ASCII City Update 1: Interiors, Elevation & Skyscrapers — Prototype Now Available @GrowNowGames

Grow Now! Games A lot has changed in ASCII CITY since I posted the first prototype.

Try the prototype: ko-fi.com/grownowgames/shop

I've been continuing to experiment with how far I can push the idea of a walkable 3D city made entirely from ASCII characters, running from a single HTML file.

This update adds a much larger city, increased draw distance, smoother rendering, pseudo-volumetric objects, enterable buildings, multiple storeys, and the ability to look back out over the actual city from inside those buildings.

In this video I wanted to show some of those changes, but also explain a little bit about how they actually work.

Try the prototype: ko-fi.com/grownowgames/shop

If you'd like to explore it yourself, the current prototype is available for a small charge. I've kept it inexpensive, and every purchase directly supports continued development of ASCII CITY. You will also get access to future prototypes.

Just bear in mind that this is still a very early prototype rather than a finished game. At the moment it's mostly about walking around, exploring the city and seeing what the renderer can do — features, performance and the world itself will continue to change as development progresses.

Thanks again for all the comments, ideas and encouragement on the original video. I genuinely wasn't expecting so many people to be interested in this strange little experiment, and I'm having a lot of fun seeing where it goes next.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
00:25 Resolution & Flickering
00:52 Mouse Movement
01:05 Draw Distance
01:45 Buildings Behind Buildings
02:11 Pseudo-Volumetric ASCII Objects
02:38 WebGL
03:13 World Size Increased
03:38 Building Interiors
03:49 Interior Windows
04:16 Multiple Storeys
04:27 Looking Down on the City
05:03 New Opening Sequence
05:23 Next Steps for the Project
05:42 Accessing the Prototype

#ASCII #ASCIICity #Cyberpunk #IndieDev #GameDev #JavaScript #HTML5Canvas #Raycasting #CreativeCoding

updated 1 month ago

ASCII City Update 1: Interiors, Elevation & Skyscrapers — Prototype Now Available

Grow Now! Games 2026-08-21 | A lot has changed in ASCII CITY since I posted the first prototype.

Try the prototype: ko-fi.com/grownowgames/shop

I've been continuing to experiment with how far I can push the idea of a walkable 3D city made entirely from ASCII characters, running from a single HTML file.

This update adds a much larger city, increased draw distance, smoother rendering, pseudo-volumetric objects, enterable buildings, multiple storeys, and the ability to look back out over the actual city from inside those buildings.

In this video I wanted to show some of those changes, but also explain a little bit about how they actually work.

Try the prototype: ko-fi.com/grownowgames/shop

If you'd like to explore it yourself, the current prototype is available for a small charge. I've kept it inexpensive, and every purchase directly supports continued development of ASCII CITY. You will also get access to future prototypes.

Just bear in mind that this is still a very early prototype rather than a finished game. At the moment it's mostly about walking around, exploring the city and seeing what the renderer can do — features, performance and the world itself will continue to change as development progresses.

Thanks again for all the comments, ideas and encouragement on the original video. I genuinely wasn't expecting so many people to be interested in this strange little experiment, and I'm having a lot of fun seeing where it goes next.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
00:25 Resolution & Flickering
00:52 Mouse Movement
01:05 Draw Distance
01:45 Buildings Behind Buildings
02:11 Pseudo-Volumetric ASCII Objects
02:38 WebGL
03:13 World Size Increased
03:38 Building Interiors
03:49 Interior Windows
04:16 Multiple Storeys
04:27 Looking Down on the City
05:03 New Opening Sequence
05:23 Next Steps for the Project
05:42 Accessing the Prototype

#ASCII #ASCIICity #Cyberpunk #IndieDev #GameDev #JavaScript #HTML5Canvas #Raycasting #CreativeCoding

ASCII City Update 4: The Transportation Update

Grow Now! Games 2026-09-25 | Prototype 3 adds some completely new ways to travel through ASCII City.
Prototype 3 can be accessed here: ko-fi.com/s/6ea2ea69cf

Prototype 2 was largely about making this enormous digital city easier to understand. Prototype 3 has been about making travelling through it part of the experience.

00:00 Introduction
00:44 Ground Taxi
01:19 Ground Taxi Journey
01:57 New Road Hierarchy
02:25 Music Player
02:58 Metro Monorail System
04:03 Monorail Journey
04:47 Unique Landmark Buildings
05:58 Sky Taxi
06:37 Sky Taxi Journey
07:08 Render & Performance Improvement
07:32 Sky Taxi Journey x2 Speed
08:13 Prototype 3

The music was provided by The Hexagons - check out the song here: youtube.com/watch?v=HSAeAcalYdw

Thanks for following along with this project.

#AsciiCity

ASCII City LIVE: A 24/7 Window Into the ASCII Plane

Grow Now! Games 2026-09-15 | What if ASCII City didn't stop when you closed the game?

visit asciicity.live

I've built a little side project I've been wanting to try: ASCII CITY // LIVE — a free, 24/7 CCTV feed into the ASCII Plane.

