A solo builder spent $3,000 in Claude Code to finish one game.

The r/ClaudeAI post drew 1,354 upvotes and 173 comments. Self-reported and unaudited, but bracket it against Willison's measured $23.28 for a 52-minute one-shot session and the shape becomes clear: sustained iteration is where the money goes, not generation. First drafts are cheap now. Finishing is not, and finishing is where taste lives, which is roughly the same conclusion from a different direction.