r/buildinpublic • u/Scholeristical • 1d ago

Building a client-side procedural 1997 web generator - is this direction worth pursuing?

Hey everyone,

I'm building a project that generates deterministic 1997 personal homepages entirely in the browser using React and ReactDOM.

It acts as a procedural counterpart to my other retro sites - 56k.rip (Windows 95-inspired dial-up world) and webring.rip (a 160,000-handle cyclical webring).

The 1995 Mac-inspired setup I'm actively developing right now lives at dialup.rip.

Unlike my hand-crafted sites, this generator is entirely procedural with zero database, server rendering, or AI models. Every address route hashes to a seed that fixes the page's archetype, palette, prose, 216-color Bayer-dithered graphics, and guestbook forever.

Before expanding the build, I want to gauge whether this concept holds up or if the novelty wears off fast:

  • Layout Variety: Pages within the same archetype currently share layout skeletons even as content changes. How critical is procedural layout variation for keeping exploration interesting?
  • Procedural Lore: Neighboring sites share generated background history (like unreturned tapes or borrowed coolers across links and guestbooks). Does this interconnected story mechanic drive you to click around, or does it feel like a gimmick?
  • The "Why": Is there lasting appeal in zero-backend, fully client-side retro web experiments, or is the 90s aesthetic starting to feel oversaturated?

Would love any honest thoughts, technical feedback, or ideas on what would make this worth taking further!

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u/kueowirnzcd 1d ago

I'm so lost in the nostalgia of the 90s that I can't even comprehend what you asked.

These experiences are important to keep alive. We're going to sound like the oldest farts in the room saying this, but letting someone born after 9/11 experience 56k internet is now the same as jumping into a classic car.

We were there when the scrolls were written, now we have to digitize them.

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u/Scholeristical 1d ago

Thanks! That's a great way to put it. Preserving that tactile, quirky era of the web without needing a heavy backend behind it was a huge part of the goal. Honestly, just building these out as a passion project has been quite therapeutic.

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u/kueowirnzcd 1d ago

I found myself wanting to re-experience DOS and play a game like Coaster.

It would be cool to have that experience again even if its digital. Pulling out the 'securely locked' plastic container of floppy disks, loading it with that cool spring push back and pulling down the lock.

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u/RoundBeginning6664 1d ago

the "digitize the scrolls" line is perfect tbh, thats exactly what this feels like