The goal wasn’t to be productive. It was to find some peace in the craft. I used AI as a collaborator, and for the first time in a while it didn’t feel like a replacement or a threat. It felt like a friend that let me stay focused on the parts I love: how the ship feels to steer, how a rock splits, how a beep lands. There’s a strange, calm satisfaction in using today’s tools to recreate the glowing lines of an early-’80s arcade cabinet.