I Built a Game, an App, and a Website with Google's Gemini 3 – Here’s What Happened
Artificial Intelligence is moving fast, and Google’s latest model, Gemini 3, claims to be the most powerful AI out there right now. It promises to do almost anything digitally—from building apps and games to designing full websites.
To put these claims to the test, I decided to try building three complex projects from scratch using Gemini 3’s Canvas tool. Here is how it went.
1. Building a Retro Game ("Force Commando")
First up, I wanted to recreate a classic 90s-style experience: a clone of Contra Force.
The Prompt:
I asked Gemini to “Create a retro run-and-gun platformer inspired by Contra Force, using only publicly available or free-to-use assets. The game should feature side-scrolling action, pixel-art characters, fast-paced shooting mechanics, multiple enemy types, and boss battles. Include power-ups, different weapon upgrades, and destructible obstacles. Use open-source sounds, sprites, and backgrounds from platforms like OpenGameArt or itch.io (only assets that allow free commercial use). The gameplay should feel responsive, with smooth animations, jump-and-shoot controls, and classic 8-bit/16-bit retro effects. Provide level design ideas, character abilities, enemy patterns, and suggestions for suitable free assets.”
The Result:
Gemini didn't just give me text; it wrote the code and immediately launched a playable preview of a game it titled "Force Commando."
It Worked: The game was fully functional. I could move with arrow keys, jump with 'Z', and fire with 'X'.
The Experience: It was genuinely playable. While I struggled a bit with the controls (I played like a "noob"), the mechanics of running, jumping, and shooting enemies were all there.
2. Building a Photoshop Alternative
Next, I tried something more utility-focused: a web-based image editor similar to Photoshop.
The Prompt:
“Create a Photoshop-like image editing application using only publicly available or free-to-use UI assets and open-source libraries. The app should support essential features such as layers, brushes, eraser, color picker, selection tools, filters (blur, sharpen, brightness/contrast), transform tools, and undo/redo. Use clean, modern UI elements from free UI kits or open-source design systems. Implement the editor using open-source frameworks and libraries (example: PixiJS, Fabric.js, Photopea-style canvas editing, or open-source image-processing algorithms). The layout should resemble a simplified Photoshop interface with a top toolbar, side panels, and a central canvas. Include suggestions for suitable free UI assets, icons, and libraries that allow commercial use.”
The Result:
Gemini generated a functional image editor right in the browser.
Features: It included a working brush tool (with size adjustment), text insertion, and shape tools like rectangles.
Advanced Edits: Once I uploaded an image, the filters worked perfectly. I could apply blur, adjust contrast, and change brightness.
Layers: It even supported a layer system, allowing me to move elements to the front or back.
3. Building a Modern Website Theme
Finally, I wanted to replace a paid theme I use for my blog.
The Prompt:
“Create a modern, responsive, and lightweight Blogger theme using clean HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. The theme should load fast, follow SEO best practices, and use only publicly available or free-to-use assets. Design it with a minimalist layout, smooth spacing, and a mobile-first structure. Include features like a sticky header, sidebar widgets, breadcrumbs, related posts, social share buttons, and a clean homepage with post cards. The theme should support Blogger’s widgets (comments, search, labels, archive), schema markup, and dark/light mode toggle. Make sure the code is well-organized, easy to customize, and optimized for Core Web Vitals. Provide suggestions for color palettes, typography, and open-source icon sets.”
The Result:
Gemini created a clean, professional-looking theme that included a dark mode—a feature I specifically love. It looked just as good as the paid theme I was using, proving that you can now generate unique, high-quality website templates in seconds.
Final Thoughts:
While I might still use ChatGPT for specific text-based tasks, Gemini 3 feels significantly ahead for building and coding. It’s powerful, fast, and essentially does the heavy lifting for you. If you are looking to create digital tools without needing to be an expert coder, Gemini 3 is currently the model to beat.
I’ve also made a video on this topic — you can watch it below.
Check out my other posts, I post useful tutorials and tech tips, maybe you will find something useful 😉.