Publish music generator post + expand IDEAS.md

Blog:
- Publish "How I accidentally built a procedural music generator" as first post of 2026
- Expand "What's next" section with concrete directions
- Fix hotdog theme footnote (click to swap, not random)
- Add GASP pun to pixel fonts TIL

Music generator IDEAS.md:
- Add Generation Modes: scene presets, emotion targeting, loop exports,
  stingers, emotional arcs, parameter locking, extended duration, drift mode
- Add Session Workflow: favorites, another take, quick export
- Add CLI/API section: programmatic API, HTTP endpoint, game editor plugins, WASM
- Add Beyond Music: SFX generation, adaptive music sets, visual sync
- Update priority tiers for actual use cases

Author: aviraccoon

posts/how-insane-can-i-make-this/index.md

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 ---
 title: "How I accidentally built a procedural music generator"
-date: 2025-12-31
+date: 2026-01-01
 tags: [dev, web, building-in-public]
 slug: how-insane-can-i-make-this
 description: "I asked 'how insane can I make this?' at midnight. Three sleepless nights later: nine genres, twenty radio stations, and Dumpster Diving Certification ads."
-draft: true
+draft: false
 ---
 
 ```
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ This is the story of feature creep at 3am.
 
 ## December 3rd, midnight
 
-I was tired. I should have gone to sleep. Instead, I started "messing with adding some themes" to this blog.
+I was tired. I should have gone to sleep. Instead, I started messing with adding some themes to this blog.
 
 First came the silly ones. A hotdog stand theme with two modes: ketchup (red background, yellow text) and mustard (yellow background, red text). A terminal theme. A few others.[^themes]
 
@@ -127,11 +127,19 @@ But where's the fun in that?
 
 ## What's next
 
-I might use this for game sounds in [some small games I'm making](/posts/making-small-games/). The procedural approach means I don't need to compose anything - just define parameters and let it generate.
+This thing is becoming a playground. Some directions I'm excited about:
 
-More genres are planned. The IDEAS.md file has rock/metal, drum & bass, trip-hop, eurodance, industrial, gabber, acid. No timeline. It'll happen when I feel like it.
+**More ways to generate:** Right now it reacts to page content or plays radio stations. I want modes for generating specific things - "give me 30 seconds of tense ambient" or "loop-ready chiptune for a game scene." Shareable song seeds so you can save and recall your favorites. Stem exports for mixing.
 
-The whole thing is [open source](https://github.com/AviDuda/nocturnal-scribbles) (MIT license). The code is a beautiful mess, like all good Geocities tributes.
+**More genres:** Rock/metal, drum & bass, trip-hop, eurodance, industrial, gabber, acid. The [IDEAS.md](https://github.com/AviDuda/nocturnal-scribbles/blob/main/src/geocities/music/IDEAS.md) has the full list.
+
+**More radio chaos:** Dial-up modem handshake sounds between songs. ICQ "uh oh" notifications. Weather reports for the information superhighway. Time-locked stations that only broadcast at certain hours. Winamp skins for the player.
+
+**Game audio:** I'm [making small games](/posts/making-small-games/) and the procedural approach means I don't need to compose anything - just define parameters and generate. Background music, menu themes, sound effects.
+
+**More silly things:** Easter eggs. A cursor theremin. Typing percussion. Whatever sounds fun at 3 AM.
+
+No timeline. It'll happen when it happens. The whole thing is [open source](https://github.com/AviDuda/nocturnal-scribbles) (MIT license). The code is a beautiful mess, like all good Geocities tributes.
 
 ---
 
@@ -166,7 +174,7 @@ Welcome to the information superhighway.
 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 ```
 
-[^themes]: You can try them all in the footer. The hotdog theme is a Windows 3.11 reference - it picks ketchup or mustard randomly on each load.
