I Made a Public Living Room and the Internet Keeps Putting Weirder Stuff in It

Posted3 months agoActive3 months ago

streetmeat

273 points

109 comments

theroom.lolTechstoryHigh profile

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Generative ArtWeb DevelopmentCloud Services

Key topics

Generative Art

Web Development

Cloud Services

I built this silly web game using the nano banana api, if you like dumb stuff come join burning through my google cloud credits.

The author created a web game where users can collaboratively generate and modify a virtual 'living room' using AI, but it quickly went viral and exhausted the author's Google Cloud credits.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

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Key moments

01Story posted
Sep 27, 2025 at 1:59 PM EDT
3 months ago
Step 01
02First comment
Sep 27, 2025 at 2:19 PM EDT
20m after posting
Step 02
03Peak activity
80 comments in 0-12h
Hottest window of the conversation
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04Latest activity
Oct 4, 2025 at 1:47 AM EDT
3 months ago
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Discussion (109 comments)

Showing 109 comments

WarOnPrivacy

3 months ago

1 reply

It feels like being 12 on the pre-bubble internet. I must look like my 20yo cat playing with catnip toys.

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

1 reply

this is the greatest compliment I can receive, my last project is in the same vein crapboard.com

fuzzy_biscuit

3 months ago

1 reply

Crapboard is a delightful "why? why not?"

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

1 reply

thanks :) sometimes I wish I had more valuable ideas but I'm just an antenna transmitting whatever my brain is receiving. my brain wishes it was 2005 and the internet didn't suck

JanNash

3 months ago

your brain is not alone with this wish!

whalesalad

3 months ago

2 replies

RIP your OpenAI bill

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

1 reply

google cloud trial credits are gonna run out in a few hours. maybe google will be moved to give me a little more credit to power internet nostalgia :D

pogue

3 months ago

RIP

polycaster

3 months ago

It’s Gemini for what it’s worth

largbae

3 months ago

3 replies

Reminds me to go check on floor796.com (yup still expanding!)

maerF0x0

3 months ago

That's the metaverse I imagine from snowcrash

jacquesm

3 months ago

That's amazing.

hermitcrab

3 months ago

That is an amazing piece of work. Somehow reminds me of:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights

The Stephen Seagal isn't anywhere near fat enough.

sebastiennight

3 months ago

1 reply

Beautifully amazing. Though I never got a chance to send a prompt, as all the rooms appear full to me. It's a bit frustrating to have no indication whether you're going to be in a queue, or if it's just random chance.

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

Thanks! Sorry about that I didn't expect so much usage, and with my 300 dollars of cloud credit I dont want to add more rooms cuz this is already only going to last the afternoon.

The queue is FIFO and resets when the round does, if you get in it, it adds a place above the text box letting you know your current order in the queue.

bstsb

3 months ago

1 reply

all my prompts are rejected by Gemini under reason IMAGE_SAFETY :(

snerbles

3 months ago

No fun allowed!

Retr0id

3 months ago

1 reply

It'd be nice to have more concurrent rooms, there's no way to riff off what's already in the room when the queue fills up in the first few seconds.

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

yeah I feel u but its already only going to last a few hours unless someone can appeal the powerful logank to give me more cloud credit :(

ZeWaka

3 months ago

1 reply

...and the credits are used up

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

1 reply

it was fun while it lasted

snerbles

3 months ago

1 reply

I felt like I was back in 2005 all over again. Thanks OP, this was magical.

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

thanks for joining in. I wish I could find someone to sponsor the inference

lostlogin

3 months ago

1 reply

I was late to the party and it’s just debris now.

Could anyone who saw it explain what it was?

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

1 reply

updating it with a gallery soon. its an empty room that everyone sees, u can collab on edits 1 prompt at a time. at 20 edits the room resets and it plays a timeline of the edits.

fuzzfactor

3 months ago

The empty room looks like one that I painted once.

Well, twice really it was two coats ;)

mikae1

3 months ago

5 replies

  Error: Gemini error 429: { "error": { "code": 429, "message": "You exceeded your current quota, please check your plan and billing details. For more information on this error, head to: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/rate-limits.\n* Quota exceeded for metric: generativelanguage.googleapis.com/generate_reques

pogue

3 months ago

1 reply

I saw this too. Probably sharing this on HN overwhelmed all his Gemini credits. RIP :(

firefax

3 months ago

1 reply

He got Slashdotted XD

echelon

3 months ago

1 reply

Memories of the tiny, bespoke internet and the one-time largest aggregator of happenings.

firefax

3 months ago

I miss when if someone got too heated, I could pull the "I'm literally a child, maybe I should call the company the whois info is showing for your IP and tell them their sysadmin is acting like one" card.

