What I Built
Cthulhu’s Inbox is an interactive, retro-horror workplace simulator where the player acts as the Chief Adjudicator of the Abyssal Void. Mortal cultists petition the Great Dreamer for reality-warping interventions—replacing celestial bodies, invoking cyclopean architecture, or unleashing chaotic cosmic entities.
Your responsibility is to review incoming petitions, balance your Department Sanity gauge, and execute irreversible decrees: Sanction Doom, Smite into Cinders, or Inflict Cognitive Collapse.
- 🎮 Live Demo: https://cthulhu-inbox.vercel.app
- 🐙 Source Code: https://github.com/fokrulanthro16-eng/cthulhu-inbox
How I Built It (The Vibe Coding Journey)
I built this application through hyper-iterative prompt-driven engineering and vibe coding with an AI companion:
-
Schema & Logic Architecture: We started by structuring the core domain using Sanity Content Lake concepts. Each petition models non-Euclidean metadata: petitioner identity, psychic strain rating, severity tier, and stateful workflow transitions (
pending,sanctioned,smited,driven-mad). - Procedural Retro Aesthetics: We designed a phosphor-green CRT terminal using Tailwind CSS, implementing vintage CRT scanlines, flicker shaders, and chromatic aberration triggers.
- Browser-Native Sound Engine: Rather than loading heavy audio assets, we built a zero-dependency Web Audio API synthesizer that procedurally generates analog mechanical clatter, low-frequency cosmic sub-drones, and psychic dissonance chords.
- State Meltdown Edge Cases: We engineered a complete game-loop economy. Granting cataclysms depletes Department Sanity; falling below 35% induces terminal glitches, ultimately culminating in a "Total Cerebral Extinction" game-over state.
Bonus Points: Workflows & App SDK Integration
This submission specifically targets the Workflows and App SDK bonus criteria outlined in Path Two:
- Stateful Workflows: Decrees are governed by strict workflow transitions, validating status transitions from pending pleas to ratified doom or ash.
- Real-Time GROQ Audit Stream: Every adjudication action instantly commits an immutable event to the live GROQ audit stream with exact timestamps and psychic drain logs.
- Custom App Interface: Rather than standard read-only views, this builds a fully interactive custom operational app directly driven by structured content.
Key Takeaways
Vibe coding allowed me to bridge high-concept lore with strict type-safety, procedural audio synthesis, and complex state management in record time.
