Mochia, a virtual pet browser game, built with Rust, SolidJS, Postgres
Around three years ago, I was reminiscing about how much I loved playing Neopets as a kid. Meanwhile, I was also looking for a project to better learn Rust and SolidJS. So.. I figured making my own virtual pet browser game would be a fun way to practice! Since then, I’ve been working on it nearly every day, and.. it’s grown quite a bit! Here are some bulleted lists for your convenience: Technical Details: * Backend monolithic Rust server runs on a single $5/month VPS * Lean frontend with just 3 dependencies (SolidJS, Solid Router, and Mutative) * Around 130,000 combined lines of code…
In plain words
Mochia is a browser-based virtual pet game built with Rust and SolidJS. Players care for and interact with digital pets in a Neopets-inspired experience. The game runs on a minimal $5/month server with a lightweight frontend using only three dependencies, featuring over 500 SVG graphics for crisp mobile and desktop play. The backend, written in Rust, has maintained zero crashes and data loss over three years of development.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Around three years ago, I was reminiscing about how much I loved playing Neopets as a kid. Meanwhile, I was also looking for a project to better learn Rust and SolidJS. So.. I figured making my own virtual pet browser game would be a fun way to practice! Since then, I’ve been working on it nearly every day, and.. it’s grown quite a bit! Here are some bulleted lists for your convenience: Technical Details: * Backend monolithic Rust server runs on a single $5/month VPS * Lean frontend with just 3 dependencies (SolidJS, Solid Router, and Mutative) * Around 130,000 combined lines of code (frontend + backend) * Rust server uses axum, sqlx, tokio, rand, strum, tungstenite (websockets) * No server crashes or data loss in 3 years (thank you Rust + Postgres!) * Almost all graphics (500+ assets) are SVGs for perfect detail at every zoom level * Fully mobile responsive and playable on all modern browsers and devices * Actor model for player actions enables trivial parallel, multi-core scaling * Single page application that preloads entire game world on initial page load * Instantaneous navigation between pages (no additional page fetches required) * Lightweight game engine for minigames, powered by custom WebGL shaders * Rust is the single source of truth for data structures shared between browser and server * Custom derive macros used to autogenerate TypeScript bindings and binary decoding functions * Binary WebSocket messages with custom protocol for client-server communication * O(1) selection for nested, weighted-random item reward pools * Minigames can be played without an account (but rewards can't be saved) Features: * Completely free to play with no ads or tracking * Multiplayer browser-based virtual world with 80+ locations to explore * Dark mode toggle switch * Simple minigames that smoothly run at your display's refresh rate * Public leaderboards that track the top scores in each minigame * Pet training system with turn-based card-based battle arena * Dynamic player economy with player-run shops * Player guilds that members can level up to unlock perks * Abandoned mines area created by maze generation algorithm * Create / adopt pets, adorn them with hats, give them pets, change their color, etc. * 220 items to collect (food, toys, cosmetics, books, charms, tiny creatures, etc.) * In-game currency with banking, auctions, stock market, and jobs system * Villagers you can talk to, befriend, and complete quests and jobs for * Optional push notifications (like for when you win an auction) * 38 achievement avatars to unlock * Social features: befriend others, send gifts, and share your recent activity * NPC shops that restock over time (sometimes with very rare items!) * Luck system with ways to boost your luck for better rewards * Many puzzles that grant items or MP (currency) when solved * Fishing, gardening, caves, random events, fountains, galleries, etc. * Wheels to spin, treasure maps to complete, and secrets to explore! * Much, much more but I don't want to spoil everything! Links: * Website URL: https://mochia.net * Community Discord: https://discord.gg/ub6z8YH866 * Gameplay Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC6beIxLq8Q * Screenshots Album: https://imgur.com/a/FC9f9u3 I'd love to answer any questions, hear any thoughts, or read any sort of feedback or criticism!
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