Many DDNet bot agents running through a 2D platformer level

Unsuccessfully training AI to play my favorite childhood game nobody ever heard of

I trained 1,500 parallel bots to play DDNet, a cooperative 2D platformer with grappling hooks, freeze mechanics, and maps that take actual players hours to complete. This is what it looks like: In this video you can see my army encroaching agents running through the initial section of a Tutorial map that teaches basic movements and adds difficulty incrementally. It’s designed for someone who’s never played before, lends itself well for reinforcement learning. ...

March 25, 2026 · 8 min · Daniel Bösch