It's not a video or a prerecorded loop.

The city is being simulated live in your browser, and everyone watching anywhere in the world sees the same cameras, the same cars, the same traffic lights and even the same pedestrians at the same moment.

There's no streaming server behind it either. Once the site has loaded, you can even disconnect from the internet and the city will keep going.

I wanted it to feel like a little window into a digital world that exists somewhere beyond the screen — carrying on whether anyone happens to be watching or not.

Watch it live for free: ASCIICITY.LIVE

As always, thanks so much for following the project and supporting ASCII City!

ASCII City Update 3: Maps & Exploration Update

Grow Now! Games 2026-09-11 | ASCII CITY Prototype 2 is available now: ko-fi.com/s/4a92a740ef

Prototype 2 is the next playable build of ASCII CITY, my browser-based 3D ASCII world.

This update adds a completely new map and navigation system, named streets, districts and sectors, different district types, new procedural parks, landmarks, an expanded Auto Tour, a discoverable telephone relay network, improved world detail and a completely new way of entering the ASCII Plane.

Prototype 2 is still an early development build and there’s plenty more I want to experiment with.

Thanks so much for following!

The music was provided by The Hexagons - check out the song and more gameplay footage here: youtube.com/watch?v=HSAeAcalYdw

00:00 Introduction
00:19 Auto-Tour Update
00:47 Maps & Navigation
02:02 Local Map
02:31 District Map
03:17 Sector Map
03:49 City Map
04:42 Time-lapse Journey
05:38 Landmark Buildings
05:46 World Detail
06:00 Districts
06:36 Telephone Relay Travel
07:16 New Opening
08:00 Prototype 2 Now Available

#Asciicity #grownowgames

ASCII City Update 2: Traffic & Detail Update

Grow Now! Games 2026-08-28 | I've been continuing to experiment with how far I can push the idea of a walkable 3D city rendered in ASCII, running from a single HTML file.

Try the prototype: ko-fi.com/grownowgames/shop

ASCII City has changed quite a bit since Prototype 1!

For Update 2, I've been working on making the city feel less like a rendering prototype and more like a living place. There has been a major overhaul to both the traffic simulation and the visual detail of the world.

Cars are now pseudo-volumetric, the traffic system has been completely reworked, and I've added cyclists, flying cars, improved trees and street objects, shop interiors visible through windows, plus new Auto Tour and Empty City modes inspired by your comments.

I've also done a lot of optimisation work behind the scenes as the city gets more complex.

Prototype 2 isn't available to play just yet, but I'm hoping to release it within the next couple of weeks — perhaps with a few more additions before then!

Prototype 1 is still available: ko-fi.com/s/e1e0f91951

00:00 INTRODUCTION
00:15 THE NEW LOOK
00:37 CARS
01:09 TRAFFIC
01:38 WORLD DETAIL
02:13 SHOP WINDOWS
02:33 NEW MODES
03:12 OPTIMISATION
03:39 PROTOTYPE 2

Music: 'Halogen Haze' by The Hexagons. Used with permission.
on.soundcloud.com/q9s7QxZy0kSvOMYE0m

Thanks again for all the support, feedback and suggestions!

#ASCII #ASCIICity #Cyberpunk #IndieDev #GameDev #JavaScript #HTML5Canvas #Raycasting #CreativeCoding

ASCII Cyberpunk City Update #ascii #asciicity #creativecoding #gamedev #cyberpunk

Grow Now! Games 2026-08-22 | The ASCII City Prototype has just had it's Interiors & Elevation Update.

This game is built on one HTML file - No shaders or 3D Models.

Try Prototype on my Ko-Fi page: ko-fi.com/grownowgames

Machine Sleep Music Video

Grow Now! Games 2026-08-18 | When I made the first ASCII City video, I was expecting perhaps a handful of views. I definitely wasn’t expecting so many people to watch it!

I’m a solo game developer, not a musician or producer, and with a £0 budget for this prototype, I made use of Suno Music to try to find the sound I had in my head. I was looking for something with that strange, nostalgic, slightly unreal feeling of discovering an old digital world.

Now that this little prototype has unexpectedly found an audience, there are opportunities that simply weren’t there when I started. I can begin looking for musicians and artists who might want to contribute music to the project.

I’m leaving the original track here because so many people have asked for it, and because it has become part of the story of how the project began. But I would love for the eventual soundtrack to become something much more collaborative.

If you’re a musician, producer or sound designer and this strange little world speaks to you, I’d love to hear from you.

A Walkable ASCII Cyberpunk City in One HTML File

Grow Now! Games 2026-08-13 | Update: With the recent release of Prototype 2, I've made Prototype 1 free to access: ko-fi.com/grownowgames/shop

I wanted to build a city that feels alive, but is made entirely from ASCII characters.

