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A Tiny Game About Lifting Spirits, One Click at a Time

In a world of ultra-high-definition screens and retina displays, the humble pixel — once the atomic unit of digital life — has become invisible.

But what if we could bring it back? What if a community of strangers could remind a single pixel that it still matters?

That’s the idea behind Pet the Pixel, a minimalist multiplayer browser game where you click to pet a pixel. Every click — every pet — adds to a global counter. And as the total climbs, the pixel reacts. It changes. It feels. It evolves.

Why make this?

Honestly? I just wanted to make something small and delightful — and have fun building it

Let's face it: we’re surrounded by complexity — apps, AI, algorithms, ads. I wanted to strip all of that away and focus on something pure: the concept of a single pixel, and a single interaction. No logins, no accounts, no monetization. Just... pet the pixel.

How to Play

Unsurprisingly, there isn't much you can do — and that’s the point:

  • Click the cube (yes, that’s the pixel!) as much as you want.
  • Your pets add to a global total shared by all players.
  • As the total increases, the pixel’s mood and appearance evolve.
  • There’s no end goal — just a shared journey to lift the spirit of one little pixel.

Behind the Scenes: The Stack

Let’s talk about the tech. The project might seem simple on the surface, but a lot of thought went into making it somewhat minimal and scalable. And yes — I know this leans toward the classic “Enterprise Hello World.” But honestly, that was part of the fun. The goal wasn’t to optimize every byte — it was to experiment with tech I enjoy and see how far I could push a silly little idea.

Backend

Language & Framework:

  • Written in Go, using the lightweight Chi router for clean and minimal HTTP routing. The backend exposes just two simple endpoints:
r.Get("/api/status", GetStatusHandler)
r.Post("/api/pet", PetHandler)

Data & State:

  • The global pet count is stored in Dragonfly — an open source alternative to Redis, which has shown to actually be faster in most benchmarks.
  • No in-memory state — Dragonfly handles everything

Serialization:

  • Instead of JSON, all responses use Protocol Buffers (protobuf).
    • Why? Smaller payloads, lower bandwidth costs, helps keep the project within free-tier hosting limits (although it's a veery generous 10TB/monthly).
  • Rate Limiting: IP-based throttling to prevent bots/spam/auto-clickers and preserve the spirit of the game.

Frontend

Built with:

  • React + Vite + Mantine — somewhat minimal structure, no frameworks or boilerplate beside the UI library. Why Mantine? I just like the way it looks — minimal, but not too minimal, if that makes sense. Interaction model:
  • Initially polls /api/status to get the global count.
  • Each /api/pet call returns the updated total, which is then used to update the pixel’s mood and visual effects. Mood Logic:
  • Stored as simple thresholds in code:
    • 0: nonexistent
    • 100+: noticed
    • 1,000+: Mildly Amused
    • (...and more, which can be found in the about section on the top right)
  • Each milestone "reveals" new moods and animations (also lightweight, made with simple CSS @keyframes).

Philosophy

There’s no onboarding, no leaderboard, no gamification. The goal isn’t to compete — it’s to cooperate. Every pet is a gentle reminder that a pixel — like any of us — just needs a little attention to come alive.

What I learned from this

  • Protocol Buffers are amazing for micro-projects like this — especially if you're trying to keep server costs low — although not as straight forward as plain JSON. It was impressive to see how much they could reduce overall message size.
  • Dragonfly makes a perfect ultra-fast, atomic global counter. I'll definitely be using it instead of Redis. And I think you should too if you're up to support open source projects!
  • Sometimes, overengineering things can be fun! Just don't overdo it :D
  • MVPs can still have heart.

What’s Next for the Pixel?

To begin with, the pixel isn't yet complete! I've probably overshot it, but I've set the last milestone at 100 million "pets", so there's still plenty of time before it's over for the project.

Secondly, I've decided that if there's enough interest around it, I’ll consider open-sourcing the project. Maybe others will remix it — a Pet the Planet, or Pet the Pigeon.. who knows? Endless possibilities!

Until then, give the pixel a pet. It needs you :)

👉 Try it here

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