Building this Website

Every great journey begins with a single step, and for Soulless Studio, that step was creating our digital home. As an indie game studio, we needed a platform that would not only showcase our work but also reflect our commitment to quality and innovation. This is the story of how we built this website, combining time-tested tools with cutting-edge AI assistance.

The Foundation

When choosing our tech stack, we wanted something that would be both robust and maintainable. Jekyll emerged as the natural choice - its static site generation means blazing-fast load times and rock-solid security. Paired with GitHub Actions and GitHub Pages, we got seamless deployment and version control built right in. The cherry on top was WhatATheme, which provided us with a clean, modern foundation that we could build upon.

But we didn’t want just another template-based website. We wanted something that truly represented Soulless Studio’s identity. This is where the magic of modern development workflows came into play. Using Windsurf, Codeium’s agentic AI IDE, we were able to rapidly prototype and implement custom features while maintaining high code quality.

Bringing Ideas to Life

Take our game showcase, for instance. We wanted something more engaging than simple static cards. Through collaborative iteration with Windsurf, we developed our interactive game cards (which you can read about in detail in our technical deep dive). The AI helped us consider various aspects we might have overlooked, from accessibility considerations to performance optimizations.

The development process itself was a testament to how AI can enhance human creativity rather than replace it. While we had the vision for the website’s look and feel, Windsurf helped us implement it efficiently, suggesting best practices and helping us avoid common pitfalls. It was like having another developer at our fingertips (albeit one who’s still learning and sometimes makes mistakes - which is why it is crucial to have an understanding of the domain, so you can correct the agent when it goes off track), offering guidance and discussing solutions while letting us maintain full creative control.

Beyond the Basics

We didn’t stop at just making things work - we wanted them to work exceptionally well. The blog you’re reading right now, for example, uses responsive images and optimized loading patterns. The navigation is intuitive, and the design adapts seamlessly across devices. These aren’t just technical achievements; they’re part of our commitment to providing a premium experience for our community.

Throughout the development process, we made conscious decisions about the user experience. The dark theme isn’t just an aesthetic choice - it’s designed to be easy on the eyes while maintaining readability. The layout prioritizes content while keeping important information easily accessible. Even the animations are carefully tuned to feel responsive without being distracting.

Looking Forward

This website is more than just a collection of pages - it’s a platform that will grow with us. We’ve built it with extensibility in mind, making it easy to add new features and content as our studio evolves. The combination of Jekyll’s flexibility, GitHub Pages’ reliability, and the power of AI assistance means we can focus on what matters most: creating great games and sharing our journey with you.

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Building a website in 2024 is about more than just writing code. It’s about making thoughtful choices that balance functionality, aesthetics, and maintainability. By embracing both established technologies and cutting-edge AI tools, we’ve created a foundation that will serve us well into the future. We’re excited to continue evolving this space and sharing our adventures in game development with you.