Ask HN: If this was your last project, what would you build?
3 comments
Most likely interactive fiction, but made more interactive with LLMs or something.
You guys can save the world; I've had enough of that in my career. I started programming to build simulations. I put simulations in my MIT application essay. I started playing with sensors and apps to build simulations and have handheld computers. I didn't intend to be making fintech stuff and crime fighting tools. I just wanted to make little pocket cities and super interactive stuff.
You guys can save the world; I've had enough of that in my career. I started programming to build simulations. I put simulations in my MIT application essay. I started playing with sensors and apps to build simulations and have handheld computers. I didn't intend to be making fintech stuff and crime fighting tools. I just wanted to make little pocket cities and super interactive stuff.
Love this perspective! Interactive fiction with LLMs sounds fascinating - there's something powerful about creating engaging experiences rather than just "saving the world."
Your point about making things more interactive really resonates. I think you're right that it could spark more curiosity and engagement, especially in younger people.
Do you have any demos or examples of what you're building? Would love to see how you're combining traditional interactive fiction with modern AI.
Your point about making things more interactive really resonates. I think you're right that it could spark more curiosity and engagement, especially in younger people.
Do you have any demos or examples of what you're building? Would love to see how you're combining traditional interactive fiction with modern AI.
First attempt in 2023: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35770094
It was a typical roguelike kind of engine with AI-generated monsters and responses. It was okay, but far too slow, and the mechanics funneled it to being repetitive (e.g. whatever class you made up, you had a spear and a blade). Most of the players ended up playing with the character generation screen more than the game itself.
Second attempt, 2025: https://smuz.itch.io/good-cop-bad-cop
It's an attempt to vibe code a dialogue-runner game. It was fast enough that switching tones became a game, but not very fun and took too long to make.
Attempt 3, July 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmxj20zQ7wA
An actual breakthrough. It's open-ended. Make any character you can imagine, toss them into any kind of scenario. Unlike AI Dungeon's Do and Chat modes, you can just roleplay like you would in a messaging app, and the AI will handle it. There's a nice mix of algorithms here - tropes make characters more interesting than raw AI, palettes always land on something nice looking, some rules so you can't simply just disintegrate people. I feel like I should wrap this up but I've learned what I can from it.
What next? I want to take the engine from #3 and make proper games by adding rules.
A) Godfather sim. You're trading favors, saying the right things, dealing with criminals and family members who you can't trust. A little bit of the Disco Elysium skill system - detect lies, charm people, economics, intimidation, etc. Alternative: El Presidente sim.
B) Superhero school. School is a perfect mix of training center, romance, politics, and prison. They're transitioning to heroes, but are learning to control themselves.
C) Sword & sorcery. Roguelikes were fun, but I want to capture the feel you get from the Conan books. Primal poetry. Unstoppable force meets immovable object. The end of the video in #3 demoes it well - you can throw a fork at someone's heart, rip the chains off the wall, catch a blade trap, and deal with the suspense of waiting to see how AI will resolve it. Poetry is core to the Conan experience, and I feel like we can do some Tarantino-style dialogue here too. Alternatives: John Wick sim, Ghostbusters.
D) Magic shopkeeper. While the rest are drama, this is cozy. Forge magic artifacts. Talk to kings and legends, change fates.
If you have any suggestions or interests, I'm open to that.
It was a typical roguelike kind of engine with AI-generated monsters and responses. It was okay, but far too slow, and the mechanics funneled it to being repetitive (e.g. whatever class you made up, you had a spear and a blade). Most of the players ended up playing with the character generation screen more than the game itself.
Second attempt, 2025: https://smuz.itch.io/good-cop-bad-cop
It's an attempt to vibe code a dialogue-runner game. It was fast enough that switching tones became a game, but not very fun and took too long to make.
Attempt 3, July 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmxj20zQ7wA
An actual breakthrough. It's open-ended. Make any character you can imagine, toss them into any kind of scenario. Unlike AI Dungeon's Do and Chat modes, you can just roleplay like you would in a messaging app, and the AI will handle it. There's a nice mix of algorithms here - tropes make characters more interesting than raw AI, palettes always land on something nice looking, some rules so you can't simply just disintegrate people. I feel like I should wrap this up but I've learned what I can from it.
What next? I want to take the engine from #3 and make proper games by adding rules.
A) Godfather sim. You're trading favors, saying the right things, dealing with criminals and family members who you can't trust. A little bit of the Disco Elysium skill system - detect lies, charm people, economics, intimidation, etc. Alternative: El Presidente sim.
B) Superhero school. School is a perfect mix of training center, romance, politics, and prison. They're transitioning to heroes, but are learning to control themselves.
C) Sword & sorcery. Roguelikes were fun, but I want to capture the feel you get from the Conan books. Primal poetry. Unstoppable force meets immovable object. The end of the video in #3 demoes it well - you can throw a fork at someone's heart, rip the chains off the wall, catch a blade trap, and deal with the suspense of waiting to see how AI will resolve it. Poetry is core to the Conan experience, and I feel like we can do some Tarantino-style dialogue here too. Alternatives: John Wick sim, Ghostbusters.
D) Magic shopkeeper. While the rest are drama, this is cozy. Forge magic artifacts. Talk to kings and legends, change fates.
If you have any suggestions or interests, I'm open to that.
I suggest using agent code for development work, and we could focus on some interesting AI-human handshake patterns. This would accelerate project completion.
AI reply?
Something which would help me be "aware" in real life of finite ness of life. Like the computer break utils (TimeOut on Mac/ Stretchly etc) which can help disconnect from the screen in front of you, even for a bit of time, and force you outside of whatever you are currently engaged on in the screen.
There's stuff like https://www.rescuetime.com/ which both forces you to stop and makes you aware of what you're using the screen for.
Yes, I want to have something similar for non screen time as well. To start off, having something similar for mobile device would be good - I have not been able to find any app which can go full screen and block the screen for 15 sec, after each 10 mins or so on mobile.
The project i am working on right now: gethly.com - a hosting and sales platform for digital content creators(paywall, similar to patreon). It is done, I am just continuing working on it(liked adding mobile UI today/tomorrow or soon supporting content hosted elsewhere). I first touched html 25 years ago, so I have been in the programming and internet "game" for quite some time and have seen how the internet has changed. And so I do not think I will be doing any more projects. I think I have reached the end of my road and this is it for me as I do not see internet being business-viable any longer. Certainly not like it used to be in the golden days of 2000s and 2010s, before Facebook and Tinder. That is where it all started to go to shit(not saying it is related, just the time frame).
Not your most profitable idea. Not the safest bet. But the thing that would make you feel like you used your skills for something that mattered.
If this were my last project, I think I'd want to leave behind a truly democratic, community-driven platform where developers from all backgrounds could freely exchange ideas and knowledge.
This platform would be open source. Every community member could contribute to its development. Every contribution - whether code, insights, or helping others - would convert into Stars, which represent voting power. All community members could use their Stars to vote on the platform's future direction.
I'd want this platform to continuously self-evolve, adapting and serving developers while maintaining permanent democracy and independence. Something that could keep pace with the times, evolving alongside technology and the community itself.
Maybe it's idealistic, but if it's your last shot, why not try to solve something that's bothered you for years? Every developer community I've loved eventually loses its soul to power concentration and politics.
What would your final project be?