The back of the canvas reads Director in white letters, with orange stitching around the edge. The crossed wooden legs throw a long shadow on the ground.
The chair from behind. The canvas has stitching around the edge.
Bud Sprocket, the stunt rider, leans forward on his small motorbike on the backlot. An orange traffic cone lies on its side next to him. Behind him are a row of standing cones, a light tower, a trailer and a blue tent.
Bud Sprocket rides past a traffic cone that lies on its side.
Tools
  • Blender
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 012

Day
Day 2
Shot at
Clips
1

Day 2: first gameplay footage, and the game makes its own Director's Cut

What we did

Here is the first gameplay footage: a one-minute video called The Director's Cut. It was made automatically. After you play, the game can turn your run into a video like this one, and this reel proves that the pipeline for it works. (A pipeline is the chain of steps from a recorded play session to a finished video.) It is still rough around the edges.

The reel opens on a title card: The Director's Cut. 12 attempts. 6 mistakes. All of it on film. Then it shows all twelve attempts in order, with the take and attempt number on screen. There are six takes, and each one adds something to the stunt: first only the bike and a ramp, then the school bus, then fire on the rider and the bus, then a hoop, then a giant rubber duck, and last a hoop on fire and sharks. The crashes are left in. The end card says: No mistakes were made. (6 mistakes fixed in post.)

Why

It proves the pipeline works. The game can go from a play session to a finished video without anyone editing it.

It fits the jam. The theme is Director's Cut, and here the game makes one out of your own run, mistakes included.

It is made for sharing. A one-minute reel with its own titles is easy to post on social media.

The Director's Cut: twelve attempts across six takes, in one minute. The clip has sound.
Tools
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 011

Day
Day 2
Shot at
Stills
2

Day 2: a new options screen, with the sound under your control

What we did

The options screen has been rebuilt. The old one was a rough placeholder; the new one matches the look of the rest of the game and is drawn in the game with Unreal Canvas.

The game has music and sound effects now, so the screen has three volume settings: master, music and sound FX. Music and sound FX work on their own, and master turns both up or down together. There is also a picture quality setting and a list of the controls. Your settings are saved, so they are still there the next time you start the game.

We also checked the screen at four different window sizes, from a small 1280 × 720 window to an extra-wide 2560 × 1080 one. The layout holds at all four.

Why

Sound is one of the first things players want to change. Some want the music quieter than the bike, some want no music at all, and a game that makes you set it again on every start is annoying.

The window size check is for later. The game is made for Windows PCs, but a layout that holds at different sizes and shapes means a possible mobile version in future would not have to start the menus from scratch.

The options screen of the game. A big yellow title, Options, above a dark panel with a yellow border. Under Sound: master volume 100%, music volume 70% and sound FX volume 90%, each with minus and plus buttons and a row of yellow blocks. Under Picture: quality, set to Epic. Under Controls: the keys for riding on the ground, in the air and general keys, plus the gamepad buttons. At the bottom, ESC for back.
The new options screen: three volume settings, picture quality and the controls.
The same options screen shown at four window sizes, each labelled: 1280 x 720, 2560 x 1440, 1280 x 1024 and 2560 x 1080. In every one the title, the panel and the back key stay centred and nothing is cut off.
The same screen at four window sizes, from nearly square to extra wide.
Tools
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • Unreal Canvas
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 010

Day
Day 2
Shot at
Stills
3

Day 2: the film gear on set gets real models

What we did

The backlot is a film set, so it is full of film gear: a camera crane (called a jib), lights on stands, lighting towers, a camera on rails and green screens. Until now these were rough stand-ins, and some were plain black shapes. We designed and modelled proper versions, and they are now in the level.

The camera jib has a cart with wheels, a counterweight and support cables. The Fresnel light (a spotlight with a ridged lens) has its four metal flaps. The lighting tower has a grid of lamps, and the reflector light has a white dish.

Why

You ride past this gear on every take, so it is always in the picture. A black placeholder stands out next to a finished bus and ramp. Real cameras and lights also make the place read as a film set at a glance, which is what the whole game is about.

