Genie

How to create effective prompts with Genie

How prompting in Genie works

World Sketching

Describe your character and environment and preview what it will look like with an image preview made by Nano Banana Pro. Modify your prompts to fine tune your world before entering.

Image upload

Choose an image and add it to Project Genie to explore a world from a reference of your choosing.

World Remixing

Take a world you've previously created or one from the gallery and adjust the environment or character for a new kind of world.

Prompt construction
Environmental prompting
Character prompting
General prompting

What to think about while creating prompts

Prompting Genie 3 means thinking about three elements: the environment you want to build, the character you want to control, and the world sketch preview that sets out your world. You can prompt Genie 3 using text or images.

A wide-angle, high-perspective shot of a dense Amazonian rainforest canopy. Sunlight dapples through the bright green leaves of towering trees, overlooking a winding river below. To the right, moss-covered, ancient stone temple ruins are nestled into the hillside. An overlay at the bottom contains the text:

Environment

Describe the landscape you want to explore – from realistic to fantastic, cartoony to cinematic.

A vibrant digital image featuring a majestic macaw in mid-flight. The parrot is covered in deep cobalt blue feathers with a prominent black beak and a bright yellow ring around its eye. It is positioned in the foreground, wings spread wide, against a backdrop of a lush, sun-drenched rainforest and ancient stone ruins. An overlay at the bottom contains the text:

Character

Describe your character – a person, animal, object or something totally different. Explain how to direct it through your world – from walking to jumping, driving to flying.

The same tropical scene as the first image, but the parrot has been transformed into a Scarlet Macaw. Its plumage is now a brilliant mix of red, yellow, and blue. The bird is captured in the same flying pose over the jungle and ruins. An overlay at the bottom contains the text:

World Sketch

Based on the environment and character prompts, Nano Banana Pro will generate an image preview of your world. Modify the image until it looks like the world you want to enter. You can also upload an image of your own.

Environment prompting

Build the world of your imagination

Describe your environment

Is it a forest, city, or mountain? Get specific about surfaces and terrain. Is it a dirt path? An asphalt road? A calm ocean?

Describe the style of your environment

Is it real world, game-like, cartoonish – or even built of nacho cheese?

Describe what’s inside your environment

List out any key structures, objects or additional characters. Is there a stone building with terracotta roofs? Temple ruins in the distance? A volcano on the horizon?

Describe the way the environment behaves

Include any specific movement you want to appear in your world. Is there wind? Does a dirt road release a dust cloud when your character walks on it? Are there objects that appear while you’re exploring?

Character prompting

Define your character and how it moves through its environment

Describe the appearance or identity

Be clear about who your character is and what it looks like. Is it a fluffy white rabbit? A microscopic ant? Robotic arms gripping the handlebars of a motorcycle?

Detail primary actions, capabilities, and movement

Describe what your character can do and how it moves. Is it capable of graceful flight? Does it drive forwards and backwards? Can it run and hop? Does it leave a trail of blue paint as it moves?

Describe how your character’s movement affects the world

Does the vehicle leave tracks in the dirt as it drives? Does the grass mower cut the grass as it moves through a field?

General prompting

Tips for building worlds

Maintain direct, simple and action-oriented language

Keep your descriptions to-the-point. Short declarative sentences work well.

Evoke mood through strong sensory details

Describe the way the environment and character feel to evoke the mood you want. Is the environment dimly lit with mysterious smoke on the ground? Does the character walk as if floating like a feather? Using game-like language can help build richer environments with more precise character control.

Use Gemini to refine your prompt

Use the Google Gemini app to rewrite, expand, and elaborate your descriptions.

Fine-tune your world

For text-only prompts, your image preview will inform the look of your world. Check it looks true to your idea, before you enter your world.

Making worlds from your own images

Uploading a high-quality image will yield the best results. Place your character in the center of the frame.

Switch between first and third-person

Click the perspective button to switch between a first-person and third-person view of the world. In third person, you’ll see your character. In first person, you’ll see the world through the eyes of your character.