I'm Making a Small RPG and I Need Feedback Regarding Performance

This past month, I’ve been working secretly on a small RPG game.

While the game is not ready at all and I didn’t plan on talking about it, I’m now kind of forced to.

I’ve been using JavaScript + the KAPLAY game library to make this game but I’ve been experiencing performance issues. However, it seems that others aren’t experiencing them so now I wonder, is it just my machine?

I’m using a Macbook Air M3 with 16GB of RAM. Normally, things should be smooth and they are when playing the game in the browser via Firefox.

However, since I’m making this game with Steam in mind, it’s especially important that the game performs well when wrapped as a desktop app.

For this reason, I decided to reach out to you, my audience, for feedback. I have included a build of the unfinished game for Windows, Mac and Linux. It would be very nice if you could try it out on your machine. Additionally, recording gameplay and sharing the link in the comment section of this post would be greatly appreciated.

Here is the link to the game in its unfinished current form : https://jslegend.itch.io/small-rpg-performance-playtest

Below is a gameplay video to give you an idea of how the game is supposed to be played. You can move around with arrow keys and enter battle by overlapping with a star in the overworld.

Performance issues, if any, occur mostly during battles.

Thanks in advance!

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UPDATE 7/11/2025 : It seems that this post was shared on Hacker News and is getting more attention than usual! If you’re new to my Substack and are potentially interested in updates regarding this project, I recommend subscribing.

In the meantime, you can read some of my previous posts!