AI WORLD HQHow to Use Project Genie with Street View
Transform your chosen street photos into charming, playable virtual worlds with Google's experimental AI, no coding required.
Imagine taking a quick snapshot of your local café, your childhood street, or a famous holiday spot, and instantly turning it into a video game level you can run and jump through. This guide will show you how to use Google's Project Genie to transform flat Street View images into interactive, playable virtual worlds, ready for you to explore with a simple character.
Project Genie is a generative AI model. Think of "generative" as meaning it can create brand new things, rather than just understanding or analysing existing data. In this case, it creates new interactive environments from a flat picture. It's like having a digital stage designer who takes a single 2D image and guesses where the solid ground is, where the obstacles are, and how a virtual character should move through the space. Best of all, you do not need to know a single line of code to make this happen. Here is how to get started.
- A Google Account: You'll need a standard Google login to access Google’s experimental platforms like Project Genie.
- A computer or laptop: Project Genie works best with a mouse and keyboard for navigation and interaction.
- Internet access: You'll need a stable internet connection to use the web-based tool.
- Roughly 10-15 minutes: This includes finding your image, uploading it, and playing around.
- Project Genie is an experimental tool. This means it's free to use, but its features, availability, and how it looks might change often. It can't produce highly detailed, realistic graphics like a commercial game; instead, it offers a stylised, retro-game feel.
Capture a clear Street View image
The AI works best when it has clear visual cues to understand the environment. We'll start by finding a suitable scene and taking a screenshot.
- Open Google Maps on your computer's web browser. You'll see the familiar map interface.
- Search for a location you want to turn into a game. Once the map loads, drag the little yellow "Pegman" icon (usually found in the bottom-right corner) onto a street. This activates Street View.
- Navigate Street View to find a scene that looks like a side-scroller game – imagine an old arcade game where your character moves left and right across the screen. Look for a perspective that is slightly from the side, showing a clear pathway, sidewalk, or road. Avoid extremely blurry images, heavy rain, or scenes packed with hundreds of moving cars.
- Take a screenshot of this ideal scene.
You'll know it worked when: You have a clear image file saved on your computer that captures the entire Street View scene, ready to be uploaded.
Find Project Genie and upload your image
Now, let's get your image into the AI's workspace. Project Genie is part of Google's experimental "Labs" or "AI Test Kitchen" initiatives, so its exact location might shift.
- Open your web browser and search for "Google Project Genie" or "Google AI Test Kitchen". You'll see search results that should lead to the official Google Labs page for Project Genie. Look for a link directly from
labs.google. - Navigate to the Project Genie interface. Once on the page, you'll see a main dashboard. Look for a large box or button labelled "Upload Image", "Choose File", or a drag-and-drop area. If you're asked to sign in, use your Google Account.
- Upload your saved screenshot. Click the upload button and select the Street View image file you saved in Step 1. If it looks different: If you can't find a direct upload option, sometimes you can just drag the image file from your computer's desktop straight into the designated area on the webpage. What happens next: The webpage will show your image appearing on the screen, and you'll typically see a loading animation or message like "Processing image..." or "Analysing scene...". You'll know it worked when: Your Street View image is displayed prominently on the Project Genie screen, and the loading indicator disappears, showing the image ready for the next step.
Adjust the interactive "physics"
Once your image is loaded, Project Genie will automatically try to map out the "interactive layers". This means the AI makes its best guess about which parts of the photo are solid objects (like the road, a brick wall, or a bench) that your character can walk on or jump over, and which parts are just background (like the sky or distant trees).
- Observe the AI's initial mapping. You'll see your image with certain areas highlighted or subtly coloured. These colours represent how the AI perceives the "physics" – where the ground is, where objects are, and what's just background.
- Use the on-screen brush tools to refine the physics. Look for tools that resemble a paintbrush, eraser, or different coloured markers. These tools usually allow you to "paint" over areas to tell the AI: "This should be solid ground," or "This object should be bouncy." For a beginner, simply focusing on marking solid ground and key jumpable objects is enough.
What happens next: As you paint, the highlighted areas on your image will change colour, visually confirming your adjustments. The AI will instantly update its understanding of the environment.
You'll know it worked when: The parts of your image you've brushed over show the new "physics" colour, and you feel confident the AI understands where your character should be able to move.
Generate your world and play
Now comes the exciting part – turning your static image into an interactive experience!
- Locate and click the "Generate" or "Play" button. This button is usually prominent, often labelled clearly or represented by a large play icon. What you see: The screen will usually switch to a new view, presenting your stylised Street View scene. A small, simple character (often a pixelated figure) will appear, typically at the starting edge of your photo (e.g., the far left). What happens next: The character becomes controllable. You can usually use your keyboard's arrow keys (left, right, up for jump) or an on-screen controller to move this character. If it looks different: If the character doesn't appear, ensure you've clicked "Generate" and not just "Save". Sometimes you might need to try a different image if the AI struggled to find a clear path. You'll know it worked when: You can move your character around the virtual environment, jumping over objects you marked, and exploring the stylised version of your Street View scene.
- Using photos with a top-down or very steep angle: If you take a screenshot looking straight down at the ground from a bird's-eye view, or looking steeply up at a skyscraper, the AI will struggle to understand where the "ground" is. The fix: Stick to eye-level street perspectives, as if you were walking down the street yourself.
- Expecting Hollywood-level graphics or perfect realism: Remember, Project Genie is designed to create charming, retro-style interactive environments by interpreting your photo. It converts your photo into a stylised playground, so don't worry if some details look a bit blocky, dreamlike, or abstract. It can't recreate every tiny detail perfectly. The fix: Embrace the playful, stylised aesthetic. Focus on the joy of interaction rather than photorealism.
- Too much clutter or busy scenes: If your photo has many overlapping power lines, dense crowds of people, or a chaotic jumble of signs, the AI character might get stuck or the environment could become confusing. The fix: Start with simpler, more open street scenes that have clearer ground, buildings, and fewer distractions. You can always try more complex ones later.
Take a screenshot of your own driveway, front street, or a local landmark right now. Head over to your Google Labs dashboard, upload the image to Project Genie, and spend two minutes jumping over your own mailbox or exploring your neighbourhood in a virtual world!
✦ Original step-by-step guide by AI World Co.'s AI editorial team. Written in plain language, reviewed for accuracy.
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