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Show HN: Lumo – a tiny fluffy virtual pet you can play with in the browser
You can feed it, tickle it, or just say hi — it reacts naturally, more like a living toy than a game character.
Play here: https://yw.app/ujtA8IZ
## Why I made this
I wanted to experiment with combining AI-generated assets (image-to-video via Google Flow) and a lightweight state machine in JavaScript to simulate natural pet-like behaviors. Instead of giving direct commands, you just interact — and Lumo reacts.
## How it works
- Assets were generated with image-to-video (idle, happy, annoyed, etc.). To make the animations feel more natural, I used the Frames-to-Video mode — for example, I set both the start and end frames to the idle state, so transitions between different behaviors look smoother.
- A JS state machine switches animations and reactions. For example, the default state is the idle animation. If you touch Lumo once, it becomes curious and shows the corresponding behavior (animation). If you touch it again, it turns happy.
- Everything runs client-side in the browser.
## What’s next
This is just a small experiment right now. I’d love to hear feedback:
- What feels fun or missing in the interaction?
- What other “pet-like” behaviors could make it more alive?
- Anyone else here experimenting with AI video assets for interactive projects?
Thanks for checking it out
https://lumo.proton.me/guest
Mainly doing a funny experiment this time and seeing if I can get some feedback on HN.
The indexing speed of HN by Google is amazing... just searching "Lumo pet" brings up the post. I hadn’t thought of that before.