Adam Prusinowski
ABOUT
Pluck Em! started as a small 12-hour experiment and gradually grew into a full arcade shooter inspired by classics like Duck Hunt. I built it around short, replayable runs, escalating waves, boss fights, gadgets, different locations and online leaderboards. The game combines retro pixel-art presentation with modern roguelite ideas and is still being actively developed. In 2026, Pluck Em! won the Gaming category at the Runway AI Festival. You can try the free demo on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4859830/Pluck_Em/
SELECTED FRAMES — 7 OF 8
PROCESS
Pluck Em! started as a 12-hour experiment to see how far I could take a simple game idea using modern AI-assisted tools. The first version was intentionally small: one location, a basic shooting loop and just enough content to test whether the concept was actually fun. Once the core worked, I started expanding it piece by piece. New weapons, enemies, bosses, locations, gadgets and progression systems were added through a constant cycle of prototyping, testing, throwing things away and rebuilding them when they didn’t feel right. AI was part of the workflow rather than an automatic “make the game” button. I used it to help with coding, concept exploration, graphics, animation and music, but most outputs needed direction, selection and multiple iterations before they were usable. Some ideas worked almost immediately; others went through dozens of versions or were dropped completely. A big part of the process became keeping everything visually and mechanically consistent as the project grew. Assets were edited, regenerated or rebuilt when they didn’t fit the game, mechanics were repeatedly rebalanced, and entire environments and encounters changed as I learned what worked in actual gameplay. What began as a tiny experiment gradually turned into a much larger arcade game — and the process is still very iterative today.
Credits
More Experimental Work
Desert Alchemy: Rinah at Sunset
Rinah Katherine
Selfies of History
Elliot Quartz
Celebrity Mortal Kombat
Elliot Quartz