Show HN: I rebuilt Microsoft Comic Chat's layout engine in one HTML file

Category: web-framework

Tags: comic-generation, layout-engine, browser-based, e2e-encryption, reimplementation

Score: 7.3/10 (Innovation: 8, Technical: 8, Documentation: 7, Utility: 6)

Comic Chatter is a web-based comic strip generator that reimplements Microsoft Comic Chat's layout engine in JavaScript, automatically composing panels from typed dialogue using punctuation to determine balloon styles and expressions. It's notable for its faithful behavioral port of the original 1996 C++ engine, entirely in-browser without WASM, and for offering local-first solo comics plus end-to-end encrypted shared rooms.

Target audience: frontend devs, creative coders, comic enthusiasts, nostalgia-driven developers

Repository: https://arcade.pirillo.com/comic-chatter.html

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