Two pictures of the same view of the backlot, marked before and after. Before: the camera crane is a plain black shape, next to a light on a tripod, lighting towers and a green screen. After: the crane has wheels, a grey arm with cables and a counterweight, and the lights, towers and green screen have more detailed models.
The same view before and after. The black crane was a stand-in.
Four close-ups with labels. Fresnel light: a round lit lens with four dark metal flaps on a stand. Camera jib: a long dark arm with cables on a wheeled base. Light tower: a lattice mast with a grid of lamps on top. Reflector light: a white dish with three ribs on a stand.
Four of the new pieces: Fresnel light, camera jib, light tower and reflector light.
The camera jib on its four-wheeled cart in the front of the picture, at sunset. Behind it, the rider on the bike is in the air above a yellow school bus, between two wooden ramps.
The camera jib in the level, with a jump over the bus going on behind it.
Tools
  • Blender
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 009

Day
Day 2
Shot at
Stills
8

Day 2: the agents worked overnight on models and menus

What we did

The agents worked through the night. Most of that work went into 3D models and the user interface (UI). The school bus, the talent trailer, the director's chair and the wooden ramps now have new, more detailed models. The heat meter got its flames, the buttons at the end of a take got proper key caps, and the options menu was redrawn.

There were also lots of tweaks you cannot see in a picture: making sure the collision meshes work properly (those are the invisible shapes that decide what the bike hits), making the handling feel nice, and balancing the gameplay.

Why

These might seem like minor things. But getting the small details and the look and feel right makes the whole game feel nicer, more polished and more fun.

A yellow school bus with a white roof, black stripes along the side and round headlights, parked on asphalt in the Unreal level in warm evening light. A red storefront stands behind it.
The new school bus model in the level, from the front.
The same yellow school bus seen from behind, with red and orange tail lights and a rear door. A green screen, a lighting tower and a General Store front are in the background, and an orange cone is in the front corner.
The same bus from behind, with the green screen in the background.
A beige trailer with an orange and brown stripe, two air conditioning units on the roof, a door with small steps and two dark windows, parked in front of a tall wall under a yellow sky.
The talent trailer, now in the level with its stripe, steps and roof units.
Eight views of a wooden director's chair with a dark blue canvas seat and a back that reads Director: front, rear, side, from above, a close-up of the canvas stitching, and a wireframe marked 724 triangles.
The director's chair, second version: 724 triangles, stitched canvas, one material.
A sheet showing three wooden ramps, each from the top and from behind: a main ramp, a low kicker and a tall launch ramp. All have plank decks and cross-braced sides. Below them are a wireframe and the colour and surface textures.
Three wooden ramps: the main ramp, a low kicker and a tall launch ramp.
A short looping animation of a bar labelled Heat. It fills from 4 percent, marked calm, through warm and hot to 100 percent, marked critical. As it fills, flames grow along the top, the bar cracks and the label turns red.
The heat meter filling up, from calm to critical.
A before and after of the three buttons shown at the end of a take: next take, watch again and do it again. Before, they are plain white text. After, each sits in a dark button with a yellow key cap for Enter, V and R. Below are the normal, hover and pressed states.
The end-of-take buttons, before and after, with their hover and pressed states.
A design sheet for the options menu. Three mockups show a dark panel with yellow rows for master, music and sound effects volume and for quality, with plus and minus buttons. Below are all the separate button and key images, and a small picture of the older cream-coloured options screen.
The redrawn options menu and every piece it is built from. The older screen is at the bottom left.
Tools
  • Blender
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • Unreal Canvas
  • Rodin
  • Tripo
  • GPT 2.6 Images
  • fal.ai
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Day 1Nov 12

Take 008

Day
Day 1
Shot at
Stills
8

Day 1: new concept art, drawn over the real Unreal set

What we did

We made a second round of concept art. This time each shot is based on where things actually stand in the Unreal Engine level: the ramp, the school bus, the snack tent, the crash pad, the western storefronts and Bud Sprocket himself. The camera angles and the layout come from the real set, and the art shows how we want it to look.

