A retro arcade fighting game… built in half a day with GitHub Copilot.
mITyFighter is my tiny, chaotic love letter to classic 2D arcade fighters.
Not “balanced esports-ready combat”…
More like: pixel punches, dramatic sound effects, mobile buttons, and pure nostalgic violence in the browser.
And yes — the whole thing was prototyped in half a day, including:
- fighting mechanics
- mobile controls
- sound
- sprites
- basic visualization
- arcade vibes
- deployment via GitHub Pages
Play it now
Live game:
https://janvanwassenhove.github.io/mITyFighter/
The experiment: Half-a-day game dev with Copilot
This started as a speedrun experiment:
How far can you push a fully playable arcade game in one afternoon, using rapid iteration and GitHub Copilot as your co-pilot?
Copilot helped accelerate the implementation of:
- UI layout and input handling
- game loop structure
- collision and hit detection basics
- animation control and frame logic
- the unglamorous glue code that normally eats your time
It didn’t replace thinking — but it did remove friction.
Which is exactly what you want when building something fast and fun.
Mobile controls included
mITyFighter supports touch controls, so you can play on:
- phone
- tablet
- anything with a browser and enough determination
The controls are arcade-style and built for quick interaction:
- movement
- action buttons
- instant feedback
Sprites and arcade-style visuals
The game is intentionally lightweight and retro:
- simple sprite animation
- readable silhouettes
- quick feedback when you land hits
- visuals focused on clarity over realism
It’s not a AAA fighter.
It’s the kind of game you’d find in a weird arcade corner and remember forever.
Sound and game feel
No good punch exists without sound.
So the game includes audio feedback for actions and hits — because the difference between “demo” and “arcade chaos” is often just one good sound effect.
Tech and tools
Built as a lightweight web game so it’s easy to run, tweak, and deploy.
- GitHub Copilot (main speed boost)
- HTML / CSS / JavaScript
- sprite animation logic
- mobile control overlay
- deployed using GitHub Pages
