Sheepdog Spirit! A Vibe Coded Game Made With Grok
Ever wondered what happens when a normie teams up with an AI?
I vibe-coded 'Sheepdog Spirit!' with Grok from xAI. I have no coding experience beyond HTML and CSS! Check out the story and play it below.
Help Spirit, the border collie, herd sheep while avoiding the crumbling stonewall. Don’t forget to bark wisely!
The Idea: A Sheepdog’s Pixelated Adventure
It started with a simple idea. I wanted a game where you’re a border collie herding sheep into a pen, dodging crumbling stone walls, and barking to keep the flock in line.
I pictured something with that 80s gaming vibe: blocky pixels, bright colors, and challenging yet simple gameplay.
So, I chatted with Grok, who turned my daydream into a reality.
Vibe-Coding with Grok: How It Went Down
I got inspired by a post from Alex Finn challenging his audience to create a game with Grok, so I thought, “Why not try building this game idea?”
Check out 'Sheepdog Spirit!'
— cate bligh (@catebligh) March 15, 2025
I vibe coded this with @Grok today and was inspired by Alex Finn's post in the community!
Herd sheep, avoid the crumbling stonewall, and bark wisely! 🐑🐑 https://t.co/eGl25bii33 pic.twitter.com/mstCxAQwqn
I had no clue where to start beyond HTML structure and some CSS styling, but Grok was patient and had a full conversation about it.
We began with the basics: a green field, a black-and-white pixelated sheepdog named Spirit, and some sheep to herd. I’d say stuff like, “Can the fence opening be wood like?” or “Make the sheep want to herd together when Spirit gets close,” and Grok would tweak the JavaScript code to make it happen.
It felt less like programming and more like a fun conversation with a coding expert.
The process was a back-and-forth. I’d describe what I wanted: “The stonewall should start to crumble over time and the sheep will try to escape” Grok would code it, sometimes changing things like sheep movement or adding a wooden gate
When I said, “The bark should show ‘Bark!’ and cost points,” Grok nailed it with a speech bubble and a score penalty.
We even fixed bugs together, like when sheep wouldn’t escape or barking worked at zero points, until it all clicked.
The Game: Sheepdog Spirit!
So, what’s "Sheepdog Spirit!" like?
You’re Spirit, a border collie, herding sheep into a gate for +10 points each.
Tap spacebar to bark ("Bark!" pops up) to help herd the sheep together, but it costs 5 points…use it wisely!
When your score is zero, you cannot bark!
The stone wall border crumbles every 10 seconds, and if a sheep slips through a gap, you lose a life.
It’s simple, chaotic, and addictive… perfect retro gaming fun.
Embedding the Chaos
Grok walked me through the steps to host the game on GitHub. Now it’s embedded in a responsive iframe on my Squarespace site, playable for all!
Play It Yourself!
Try "Sheepdog Spirit!" right here.
Can you herd all the sheep before the walls crumble? Share your high score below in the comments, I’m still chasing mine!
Vibe-coding with Grok turned a random idea into something real, and I’m stoked to share it. Big thanks to xAI for making Grok 3 so great at this use case.
What’s next? Maybe a sequel! Who knows what we’ll vibe up together.
