Pick a topic, and a few minutes later you have a vertical short: satisfying gameplay running full screen, a clean diagram or photo popping in exactly when it is mentioned, bold word by word captions, a natural voiceover, and snappy transition sound effects. That is the gameplay explainer, the format that turned dry facts into some of the most replayed shorts on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Reels, and the Gameplay Explainer recipe on EmpirioLabs ships the whole thing from one short brief.
It works because of how attention holds on short video. The looping gameplay in the background keeps the eyes busy while the voiceover does the teaching, the captions carry the words for sound off viewers, and each pop in image gives the brain a fresh visual on the beat. You bring the topic. Everything else, the script, the voice, the images, the captions, the gameplay loop, and the final render, is generated and stitched for you.
See it in action
What you need
Just a topic. Type something like "why the sky is blue" or "how noise cancelling headphones work", or paste your own exact script if you want it read word for word. Pick a gameplay background style, choose a caption look, and generate. No footage, no editing software, no timeline.
How to make a gameplay explainer video
1. Open the Compose tab
In the EmpirioLabs playground, open Templates and switch to the Compose tab, then choose Gameplay Explainer.
2. Enter your topic
Add a short brief, or switch to Script to paste your own words. The AI writes a punchy, accurate script with a strong hook on the first line.
3. Pick a gameplay background
Choose the background style: blocky parkour, an endless runner, open world driving, an obstacle course, a marble run, and more. Each one is an original generated loop, so it plays clean behind your narration.
4. Choose captions and generate
Pick a caption style, keep sound effects on for the transition whooshes, and generate. You get an editable storyboard first, then the finished vertical video.
Using the gameplay explainer via the API
The same recipe is on the API. Submit a plan, review the storyboard, then render.
curl https://api.empiriolabs.ai/v1/videos/compose \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $EMPIRIOLABS_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"recipe": "gameplay-explainer",
"mode": "plan",
"brief": "Why your phone battery drains faster in the cold",
"gameplay_style": "subway-runner"
}'The response returns a job you poll at /v1/jobs/{id} for the storyboard. Send the storyboard back with "mode": "render" to get the final MP4.
Tarification
Compose bills per generation step at the normal EmpirioLabs rates for the models it uses: the script, the voiceover, the images, and the captions, with no separate template fee. You only pay for what each video actually generates.
Try the gameplay explainer now
Open the Gameplay Explainer in the EmpirioLabs playground, or browse every recipe on the generation templates page. Full API details are in the EmpirioLabs documentation.
