Developer Builds AI Character Generator and Browser Game Engine on a $100/Year VPS

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A developer has launched two browser-based applications, CHARFORGE and a 3D Game Engine, running entirely on a budget VPS with 6 vCPUs, 11 GB of RAM, and no GPU. CHARFORGE generates realistic 3D human characters with AI-assigned names, backstories, and clothing, using only locally hosted AI models and no third-party APIs. The companion 3D Game Engine allows users to place forged characters into procedurally generated environments and play in first or third person directly in the browser. To work around the lack of GPU, all 3D rendering and mesh deformation is handled client-side via Three.js, while the server handles only file storage and AI inference. A shared 163-bone skeleton system allows characters created in CHARFORGE to be used seamlessly in the game engine without any retargeting.

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