Hi everyone, Creator X here!
I wanted to talk about those unforgettable facepalm moments we all have when building something—whether it’s an app, a website, or any kind of project. You know, those times where you stop and just think, “How did I miss that?” One of those moments happened to me recently, and I’m curious—have any of you been through something similar?
🎮 The Dream
A few months ago, I started working on a project that really excited me: a retro gaming site. But I didn’t want it to be just another emulator hub. My vision was to create a whole experience—a community. I wanted users to:
- Upload ROMs
- Emulate 8–10 classic games
- Join gaming tournaments
- Climb leaderboards
- Watch live matches
- Relive two-player nostalgia
- Schedule meetups to play together
Gaming has evolved a lot, but in some ways, I feel like we’ve lost that spark that brought us together in the first place. That’s what inspired this project.
🧱 Months Later...
After about 5–6 months of development, I decided it was time to get some feedback. I usually check domains and do my research before launching anything—but for some reason, this time I skipped that step. I still don’t know why.
While gathering feedback from testers, one user mentioned that my site felt “familiar.” That got stuck in my head. So I hopped on a call with a friend during one of our monthly catch-ups where we brainstorm and collaborate. I showed him the site, and he just said:
“Dude… did you copy another site?”
I was stunned. I told him no—of course not. Then he said:
“Check out this site.”
And… my heart sank. It looked exactly like mine. The layout, the colors—it was uncanny. The only difference was that they focused on retro hardware, while I was working with retro emulation, meetups, and tournaments.
Here’s the kicker: I had never seen or heard of this site before. But the resemblance was undeniable. It was a total accident, but the similarities were too strong to ignore.
So, I made the tough call to take everything down and rebuild from scratch. To make things more fun, I had been using EmulatorJS, and they had just released a new version. My old code? Completely broken.
🔁 Lessons Learned
Fast forward a few months—I’m still building the new version of the site (still web-based), now using Firebase for authentication and database support. And honestly, the rebuild turned out way better—cleaner, faster, and more refined.
It was a headache, sure. But also a blessing in disguise. I learned a lot, and I want to share a few key takeaways:
1. Progress > Perfection
A wise dev once said, “We tend to overcomplicate things in pursuit of perfection.” Focus on shipping, not polishing every pixel on day one.
2. Do Your Homework
Always, always check what's already out there. It saves time, heartache, and potential legal/branding issues.
3. Plan & Prepare
Even if you're a seasoned dev—write things down. Sketch the vision, map the features, outline the user journey. For beginners, this step is gold.
4. Start Small
If you're unsure, build a small HTML/CSS prototype. Sometimes seeing a working demo sparks better ideas and keeps you grounded.
📸 Here are a few snapshots of the new version I’m working on (still in progress, but it’s getting there!).
So—have you ever had a facepalm moment like this while working on something? I’d love to hear your stories.
Thanks for reading,
Creator X, signing off.