🧠 Introduction

In a world where digital noise never stops — constant notifications, hyper-competitive mechanics, and over-the-top visuals — I found myself craving something much simpler: a digital space to breathe.

Overstimulation from modern apps and games often left me mentally scattered, especially during late-night hours when all I wanted was a bit of soft focus — not adrenaline.

That’s what led me to create two minimalist online games: Yono Rummy – a minimal, distraction-free card game and Explorer Slots – a calming visual loop game.

These aren’t your typical games. They don’t shout. They don’t try to win your attention. They’re built to fade into the background, letting your mind settle while your fingers do something familiar.

⚙️ Tech Stack Overview

Building for calm meant choosing a stack that supported speed, responsiveness, and stability without extra complexity. Here's what I used:

Framework: Next.js – for SSR, fast routing, and optimized initial load. It also made deploying super clean with Vercel.
Language: TypeScript – gave me confidence and easy refactors, especially for state management.
Styling: Tailwind CSS – it allowed for fast iteration with utility-first principles. The mobile-first design made calm aesthetics easier to implement.
Deployment: Vercel – the best for frictionless, globally cached delivery. Their preview deployments helped me test calmness across devices.
Animations: Framer Motion – subtle, buttery transitions helped keep the experience fluid without overwhelming the user.
Mobile Optimization: JS bundles were tiny. Lazy loading was critical for low-end Android phones with poor signal in rural areas.

"Speed isn’t just performance. It's cognitive comfort." — My mantra while testing on slow phones.

🎨 UX and Emotional Design

This was the soul of the project.

I didn’t want to just make games — I wanted to create mental breathing rooms. That required an emotional approach to UX design. Here’s what I prioritized:

No audio by default. Silence is a feature.
Color palette: Soft blues, deep grays, faded oranges — nothing neon, nothing high-contrast. Inspired by apps like Oak and Reflectly.
No pressure mechanics:
- No countdowns.
- No achievements.
- No streaks.
Interaction design:
- Drag to play in Yono Rummy triggers motor memory.
- One-tap visual spins in Explorer Slots give predictable rhythm.
Zero friction:
- No login.
- No ads.
- No dark patterns.

"When you're emotionally tired, the smallest UX friction feels like a wall." — something I kept in mind every sprint.

I borrowed ideas from emotional design experts like Aarron Walter’s Hierarchy of User Needs, focusing entirely on trust, pleasure, and usability.

📉 Performance Strategy

My target user wasn’t someone sitting with a gaming PC. It was someone curled up on a bed, low on battery, possibly using a 3G signal.

Performance wasn’t optional. It was the experience.

Here’s what I implemented:

Load Time: <1.5 seconds on simulated slow 3G
Lazy Loading: Game logic and UI assets load only after minimal shell loads
No Third-Party Scripts: No trackers, no marketing JS
Tree-shaking & modular imports: Especially from Framer Motion and utility libraries
Custom image components: Optimized via next/image for compression and lazy-load

Result? Users could play within seconds — even from low-cost phones.

💭 Developer Reflection

Not every project has to be a unicorn startup. Some just need to be kind.

Yono Rummy and Explorer Slots aren’t meant to go viral. They aren’t monetized. They won’t be featured on Product Hunt.

But I’ve received emails from people saying they use them while waiting for sleep, or to keep their hands busy during anxious moments.

That matters.

Sometimes we forget that the web can be soft. That not all digital experiences need to be loud, sticky, or addictive.

These projects reminded me that good tech isn’t always about “what can we build next?” Sometimes it’s about what can we build quieter.

"I didn’t build to scale — I built to help someone breathe at 2 a.m."

🔗 Useful Links

You can try Yono Rummy – a minimal, distraction-free card game
Or explore Explorer Slots – a calming visual loop game
UX Emotional Design Read: Hierarchy of User Needs

🟢 Final Thoughts

Minimalism is often mistaken for lack of ambition. But it’s a deeply intentional craft — one that takes more effort, more restraint, and more empathy.

With Yono Rummy and Explorer Slots, I didn’t try to compete with high-performance games. I tried to make space for low-energy humans.

And maybe that’s the future of indie dev — not chasing scale, but offering stillness.

Thanks for reading.

Building Calm Web Games for Mental Focus: A Case Study in Minimal UX with Next.js