(Imagine getting owned that hard by a teenager. Modern internet just can't compare since you can just say the most vile shit under your real name with zero consequence apparently.)

maerF0x0

3 months ago

1 reply

It's back!

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

the api change kinda made it sloppy im trying to sort it out

ashu1461

3 months ago

What was AI used for in this ? not able to access the room right now

-- The room is now closed for the night. Come back soon.

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

@OFFICIALLOGANK PLEASE KEEP THE NOSTALGIA FLOWING

nenenejej

3 months ago

429... sums up the entire AI industry

daveevad

3 months ago

1 reply

Got here too late so seems like it went viral.

So, it was a really good idea?

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

1 reply

it was a really good bad idea

daveevad

3 months ago

1 reply

my undergrad econ degree suggests there was more demand than supply

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

4 replies

and my dumb ass only creates memetic unsustainable projects that dont have any business model

mey

3 months ago

1 reply

Time to accept tips and be proud of your experiments. If anything your art is impracting more people than most.

Just be mindful about accidentally ruining the joy you feel in it but turning it into a job.

thimkerbell

3 months ago

1 reply

Impracting is a fine word

fuzzfactor

3 months ago

def. impractical but has impact upon

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

1 reply

theres a btc address in the about page if anyone wants to donate some btc for compute or email if someone at a cloud provider wants to donate some inference :)

fragmede

3 months ago

1 reply

Venmo? PayPal? cashapp?

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

@Michael-bock on venmo I can find more ways to beg if needed.

ineedasername

3 months ago

Make a few mini game versions, eg rooms of 20, everyone has 10 seconds to write something, 5 seconds to vote in which goes in, person with most voted-in things wins the round and/or gets to set the base pic for the new room. Rotating or random themes for the sorts of things you can suggest, edit wars where teams have to get something edited towards their end-state goal, while the other team is promoted edits for something else.

A bunch of game modes like this, freemium ad supported where paid versions or in game currency lets you setup custom games, private rooms, “super prompt” power where your prompt gets 2x the weigh.

jacquesm

3 months ago

That makes them better.

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

1 reply

if u missed its here's a taste/shameless begging for more cloud credit

https://x.com/crapboard/status/1972032724136563164

spacebacon

3 months ago

2 replies

Create premium object properties that make premium objects more fun maybe. Object properties and rate limits may be enough to get payments flowing in.

hmokiguess

3 months ago

1 reply

add 'sponsor a room' a thing, and it creates a room with your background image

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

this might be my best direct path to keeping the site funded hmm

jacquesm

3 months ago

Make 'for pay' elements stick around and make it one of those per room for a month or so.

YeahThisIsMe

3 months ago

1 reply

I'm just gonna assume that by the time I see this comment, it's already too late.

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

yeah it went quick :( I am praying for the compute fairy to contact me

EasyMark

3 months ago

1 reply

hug of death?

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

1 reply

yeah I ran through my cloud credits but a generous soul here just sent a venmo donation. once my rate limits are raised it'll be back.

6stringmerc

3 months ago

Oh no good tool goes unexperimented as weaponry. Kudos for the try. See you in about 7 hours. [R]age Board for the Elites gotta represent ya hurr?

cactusplant7374

3 months ago

1 reply

Do you have a gallery of the additions? Or the last version?

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

update coming in the next hour. unfortunately many of the old rooms are gone but someone donated some $ for compute. it'll be back online until the internet drains it. Gallery coming soon.

z3t4

3 months ago

6 replies

This got me an idea, I wonder if the Internet would pay actually money to order stuff to a real living room

antoniojtorres

3 months ago

1 reply

That’s a twitch channel waiting to go semi viral for a week or two

jama211

3 months ago

People already basically do this - big twitch streamers and YouTubers get overwhelmed with being sent random stuff, there’s tons of videos where they open a bunch of them up. It’s not a living room, but it’s not far off the concept.

averageRoyalty

3 months ago

2 replies

That's an interesting idea. Maybe you purchase a property and set up a big package dump thing for delivery drivers, have a webcam in the deliveries room and another in the main room, and you run 30 days of random stuff being delivered? Everythingn delivered must be assembled and added to the room?

smilespray

3 months ago

1 reply

I'll order a pallet of 10 000-piece jigsaw puzzles

jacquesm

3 months ago

2 replies

You could of course try not to be a jerk.

adaml_623

3 months ago

1 reply

But then it wouldn't be the internet

jacquesm

3 months ago

1 reply

Not today's internet. But there was a time when people on the internet as a rule were not jerks. Unfortunately it now serves mainly as a conduit to connect various jerk-groups into globe spanning entities. But it wasn't always so.