We are using these shots to hone in on the 3D assets, the lighting, the looks and the design style. Meanwhile, another agent is still working on the gameplay mechanics.

Why

The first concept art was drawn before there was a level, so it could not show the real set. These shots match the level we have, so each one is a clear target: this is what this object, this light and this corner of the lot should look like. Doing it now means the look and the gameplay move forward at the same time.

Bud Sprocket, a small rider in a yellow helmet and brown and yellow suit, sits on an orange dirt bike on an empty asphalt lot at sunset. A row of orange cones leads away towards trailers, blue tents and western storefronts along a tall wall.
Bud at the start line, with the cone lane leading down the lot.
A close view from above of an empty wooden director's chair with a dark blue canvas seat and back, standing on cracked asphalt in warm evening light, with an orange cone behind it.
The director's chair, up close: worn wood and blue canvas.
A worn yellow school bus parked beside a tall wooden ramp on the lot, seen from behind. Cones line the lane, and storefronts marked Bank, Hotel and General Store stand in the background under a low sun.
The school bus parked by the ramp, ready to be jumped.
A wide view of the lot at sunset. A blue tent covers tables of food and drink, a film light on a tripod stands in the middle of the asphalt, and wooden crates sit on the right. Hotel, Bank and General Store fronts line the back wall.
The snack tent and a set light, with the western fronts behind.
Bud Sprocket stands on the lot with his back to us, facing a large wooden ramp. Dark smoke rises behind it. A red Saloon, a Bank and a Hotel front are on the left, and a camera crane and film lights are on the right.
Bud looks at the ramp. Something behind it is already burning.
A crane truck holds a giant yellow rubber duck in the air above the wooden ramp. Behind the ramp a school bus is on fire next to a red ring on a frame. Bud Sprocket stands small in the front corner next to a cone, with a camera crane and a green screen on the right.
The full stunt: ramp, burning bus, ring, and a giant duck on a crane.
Bud Sprocket, with a big moustache and his yellow helmet, stands next to a blue crash pad on the asphalt. Behind him a blue tent covers tables of food and coffee urns, and the corner of the wooden ramp is in the front.
Bud by the crash pad and the snack tent, after the jump.
An open laptop with a blank white screen sits on a wooden crate on the lot, in front of a wall with peeling plaster. The edge of the director's chair is on the right.
The director's laptop on a crate. The screen is blank for now.
Tools
  • GPT 2.6 Images
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 007

Day
Day 1
Shot at
Stills
3

Day 1: the first build that works. You can play it now

What we did

We have our first build that works. You can start the game, ride the bike across the backlot, hit the ramp and take the jump. It is playable from start to finish.

Getting there meant testing three things in Unreal. Fire: the school bus burns, with flames and smoke. Objects: the things that fill the set, such as the ramp, the hoop, the giant rubber duck, the cones and the director's chair. Bike mechanics: how the bike speeds up, steers, jumps and lands.

It is not that great yet. It runs and you can play it, but it is rough. So we told the AI to make no mistakes and do even better.

Why

A build you can play shows you things that plans and pictures cannot. Now we can ride it, feel what is slow or awkward or dull, and fix those things first. Getting something playable on Day 1, even a rough version, leaves the remaining days for making it good.

A tall sheet of eight pairs of pictures. In each pair the simple blocked-out version of a shot is on the left and the same shot in the Unreal build is on the right. The shots show a director's chair with a megaphone and a small rubber duck, the ramp on the backlot street with a giant rubber duck beyond it, a yellow school bus on fire with a ring hanging above it, and Bud Sprocket standing near the snack tent.
The plan on the left, the working Unreal build on the right, shot by shot. The bus really burns now.
Nine views of a film-set trailer made in Blender, in three rows. The top row shows the trailer as a yellow wireframe, the middle row as plain grey clay, and the bottom row finished in cream with an orange stripe, dark windows, a door with steps and two air units on the roof.
One of the set objects, the talent trailer, built in Blender: wireframe, clay, then painted.
Three on-screen game elements on a dark background. A clapperboard reads Take 1, Day 1 of 4, Attempt 1. A clipboard headed Shot List has four lines: Clear the bus, which is ticked, then Through the hoop, Dodge the duck and Land it. Below them is a large red button that says CUT!
On-screen pieces for the build: the take slate, the shot list and the CUT! button.
Tools
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • Unreal Canvas
  • Blender
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 006

