Building a Game with Zero Game Libraries — The Architecture Behind CursorCamp Sandbox

You'd think building a browser game requires a stack of dependencies. Phaser, PixiJS, maybe Three.js. A physics engine, an audio library, a state manager.

CursorCamp Sandbox does none of that. Zero game engines. Zero physics libraries. Just Next.js, TypeScript, raw Canvas 2D, and inline SVG. Under 6,000 lines of hand-rolled code.

Here's how the architecture works.

What Is It?

An interactive fan-made companion for Neal.fun's Cursor Camp. You explore a procedurally-detailed world, collect seashells, kick soccer balls, and share the space with 55 AI campers. Weather changes. Music fades as you move around. Everything runs in the browser at cursorcamp-sandbox.com.