SlightlyLeftPad

3 months ago

1 reply

- <Torvalds enters the room>

jacquesm

3 months ago

'as a rule'.

collingreen

3 months ago

This is the most unrealistic take in this comment chain so far

bdangubic

3 months ago

this would bring out the best of humanity and the worst of humanity…

Uehreka

3 months ago

1 reply

Well do I have a video for you: https://youtu.be/hBP-NzOadL0?si=CilQHOjso4GPn9OT

codethief

3 months ago

Looks like the YouTuber paid for everything, though?

Insanity

3 months ago

Before opening the link that’s exactly what I thought this was going to be

thenthenthen

3 months ago

Semi related, Random Darknet Shopping bot: https://wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.bitnik.or...

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

thats an awesome idea, I misread this the first pass.

spacebacon

3 months ago

2 replies

Just charge to put something in the room. Problem solved. People pay for less.

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

2 replies

that might happen eventually but it also might be too crappy to charge for. its about to go back up in the next 5 mins thanks to a generous hn reader. I do think

dr_kiszonka

3 months ago

1 reply

If you go viral, you could charge companies, not users, e.g., a LiMu Emu product placement ;)

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

1 reply

I hope the right person sees this :)

spacebacon

3 months ago

Many right people definitely already have. They are waiting for your next move … one or two may help ferry you across the channel but I would expect they are mainly waiting for your next move! Get busy.

spacebacon

3 months ago

I believe you have discovered a good balance of crap and potential. Pretend you are Markus Persson and this is your first Minecraft prototype.

stevage

3 months ago

2 replies

It's weird to me that I've been using the internet for 30 years, and there's still no convenient way to be able to just chip in 20c for something. Paying anything is still a big clunky process.

bananaflag

3 months ago

1 reply

This is what web3 in autumn 2021 was said to solve (with "gas").

stevage

3 months ago

There have been many, many attempts to solve it (crypto and otherwise) but none have really caught on.

temp0826

3 months ago

However, there is a way to tell you that you haven't paid! (402 Payment Required)

MarcelOlsz

3 months ago

1 reply

Ok OP we need to link up and make this in 3D.

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

shoot me an email! hi@theroom.lol

maerF0x0

3 months ago

2 replies

What does it mean I'm getting "unprocessable entity" ?

kayodelycaon

3 months ago

It's an HTTP 422 code. Some web frameworks use for validation errors, like fields containing prohibited values.

Depending on the application, the incorrect content type on a file would be considered a validation error, instead of a bad upload.

Fun bit of trivia: 422 was originally a WebDAV code, but frameworks like Ruby on Rails started using it for validation errors in forms.

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

I just switched api providers working on sorting that out. I think it's mostly when the api won't process it for safety reasons. With the new provider the room is getting stuck occasionally when the content gets a lil risqué.

Im str8 pushing to prod so we will see if it gets better or worse

puppycodes

3 months ago

1 reply

This is so so good lol...

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

:D love to hear that, the new api is a bit jankier and slower but it's back up. 1 more shoutout to the awesome HN reader who donated a bit to keep the compute flowing.

vunderba

3 months ago

1 reply

The biggest issue you have right now is that it's far too easy to completely replace the original room by deliberately or accidentally floodfilling it out of existence.

I'd recommend several possible methods to fix this:

1. Set a MIN_ORIGINAL_IMAGE as a percentage - though it'll have to be a perceptual check since Nano degrades the original image. When it falls below this value, reset the counter.

2. Setup an intermediary LLM to determine if the user's instructions are "malicious"

3. Add system instructions to Nano Banana that coerce user prompts to only allow them to fill in a "portion" of the original image

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

Hey thanks for the notes. This was previously using the google API which was failing much faster and not degrading the quality over edits to this degree. I hastily switched to fal.ai and it's a lot jankier rn. I'll be digging into this tonight, despite likely running out of credits again in the next 24 hours lol.

Imo seeing the janky api made me realize that a lot of the magic is still there even when it goes awful.

stevage

3 months ago

1 reply

Mostly what I see is cutesy anime characters. I was hoping for weirder...

streetmeatAuthor

3 months ago

It was better earlier. Its being dominated by a few users by now, shutting it down for the night and gonna implement some changes to avoid this.

ugh123

3 months ago

1 reply

It would be interesting to let people use their own api key to add to the room (obviously a small audience)