Day
Day 1
Shot at
Stills
3

Day 1: Bud Sprocket is in the game, and we are teaching him to ride and to crash

What we did

Bud Sprocket has a body now. We used Rodin, an AI tool that builds 3D models, to generate a first version of him: the big yellow and brown helmet, the moustache, the striped suit with number 11 on the back. He is preliminary, a stand-in we can ride with today while the look settles.

He is already in Unreal, sitting on the bike. With him there, the work has moved to three things: the controls, the animations, and ragdoll tests. The controls are how the bike answers when you steer, speed up and brake. The animations are how Bud sits, leans and holds on. The ragdoll tests are what happens when it all goes wrong: we ride him into a wall on purpose, let him go limp and tumble, and check that he can get back up for the next take.

Why

The game is one rider doing one stunt again and again, so how Bud rides and how he falls is most of what you will see. We wanted a real character on the bike on Day 1, not at the end, because controls and crashes feel different with a big-headed cartoon rider than with a grey stand-in. Generating a first model with Rodin gave us that quickly, and it leaves the agents free to work on the riding and the crashing while the final look is still open. The crash matters as much as the jump: when a take goes wrong, it should be funny.

Four views of Bud Sprocket as a 3D model in a plain grey Unreal test level under a blue sky. He has a large yellow helmet with a brown stripe, a moustache, a brown and yellow striped suit and brown boots. He stands beside a red and black dirt bike, then sits on it seen from the front, the side and the back, where his suit shows the number 11.
The first Rodin model of Bud Sprocket, standing by the bike and then riding it.
Six frames from a ride test in the Unreal backlot at dusk, seen from behind Bud Sprocket on the bike. He waits on a white X mark, rides down a street of coloured set buildings with dust behind the wheel, heads for a yellow ramp, and passes a floodlight tower. Readouts in the corner show speed, RPM and gear, up to 84 Km/h. The last two frames are dark, with Bud standing next to the bike lying on its side.
Controls test on the backlot: from the start mark, down the street, toward the ramp. The readouts are test aids for us.
Twelve frames from a crash test in a grey Unreal test level. Bud Sprocket rides straight at a low white wall, hits it and is thrown off the bike with his arms and legs flailing. He lies limp on the ground beside the front wheel while his arm and leg settle, then pushes himself up onto his hands and knees.
Ragdoll test: into the wall on purpose, limp on the ground, then back up for the next take.
Tools
  • Rodin
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 005

Day
Day 1
Shot at

Day 1: the main menu buttons are real, and you can try them here

What we did

The main menu buttons are real now: clapperboards for Play, Options and Quit, made as transparent images with the clapper arm as its own layer, and you can try them right here on the page. Each button is one image of the board and one image of the arm, sitting on the same canvas, so the arm can swing on its hinge the way a real slate does before it claps.

Why

A clapperboard is the one object everyone knows from a film set, and this whole log is the Director calling every take, so the menu buttons had to be slates you could almost pick up. Keeping the arm as a separate layer means the button can open on hover, then clap shut when you press it, instead of being a flat picture. We are designing and building the interface at the same time the agents are building the bike controls, so the two tracks run side by side and more gets done in the four days.

Main menu, in the page

Hover a button, or tab to it, to lift the clapper. Click or tap to clap it shut.

This is a demo of the menu buttons, built from the concept art. They are not wired to the game yet, so nothing here starts anything.

Tools
  • GPT 2.6 Images
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • Unreal Canvas
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 004

Day
Day 1
Shot at
Stills
3

Day 1: greyboxing in two engines, and a script for the loop

What we did

We started building. The game itself is going together in Unreal Engine, where the bike already rides and the backlot is blocked out in plain shapes: ramp, light towers, crates, crew tents.

