PixelPosts

Inspiration

PixelPosts was inspired by mini game makers, retro games, and the creative experimentation encouraged by Devvit games. The hackathon prompt to make something fun, playful, and native to Reddit felt like the perfect fit for building a tool that merges nostalgic aesthetics with Reddit's community-driven culture. I wanted something lightweight, easy to share, and uniquely suited to the social nature of the platform.

What it does

PixelPosts lets you create, share, and play bite-sized pixel adventures directly inside a Reddit post. Users can design levels, characters, and items using the built-in pixel editor, link them together into tiny stories, and then publish them right to a subreddit. Other redditors can then play the game right in their feed no installs, no downloads, just jump straight in. Players can also remix games they like, encouraging collaborative story telling.

How we built it

PixelPosts was built using Devvit. Devvit allowed me to embed the editor and game engine seamlessly within Reddit, keeping the whole experience native to the platform.

Devvit: A way to build and deploy immersive games on Reddit
Vite: For compiling the webView
React: For UI
Express: For backend logic
Tailwind: For styles
Typescript: For type safety

I used Cursor (with Claude-4-Sonnet and auto mode) for rapid prototyping, especially in generating UI components and structuring the codebase. The workflow combined manual iteration with AI-assisted coding, letting me experiment quickly while staying within Devvit's technical guidelines.

Challenges we ran into

Finding the right format: I wanted the project to feel like it belonged on Reddit, not like an embedded game from somewhere else. Balancing fun mechanics with the platform's constraints took some iteration. Fitting Devvit's structure: Understanding how to leverage Reddit's post-centric experience while staying within Devvit's sandbox. Scoping: There are so many directions I could have gone, but I had to focus on the core loop of creation, sharing, and play.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Proving that you can make and play a game entirely inside a Reddit post - something that would have blown my mind even a few years ago. Building a functional pixel editor and level builder with minimal friction, keeping the whole process fun and accessible. Learning how Devvit opens up possibilities for interactivity in Reddit posts far beyond what I'd previously thought possible.

What we learned

How to better utilize AI in the development process for rapid prototyping and problem-solving. The mechanics and possibilities of Devvit, and how it can be used to inject fun, creativity, and interactivity into the Reddit ecosystem. That Reddit already has a budding community around games and playful experiences, which I hadn't been aware of before this hackathon.