Sid Batra

I finished building Ishiko, a space-themed typing speed game where players destroy incoming asteroids by typing the words on them before they reach the ship. As the game continues, the asteroids move faster and the words become more challenging.

The project was built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, focusing on keyboard input, game logic, and dynamic elements. I also created a space-style banner and UI to match the theme.

The core gameplay works well, and the project is now completed. Future updates could add levels, sound effects, and a scoring system.

okay so. this is the last devlog and honestly i’m shipping this in a much different state than i originally imagined.
time got away from me pretty fast and there’s a lot i wanted to build that just didn’t happen — better mobile support, persistent saves, maybe a leaderboard, limit orders, sector-wide news events. the list was long. the hours were not.
that said i’m not mad at how it turned out. the price engine actually works, the news system genuinely moves markets, the UI has a vibe i’m pretty happy with. for something started at 11pm it held up.
a few honest notes: i used AI during this project — mostly for gathering content (the stock names, headlines, some CSS stuff) and for clearing up doubts when i got stuck. didn’t write the whole thing for me but it definitely helped me move faster than i would’ve otherwise. felt worth mentioning.
there’s a lot of room to improve this. the code isn’t clean in a lot of places, mobile is basically broken, and if you play long enough the prices get a little weird. but it runs, it’s fun for a few minutes, and i learned a bunch building it.
maybe i’ll come back to it. maybe not. for now — shipped.

okay so i finally started building The Exchange — a browser-based stock market simulator where you get $100 and trade 15 fake stocks without going broke. been thinking about this idea for like 2 weeks and today i actually sat down and did it.
first thing i set up was the HTML structure and CSS variables. i wanted it to look like a real trading terminal — dark theme, orange and red accents, monospace font. spent way too long on the color palette but honestly it looks sick so no regrets.
then i built the create account screen — the login page before the actual trading app. got the form working with name, email and password inputs and wrote the validation logic myself. checks for @ symbol in email, minimum password length, all that. figuring out how to show errors without refreshing the page was a small win — just updating a div with textContent dynamically.
the trickiest part was the screen transition. when you click OPEN TRADING ACCOUNT it should hide the login and show the trading app. i was staring at broken code for like 20 mins — turns out i had #app { display: none } in the CSS but forgot to write #app.on { display: flex } so adding the class did literally nothing 💀 used AI to help me spot that one.
after that i scaffolded the main three-column trading layout. used a bit of AI to help debug some overflow issues with the viewport height — kept getting random scrollbars appearing everywhere.
overall this project is tricky but so fun. loving every second of it.

What I Built
The project started as a 15-day step-by-step build guide for a custom RP2040 macropad from scratch — six keys, two rotary encoders, per-key RGB LEDs, a hand-designed PCB in KiCad, QMK firmware, and a 3D-printed case. The full hardware stack, start to finish.
But a static page felt too limiting. So it grew. A live timeline slider lets you drag anywhere from 3 to 30 days and the entire build schedule recalculates instantly — day numbers update, phase labels shift, the PCB order warning adjusts to the right day. There are clickable task checkboxes that persist in localStorage, a read-progress bar at the top of the page, a live completion counter in the hero section, and four full colour themes (Dark, Light, Hacker Green, Warm Amber) that also remember your preference across refreshes.
The whole thing lives in a single HTML file. No npm, no build tools, no React. Just vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The goal was always zero-friction — something anyone can download, open in a browser, and start using immediately.
Here’s everything that made it into the final build: an animated hero with a drifting grid background, five build phases with 15 day-cards that reflow automatically based on your timeline, 75 individual task checkboxes, a syntax-highlighted QMK firmware code reference, a 12-component shopping table with direct buy links, a four-category resource hub covering PCB design, firmware, CAD, and community, and a final launch checklist.

Building My Macropad Guide Website

I recently started a project to create a website that teaches people how to build their own macropad. The goal of this website is to make the process easier for beginners by explaining the parts, tools, and steps needed to create a working macropad.

So far, I have made some good progress. The first thing I worked on was designing the basic template for the website. This includes the layout, navigation sections, and the overall structure so visitors can easily find information. I also started organizing the content into sections such as an introduction to macropads, required components, and step-by-step building instructions.

Another part of the progress was creating the visual design. I added a banner for the site and began thinking about how the pages should look so the website feels clean and easy to follow. This will help make the guide more engaging for people who want to learn about building their own macropad.

While the website is still in progress, the foundation is now set. The next steps will be adding more detailed guides, images, and explanations about the hardware, wiring, and programming needed to complete a macropad.

Overall, this project has been a great start, and I’m excited to keep developing the site and adding more helpful content.

Today I worked on preparing my project for shipping on Flavortown. I cleaned up parts of the codebase, fixed a few small bugs, and made sure my GitHub repository and README are properly linked to the project. I also improved the project description and checked that everything is publicly accessible so others can try it.

Next, I plan to continue polishing the project and adding small improvements based on feedback.

I’m working on my first project! This is so exciting. I can’t wait to share more updates as I build.