Alongside it we built a second greybox in three.js that runs in a browser tab. It is boxes and labels, on purpose. It is where we try an idea first: how fast you need to hit the ramp, what each take asks of you, what the Director says. Once an idea feels right there, it moves into Unreal.

We also wrote the overall script and flow of the game loop: the Director calls the take, Bud Sprocket rides it, and every new take adds something to the stunt. The three.js greybox already plays through it, take by take. The third picture is a concept for the main menu.

Why

Four days is not long, and trying an idea in Unreal takes longer than trying it in a browser tab. The three.js greybox lets us change a rule and ride it again in seconds, so the Unreal time goes into things we already know work. Writing the script first means both greyboxes, and everyone building, follow the same loop.

Unreal Engine greybox seen from behind a rider on a dirt bike heading up a wide yellow ramp. Around it are blocked-out crates, barrels, light towers, a camera crane, a green screen and crew tents. Readouts in the corner show Speed 89 Km/h, RPM 4,514, Gear 5.
The Unreal greybox: the bike rides, the backlot is blocked out.
A grey three.js test scene. A simple block rider with a yellow helmet rides down a dark lane toward shapes labelled Launch Ramp, Landing Ramp, Bus, Camera and Director (never seen). Panels read Take 2 / 6, + Bus, Attempt 1, with a goal list and a line from the Director: I've had an idea. A bus. My idea. Jump the bus, Bud. A speed readout sits at the bottom.
The three.js greybox on Take 2: the Director adds a bus. The readouts are test aids for us.
Main menu concept at golden hour. A marquee sign with light bulbs reads Make No Mistakes above a wooden stunt ramp. Bud Sprocket leans on his yellow number 11 dirt bike with his arms crossed. Clapperboard buttons read Play, Options and Quit.
Main menu concept: the marquee, the ramp, and Bud with his number 11 bike.
Tools
  • Unreal Engine 5.9
  • three.js
  • GPT 2.6 Images
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 003

Day
Day 1
Shot at
Stills
7

Day 1: concept art, the whole loop on paper

What we did

A brainstorm round of concept frames that walk through one full run of the game, start to finish. The backlot from above, with the cone lanes, ramps and set pieces laid out. A four-panel intro: empty chair, "Action!", Bud Sprocket buckling his helmet, wheels spinning. Take 1 in the air with the HUD on. The director yelling "Cut!" while the next take gets rewritten on the clipboard. Takes 1, 3, 6 and 10 side by side, as the stunt grows from a plain ramp to a school bus, a ring of fire and a shark in a paddling pool. A crash through craft services with the score slate. And the wrap: arm in a sling, trophy in hand, red carpet.

These are explorations, not final art. Some of them will change once the game is playable.

Why

Make No Mistakes lives or dies on the loop: ride, get cut, get a stranger prompt, ride again. Sketching every beat of that loop before we build it shows where the screens and moments are, and gives the build days one picture to aim at.

An overhead view of the stunt backlot at golden hour: a long asphalt lot with dashed lanes and rows of traffic cones, a wooden ramp, a yellow school bus, trailers, a crash mat, western storefronts, light towers, and palm trees beyond the perimeter wall. A white X marks the start.
The backlot from above: lanes, cones, ramps, and the start mark.
A four-panel storyboard on the backlot: an empty director's chair before the ramp; a megaphone shouting Action!; a close-up of Bud Sprocket fastening his helmet strap with a squint; Bud on his number 99 dirt bike, rear wheel kicking up dust at the foot of the ramp.
Intro storyboard: chair, Action!, helmet on, go.
Bud Sprocket mid-air on his dirt bike off a wooden platform, the western set and stage lights behind him. On-screen HUD: Scene 1 - Take 1 top left, a REC 00:12 timer top right, a 58 MPH speedometer bottom left, and Style 1250 bottom right.
Take 1 in the air, with a first pass at the HUD.
Framed by film sprockets, Bud flies over the ramp as a megaphone blasts a big red CUT! A clipboard in the foreground has Take 2: Same Jump crossed out and rewritten as But The Ramp Is On Fire, with a lit sparkler beside it.
The Cut beat: the director rewrites the next take.
Four tall panels labelled Take 1, Take 3, Take 6 and Take 10. Bud jumps a plain ramp, then a school bus, then through a flaming ring off a burning ramp, then over a shark in a paddling pool surrounded by rubber chickens, confetti, fireworks and a hot-air balloon.
The escalation ladder: Take 1, 3, 6 and 10.
Bud crashes sideways into a craft services table, sending donuts, coffee and sandwiches flying while his bike tumbles behind him. A clapperboard slate on the right reads Take 6, Style 8400, Air 3.2s, with buttons for Print It! and One More Take.
Crash and results: Print it, or one more take.
Night on the backlot under string lights. Bud, his arm in a sling, holds a gold trophy on a red carpet next to his scuffed number 99 bike. Behind him a big screen replays the flaming-ramp jump above a marquee reading That's a Wrap, with film reels and popcorn nearby.
That's a wrap: the ending screen.
Tools
  • GPT 2.6 Images
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Take 002

