DEV Community: Sergei Solod

Shipping a Scalable AI SaaS: How DeepSeek + Node.js Changed My Workflow

Sergei Solod — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 22:33:52 +0000

If you're a developer juggling a 9–6 and side projects, you probably know this graph story too.

In 2025, my GitHub contribution graph told the tale of two different developers. The first half of the year: Empty squares. I did my job, logged off, and disconnected. The second half of the year: 4,000+ commits.

What changed? I stopped worrying about the "grind" and started leveraging AI to accelerate my build speed.

The "MVP Problem" is Solved

I remember trying to build an MMORPG side project years ago. The sheer amount of boilerplate and setup required meant I had to sink hundreds of hours before I even had a "Minimum Viable Product." It killed my motivation before I could even start.

With the current state of AI coding tools, that friction is gone. I discovered that I can now spin up an MVP in days, not months.

This new velocity gave me the momentum to:

Deep dive into Backend Node.js and MongoDB.
Master Nginx and VDS configuration from scratch.
Actually ship a complete, production-ready project.

What I Built: An AI Companion Platform

I used this new velocity to build a platform centered around a core idea: AI Chatbots that feel alive.

I didn't want a generic assistant. I wanted to create conversational partners—friendly, romantic, smart, or supportive. To achieve this "human-like" feel, I engineered features that go beyond simple text generation:

Persistent Memory: The AI remembers context, past conversations, and small details about you to maintain a continuous relationship.

Rich Media: The bots can send photographs.

Interactive Gameplay: I didn't stop at text. I developed 4 mini-games (hosted on separate pages) where you can play and interact with the AI personality.

True Personalities: Each AI has its own backstory, hobbies, and character traits. They aren't just LLM wrappers; they are unique identities.

Why DeepSeek?

For the tech stack, I had to choose the right LLM. After testing various models, I settled on DeepSeek as the core intelligence for these characters.

I found that DeepSeek handled roleplay, emotional nuance, and "human" distinctiveness significantly better than the alternatives for my specific use case.

(I am currently writing a detailed technical breakdown comparing DeepSeek vs. OpenAI vs. Gemini benchmarks, follow me if you want to see the results!)

The Result

It has been a year of massive growth. 2025 was about learning to build fast. 2026 will be about refining that process and bringing this energy to my main work.

You can see the live project here: rizae.com

What's your favorite AI tool for side projects? Share below 👇

Happy coding!

My Next.js Blog: Global in a Week (21 Languages)

Sergei Solod — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:04:35 +0000

So, I tried something cool: I built a Next.js blog that speaks 21 languages. A week after it went live, the search engine results are starting to roll in, and they're pretty neat.

My blog, blog.jsvar.com, has already snagged 439 impressions and 5 clicks from Google, and Yandex is starting to notice it too. I just did this for fun and as a tech challenge, but it's cool to see it working.

I picked Next.js specifically because it's awesome for internationalization (i18n), server-side rendering (SSR), and static site generation (SSG). I wanted to make sure it was smooth for users in any language and easy for search engines to find.

The clicks aren't huge yet, but getting impressions in so many different languages so fast is a really good sign for getting more organic traffic down the road. It proves that with the right tech and some smart multilingual SEO, even a small personal project can start ranking globally.

Speaking of ranking, my sitemap.xml file generates automatically, and I pop that into Google Search Console. Google does take its sweet time indexing pages, though. Right now, I've got 436 pages indexed, but 35 are still waiting, even after a few weeks. That's because one article turns into 21 pages for all the languages.

This whole thing has been a great learning experience, showing me the ins and outs of getting a multilingual site up and running and how fast it can show up in search results. It really feels like reaching a global audience is more within reach for developers than ever before.

Blog url: https://blog.jsvar.com

18 Months, 30 Players: The Unfortunate Truth About My Failed Online Game

Sergei Solod — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 21:42:28 +0000

Hello everyone. I want to share a story of failure, and ultimately, a unique kind of success. A year and a half ago, in January 2024, as a JavaScript developer, I embarked on a personal quest: to build my dream browser MMORPG. In just ten days, I created an entire world from scratch, wearing multiple hats:

Storyteller and Dialoguist: I crafted an engaging narrative.
Full-stack Developer: I coded everything using Node.js, React, and MongoDB.
Artist: I designed and created all the game's graphics.
UI/UX Designer: I built a custom UI kit, including buttons, windows, and animations.
Game Mechanic Designer: I developed a combat system, quests, and localization features.
The result was a beautiful, vibrant game. But that was only the beginning; the real challenge was marketing.

A Quiet Launch
I had no marketing experience. My first attempt was sharing the link in a small Telegram chat of about 100 people. Ten clicked, played briefly, and then left. That was the extent of it.

Undeterred, I edited a video in February 2024 and uploaded it to YouTube. The initial 450 views in two days gave me hope, but it quickly fizzled out. Over a year and a half, that video only reached 555 views, and subsequent videos performed even worse (276 and 47 views).

I bought a domain, hosted the game, and waited. After 18 months, the total player count stood at just 30. While some might see this as minimal, I see it as a significant achievement: thirty real people chose to spend their time in the world I lovingly built alone.

A True Win
What truly mattered was seeing that three players completed my game entirely, spending 2-3 hours immersed in my world. They communicated in the game chat, visited daily, and one even sent me a detailed email with feedback and suggestions. This was invaluable.

I learned that while promotion is important, staying true to your initial passion is paramount. My biggest reward wasn't high statistics, but the genuine engagement of the few players I managed to reach.

My advice? Pursue what you love, pour your heart into it, and even if only a few appreciate your work, the joy you derive will be profound. I'll share more about the game's creation in future articles—subscribe to learn more!

I'd be delighted for you to explore my world. You can play here: https://rizae.com/en/games/mmorpg