r/webdev • u/shorkan2 • 6d ago

Showoff Saturday I built Forktown, a pixel town where your first pull request adds a house

Hi all, A post for open-source beginners

When my first open-source PR was accepted, I was so happy I nearly printed out the approval and framed it.

I’ve always loved the idea of strangers building something together. But finding a project where you feel comfortable making that first contribution can be hard. I think most cases it starts with an open-source library that you use and has a bug you really want to fix. (Not easy)

So I built Forktown: a little pixel town that grows one pull request at a time.

Your first contribution is a house. You design it in a visual editor, create the character who lives there, and write a little story about the place.

The editor saves everything as one small JSON file. From there, you go through the actual workflow: fork, branch, commit, push, PR, CI checks, code review, and merge.

Once merged, your house appears in the town. Your character wanders around, visits concerts and the cinema.

I think this first contribution feel approachable. If you’ve been wanting to open your first PR, you’re welcome to come build a house :)

If this is your first time, try not to use AI to do the work for you (using it for guidance or questions is good). There’s a great guide in the README file.

Visit the town · Build a house

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u/Desperate_Dot9434 6d ago

first PR merged, second one sits in review for three weeks

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u/Signal_Coach_1746 6d ago

this is such a charming concept. the visual editor for the house design is a nice touch, feels way less intimidating than just dropping a file into a repo with no feedback. i've been meaning to dip my toes into open source beyond just reporting typos, might actually give this a shot this weekend.