Day
Day 1
Shot at
Stills
2

Day 1: Bud Sprocket steps onto the set

What we did

Two more look-and-feel frames. One shows Bud Sprocket, our stunt rider, on the backlot: helmet under his arm, ramp behind him, his own director's chair waiting. The other pulls back to the full soundstage, with a crew dressing a western set, a camera on a crane and a dolly track, and a director watching the monitor.

They set the tone: warm golden-hour light, chunky toy-like characters, and a film set that's in on the joke.

Why

Make No Mistakes is about a stunt being reshot until it gets ridiculous, so the set and the crew are part of the game, not just the rider. Pinning that down now gives the build days one shared picture to work toward.

Bud Sprocket, a stocky cartoon stunt rider with a big mustache in a brown-and-mustard leather suit, stands on a golden-hour film backlot holding his helmet. Behind him are a tall wooden stunt ramp and studio lights; beside him is a director's chair and a clapperboard.
Bud Sprocket on the backlot: helmet off, ramp up, chair waiting.
A wide view of a soundstage dressed as a western town under a painted desert backdrop. Crew members build sets and push gear, a camera sits on a crane and another on a dolly track, and Bud Sprocket stands on his mark while a director in a folding chair watches him on a monitor.
The full set: crew, crane, dolly track, and the director watching the monitor.
Tools
  • GPT 2.6 Images
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Day 0Nov 11

Take 001

Day
Day 0
Shot at
Stills
2

Day 0: first brainstorm, scouts out

What we did

The clock started at 11:00 PM Pacific. We opened with our first brainstorm on Make No Mistakes, a stunt game for the jam's Director's Cut theme, and sent the agents out on exploratory work. Tonight is for looking around, not building yet.

Part of the brainstorm was look and feel. The two frames here came out of it: a stunt rider, and the backlot he works on.

Why

Four days is short. Exploring before we commit means the build days start with a direction instead of a guess. The bikes are the one piece we start from: the Advanced Bikes asset from FAB, declared at the bottom of this page.

A cartoon film backlot at golden hour: a tall wooden stunt ramp, film lights on stands, a director's chair, a clapperboard in a crate, traffic cones, and a painted desert backdrop.
Look-and-feel exploration: the backlot at golden hour, ramp up, lights on.
Character turnaround of Bud Sprocket, a stocky toy-like stunt rider with a mustache, mustard-and-brown helmet and leather suit with the number 99 on the back, shown front, side, back and three-quarter, with five colour swatches.
Look-and-feel exploration: Bud Sprocket, stunt rider, in four views with his colours.
Tools
  • FAB
  • GPT 6 Astra
  • Fable 5.2

Declared

Epic asks entrants to declare anything published before the build window opened. One asset we use was, and the jam allows it.

Prompts, scripts and assets published before the build window opened
ItemTypeMadeMade byUsed for
Advanced Bikes Asset Before the window Third party, published on FAB Bikes for Make No Mistakes. Published on FAB before the window; the jam allows it.