This is a small custom engine built with JavaScript and Canvas — no Unity, Unreal, 3D models, textures, or shaders. The world is a grid-based city with roads, buildings, trees, cars, and pedestrians.

Every frame, the engine raycasts from the camera to work out perspective, depth, collisions, and what should be visible, then draws it all using letters, numbers, and symbols.

In other words: it’s a tiny 3D city made from blocks, viewed through a screen of ASCII characters.

Still a work in progress, but I’m going to keep pushing the atmosphere, detail, and interaction further.

#ASCII #ASCIICity #Cyberpunk #IndieDev #GameDev #JavaScript #HTML5Canvas #Raycasting #CreativeCoding #ProceduralGeneration #CodingProject

Foragers Finds Reveal Trailer

Grow Now! Games 2025-09-08 | Grab your utility belt — it’s time to go foraging.

store.steampowered.com/app/3902270/Foragers_Finds

Forager's Finds is a relaxed exploration game where you head into a big, beautiful forest to find, photograph, and collect mushrooms. It's all about slowing down, spotting what's hidden in plain sight, and enjoying the simple satisfaction of discovering something new.

There are loads of species out there — some common, some rare — and it’s your job to find them, learn about them, and build up your own personal journal of discoveries.

Explore a Lively, Open Forest

Wander through varied terrain — thick woods, gentle hills, damp clearings, rocky slopes. Every area has something different to offer. Some mushrooms are everywhere. Others? You’ll need to look a little harder. Or higher.

Your Foraging Tools

You’ve got everything you need strapped to your utility belt:

Camera – Take photos of mushrooms in the wild. Every photo helps build your collection.

Field Journal – Log what you find and where you found it. Over time, it becomes your go-to guide.

Satchel – Pick and store your mushrooms to sell later. Limited space means smart choices.

Map – Keep track of where you’ve been and where you want to return.

Rarity Report – Unsure what you've picked? This gives you an idea of how rare it is.

Sell and Upgrade at Forager’s Finds

Back at your cozy forest shop, you can sell your mushrooms and use the money to get upgrades — like:

Bigger satchels – carry more before heading back

Mountain boots – reach steeper, more remote areas

Helpful perks – improve your spotting skills or tracking abilities

Take It Slow. Enjoy the Hunt.

This isn’t a race — it’s a game about taking your time. Look closely. Pause often. Take in the sounds, the light, the movement. Whether you're hunting rare finds or just enjoying the calm of the forest, Forager's Finds is your space to explore, learn, and unwind.

Mycology Game

Grow Now! Games 2025-05-29 | Early version of the game

- Hundreds of unique mushrooms and fungi
- Take photos
- Log your finds in your field Journal
- Find out the rarity of each fungi you find
- Forage them in your satchel
- Read the map to explore

This is an early build - the project has no name or store page at this stage.

Would be interested to see what people think?

Comet Update Space Tourist

Grow Now! Games 2025-04-14 | This has to be my favourite update so far - just looking up from a planet and seeing an icy comet fly blisteringly overhead is awe-inspiring!

I've obviously played this game for many hours now and I found my self taking a tonne of photos!

Comets are now flying around the galaxy, you by fortunate to spot one when you are in a system!
Yes you can land on them, but they can be incredibly fast- faster than your jetpack! TIP: You may want to stand in the comet's path and allow it to fly into you!
Use the comets like super fast taxi's - getting you from one end of a solar system to the other in record time!

Enjoy!

Other fixes:
I've also optimised planetary trees so they load much faster and are more performant.

Eternal Trails Huge Update

Grow Now! Games 2024-12-02 | I'm excited to share a massive update to Eternal Trails! This update marks a significant leap forward, enhancing the game world and bringing new features to make your journey even more immersive. Here’s what’s new:

What’s New?
🎨 Stunning HD Graphics
No more pixelation! The game now features high-definition textures that make every step of your journey look spectacular.

🌅 Dynamic Shadows
Enjoy new shadows for the terrain, horse, and rider, adding depth and realism to the world.

🐎 Enhanced Horse Models & Animations
Your horse has been completely reworked with improved models and animations, creating smoother and more lifelike movement.

🚶 Dismount and Explore
For the first time, you can dismount your horse and explore the trails on foot. Take a closer look at the serene beauty around you.

👀 Free-Look Camera
While riding, you can now freely look around, taking in the stunning horizons and landscapes from every angle.

📖 Brand-New Tutorial
Getting started is easier than ever with a new and improved tutorial designed to guide you through the journey.

🔧 UI Scaling Improvements
The UI scaling has been refined to look great and function smoothly across all resolutions.

One of the Last Big Updates
This update is one of the final steps in bringing my vision for Eternal Trails to life. As a solo developer, your support has meant the world to me, and I hope you enjoy these new features as much as I enjoyed creating them.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Whether you’re saddling up, dismounting to explore, or simply soaking in the views, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

Happy Trails,