Cleverlike × Bitmagic at Highland High: 15 students, 2,532 AI prompts, 8 shipped games
Through Cleverlike's CTE Workforce Partnership Program, a class of 15 high school students at Highland High in North Highlands, California stepped into Bitmagic's AI-first game engine — and walked out with eight original, browser-playable 3D games. Six finished the full program, got paid as student developers, and gave Bitmagic top marks across the board.
The cohort, end to end
Workforce programs are funnels. Here's how Highland High's CTE Game Design class actually moved through Bitmagic.
Between them, the cohort wrote 2,532 prompts — and turned them into eight original, browser-playable 3D games. The students who saw the program through earned $500 each.
The program
Cleverlike's High School CTE Workforce Partnership Program pairs students with real-world creative tools, real instructors, and real paychecks. The Highland High cohort spent a month inside Bitmagic's AI-first game engine, starting from nothing and ending with original, playable 3D games.
Students arrived with no requirement of prior coding or 3D experience. Instead of writing engine code, they described what they wanted in plain English and iterated alongside Bitmagic's AI — designing levels, scripting behavior, building NPCs, and tuning game feel through prompts.
"The opportunity to use Bitmagic's AI-based game development platform has expanded students' knowledge of game design while developing the critical skills of understanding and incorporating generative AI into their work. They were grateful to have this unique opportunity with such an innovative new tool." — Brian Dickman, President, Cleverlike
The eight games students shipped
Eight students. Eight original 3D games. Every one playable in a browser, on the live Bitmagic platform.
Vertical parkour through an abandoned city — jump, climb, and time your way to the top of the world across rooftops, scaffolding, and floating platforms.
Play in browser →An eight-lap F1 race with drafting, slipstream physics, working pit stops, tire and fuel life, defensive AI drivers, and a cosmetics & upgrades store.
Play in browser →A quest-driven exploration game with a touch of horror — harvest ingredients in a dark fantasy forest, craft cures, and uncover the ending you've shaped.
Play in browser →A multi-level obstacle course in space with selectable difficulty, power-ups, a ticking countdown, music, sound, and a cinematic cutscene on completion.
Play in browser →You wake up as a repair drone with three minutes to save a collapsing building — find the keycard, recover three color-coded fuses, and stabilize the wire panels before the timer runs out.
Play in browser →Collect scattered keycards and escape the map while a hunter — and five rival NPCs — race for the same limited doors.
Play in browser →An atmospheric after-dark exploration game built and shipped with Bitmagic during the Highland High cohort.
Play in browser →A game of 8-ball pool, built and shipped on Bitmagic during the Highland High cohort.
Play in browser →What the completers told us
We surveyed every student who finished the program. Six completed — and the numbers were unusually consistent.
- 6 of 6 rated their enjoyment of working with Bitmagic a perfect 5 / 5.
- 6 of 6 would recommend Bitmagic to their friends.
- 6 of 6 want to keep building on the platform.
- 6 of 6 rated their experience with the Cleverlike team a perfect 10 / 10.
- Average satisfaction with Bitmagic among completers: 8.7 / 10.
In the students' own words
"Bitmagic was super fun. It was cool to see AI could create games for you and produce whatever you told it. Very unique and was something new for sure." — JaMarr
"I loved working in Bitmagic because it helped me gain experience in the game design world. Another thing I think is great was that we got to experience this even though other people can't access this." — Michael
"I really enjoyed creating games in Bitmagic. It was fun being able to turn my ideas into a playable game by using prompts and making changes along the way. I learned how important level design, testing, and problem solving are in game development." — Jaxson
"The fact that all I needed to use it was vision and problem solving skills was something that I loved about the platform. Testing out my prompts and seeing the AI succeed at executing them was something that I found fulfilling. However, seeing the AI make mistakes and finding ways to either fix it or work around it was something that I enjoyed more." — Jasmine
"I liked how it took my ideas and was actually able to create it." — Janelle
What students valued most
Across every survey, the same themes showed up: creative confidence, problem solving, and a head start on a career.
"This experience can benefit me in the future by opening doors to opportunities in technology, game development, and other creative industries. It gave me hands-on experience creating a project from start to finish and helped me build skills that employers and colleges value, such as creativity, problem solving, communication, and persistence." — Jaxson
"I learned that game creation is different in multiple ways. I learned you have support while you're making them, I learned that your problems are not just your problems and there is likely more that have the problem you're having." — JaMarr
"During this experience, I learned that AI can't entirely get rid of creativity in game design and art, and that problem solving is central to game design." — Jasmine
What we're taking back to the engine
Real students, building real games on a live platform, surface real issues — and the feedback was the most valuable part of the program for us. Students asked for fewer bugs in generated content, smoother performance on larger projects, and more direct control over cutscenes, animations, and editor tools like copy/paste and custom asset imports. Each item is now a tracked improvement on the Bitmagic roadmap.
The partners
North Highlands, California — CTE Game Design class, instructor Dennis Weaver.
Brian Dickman (President), Ian Southwell (Creative Director), and Erik Leitner (Education Content Producer) led the cohort.
Want to run a program like this?
Bitmagic is the world's first AI-first game engine — designed so anyone with an idea and a browser can ship a real 3D game. If you're an educator, district, or workforce program looking to give your students a head start in AI-assisted creative work, we'd love to hear from you.