At the recent No Slop Hackathon, dozens of developers, artists, and AI builders came together with one shared goal: to push the boundaries of what’s possible when humans and models co-create.
Unlike traditional hackathons, No Slop wasn’t about who could code the fastest — it was about who could think the most creatively. “No Slop” became both a challenge and a mindset: to generate with intention, design with taste, and build things people actually want to play and share.
A Community of Builders and Creatives
The event was part of Rosebud AI’s new No Slop Hackathon series, bringing together a creative community of AI-native builders. It brought together a vibrant mix of creators, powered by generous support from across the AI ecosystem.
Freepik generously provided their beautiful office space for the hackathon, creating an inspiring setting for collaboration. Fal kept creativity fueled with lunch, while ElevenLabs offered credits for builders experimenting with voice and character design. Matcha sponsored the cash prizes that helped turn ideas into tangible next steps, and Rosebud AI, as the official game creation platform, enabled participants to go from concept to prototype — directly in the browser.
The judging panel represented a cross-section of virality, creativity, and technical expertise:
- Mahati Kumar (Meta) – games & community growth strategist
- Andi Bucescu (Rosebud AI) – vibe coding, virality, and AI-native games advocate
- Enrique Lopez Lopez (Freepik) – design and visual storytelling expert
- Illia Kasian (Matcha) – AI founder and supporter or the builder community
- Jason Agbebabku (Rosebud AI) – special nomination judge for technical innovation
Winners received 1 million Rosebud credits each, with $500 for first place and $250 for second from Matcha — a nod to the idea that the next wave of great games can start as small weekend experiments.
The Games That Were Created
The energy in the room was electric. In just one afternoon, participants built working prototypes that felt alive, viral, and full of potential.
🥇 1st Place: Echo Seeker
This team nailed the art of replicating the addictive loops of Roblox-style quest games — complete with collectible items, evolving environments, and multiplayer potential. Their game struck the perfect balance between simplicity and shareability, making it a natural fit for viral growth. Players were instantly hooked, and the judges noted its potential as a framework for scalable social gameplay.
🥈 2nd Place: Shadowfall
A sleek, visually stunning arcade-style experience, Solar Rush stood out for its high production polish. The team used Rosebud’s vibe coding tools to auto-generate their cutscenes, power-ups, and level art, resulting in a game that looked like it came straight out of a professional studio. It was simple, addictive, and beautifully executed — a testament to what small teams can do when design intuition meets AI generation.
🥉 3rd Place: Floppy Capybara
Playful. Silly. Unforgettable. This team leaned into the chaos of internet virality, reviving a beloved meme in the form of a floppy physics-based capybara simulator. The humor, combined with genuinely satisfying gameplay, made it a crowd favorite. Judges praised it for tapping into cultural familiarity and remixing it with modern, physics-driven fun.
🎖 Special Nomination: Talk it Out!
Awarded by Rosebud’s Jason Agbebabku, this project integrated AI-powered chat systems into everyday life scenarios. Think of it as a comic slice-of-life simulation that reacts dynamically to player dialogue. The team combined emotional nuance with procedural logic, showing how generative tools can enhance narrative realism in subtle ways.
Honorable Mentions
Two other projects pushed the boundaries of strategy and systems thinking:
- Valorbound – a generative card game blending storytelling and resource management.
- Apex Rising – a real-time battle simulator where AI-controlled units evolve through reinforcement learning.
Both have strong potential for deeper gameplay development and showcase how even complex genres like strategy can benefit from fast iteration tools.
Where We’re Headed
The No Slop Hackathon is just the beginning. This was the first in a growing series of Rosebud AI-led hackathons designed to celebrate intentional creation and showcase what’s possible when humans and models build together. It was a glimpse into the future of intentional AI creation. Builders used multiple generative tools in tandem, integrating models from Freepik, ElevenLabs, and Rosebud into cohesive, playable experiences. The result: a living ecosystem where creators don’t just consume AI outputs but orchestrate them into something expressive.
We’re already seeing new teams spin up from this event, new projects evolving from prototypes, and new collaborations forming across communities. This was just the first of many to come.
At Rosebud, we believe in democratizing creation: making it possible for anyone to move from idea to playable prototype in hours, not months.
So we’ll leave you with one question:
What can YOU make in a few hours?
👉 Try building your first vibe-coded game today at rosebud.ai, and share your creations with us on Discord.
Andi Bucescu
Andi is a marketer at Rosebud, where she writes about the intersection of AI, creativity, and brand storytelling. She explores how generative AI is reshaping marketing strategies and creative workflows, with a focus on making complex technology accessible and cutting through the noise of modern campaigns. Her perspective is informed by undergraduate research on effective social media content and consumer psychology.