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DevThuong
DevThuong

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#2 - GameOverNight: v0.2.0 Released – New Homepage, Cookie Consent, and Performance Fixes

#webdev #react #update #devlog

I’m happy to announce that a new version of GameOverNight.com was released on July 15th, 2025!

This update brings a refreshed homepage layout, cookie consent integration, and some important performance considerations. Here’s what’s new:

🆕 Key Changes

1. Homepage Display Overhaul

  • The portal now features around 30 games, all of which are shown directly on the homepage. The interface looks much more engaging than before.
  • Previously, I used Flexbox to render the gameCard layout. Now it’s switched to CSS Grid, which feels more flexible and appropriate for this scenario.

2. Cookie Consent Integration

  • On first visit, users now see a cookie consent banner. To play any game, they must accept at least the “games cookies.”
  • I’ve also included an “analytics cookies” option in the banner, though it hasn’t been tested in production yet.
  • This is part of a broader effort to comply with GDPR, although proper legal pages are still under development.
  • The implementation uses vanilla-cookieconsent, along with its default CSS.

🐞 Issues Encountered

1. Lag on Initial Homepage Load

  • Loading 30+ game thumbnails with video previews led to noticeable lag on the first visit — one of the major problems to resolve.

🔧 Current Fix Ideas:

  1. Skeleton Placeholders: Doesn’t solve the core issue, but helps smooth the user experience.
  2. Lazy Load Videos on Hover: This is the main fix I’m working toward.
  3. I’m also exploring a system that automatically downloads, compresses, and caches videos, though this depends on permissions from content providers.

📌 What’s Next

1. Development Goals

  • Add a footer, and create a dedicated routing group for legal pages (Privacy Policy, Terms, etc.), with links placed in the footer.
  • Improve SEO metadata across the site.

2. Content & Admin Goals

  • Add a few more racing games, then pause new game additions for a while.
  • Enrich game detail pages to avoid thin content.
  • Complete legal documents like:
    • ✅ Privacy Policy
    • ✅ Terms & Conditions
    • ✅ Cookie Policy This is aimed at preparing the site to qualify for Google Adsense.

Thanks for reading!

You can try the live version at 👉 https://GameOverNight.com

If you have any thoughts, suggestions, or just want to say hi — feel free to drop a comment! 🎮🧠

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