+[^themes]: You can try them all in the footer. The hotdog theme is a Windows 3.11 reference - click it to swap between ketchup and mustard.
 [^marquee]: The `<marquee>` element still works in browsers. I'm not saying you should use it. I'm saying I did.
 [^nemo]: The winner of Eurovision 2024. Non-binary Swiss artist. Incredible live.
 [^beer]: "It can't fuck me up even more when I didn't sleep" - past me, accurately predicting the immediate crash that followed

posts/til-pixel-fonts-blurry/index.md

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ ArialPixel is designed on a 16×16 pixel grid (em=1024, 64-unit grid). It's outl
 
 When the font size doesn't match the design grid (multiples of 16px), the pixel grid doesn't align with display pixels. Modern browsers apply antialiasing to smooth the edges. Result: blur.
 
-I dug into the font with FontForge.[^fontforge] The GASP table had empty hinting flags - no gridfitting instructions telling renderers how to snap to pixels.
+I dug into the font with FontForge.[^fontforge] The GASP table had empty hinting flags - no gridfitting instructions telling renderers how to snap to pixels. (I did gasp when I saw it. Sorry.)
 
 Here's a sandbox comparing everything I tried:
 

src/geocities/music/IDEAS.md

@@ -22,6 +22,139 @@ Physical dial UI to tune between stations. Static between frequencies. Signal cl
 
 ---
 
+## Generation Modes
+
+Beyond tape mode (page-reactive) and radio mode (station-based), additional modes for specific use cases.
+
+### Scene Presets
+
+Pre-configured generation for common contexts:
+
+| Scene | Energy | Brightness | Character |
+|-------|--------|------------|-----------|
+| Menu | -0.3 | +0.2 | Inviting, loopable, not distracting |
+| Gameplay | +0.3 | 0 | Engaging but sustainable for long sessions |
+| Tension | +0.4 | -0.6 | Building unease, sparse, unsettling |
+| Victory | +0.6 | +0.7 | Triumphant, bright, celebratory |
+| Defeat | -0.5 | -0.5 | Somber, deflated, reflective |
+| Ambient Background | -0.7 | -0.1 | Atmospheric, unobtrusive, endless |
+
+### Emotion Targeting
+
+Direct mood selection bypassing page analysis:
+
+| Emotion | Energy | Brightness | Notes |
+|---------|--------|------------|-------|
+| Anxious | +0.2 | -0.4 | Restless, unstable rhythms, minor keys |
+| Nostalgic | -0.4 | +0.1 | Warm but melancholic, vintage processing |
+| Melancholic | -0.5 | -0.3 | Slow, sparse, minor, lots of reverb |
+| Manic | +0.8 | +0.3 | Fast, chaotic, genre-hopping |
+| Peaceful | -0.6 | +0.3 | Gentle, major keys, soft timbres |
+| Dread | -0.2 | -0.8 | Slow builds, dissonance, dark |
+| Lonely | -0.4 | -0.2 | Sparse, single voices, space |
+| Hopeful | +0.1 | +0.5 | Building energy, major progressions |
+
+### Loop-Ready Exports
+
+Generate tracks designed for seamless looping:
+
+- **Bar counts:** 4, 8, 16, 32 bars (user selectable)
+- **Duration targets:** 15s, 30s, 1min, 2min
+- **Loop point markers:** Metadata for DAW import
+- **Intro/outro options:** With or without, for flexibility
+- **Seamless mode:** End matches beginning for perfect loops
+
+### Transition Stingers
+
+Short musical hits for scene changes:
+
+- **Victory sting:** 2-4 second triumphant hit
+- **Defeat sting:** 2-4 second somber hit
+- **Discovery sting:** Curious, rising
+- **Alert sting:** Attention-grabbing
+- **Transition whoosh:** Swoosh between scenes
+- **UI confirm/cancel:** Short feedback sounds
+
+### Emotional Arcs
+
+Music that evolves over a defined duration:
+
+- **Build:** Starts sparse, adds layers, crescendos
+- **Decay:** Starts full, strips away, fades
+- **Wave:** Builds and releases in cycles
+- **Shift:** Gradual mood transformation (e.g., hopeful → dread)
+- **Arc duration:** User-defined (30s to 5min)
+
+### Parameter Locking
+
+Control what stays constant vs. what varies:
+
+- **Lock tempo:** Keep BPM, change everything else
+- **Lock genre:** Stay in genre, vary song
+- **Lock mood:** Keep energy/brightness, vary genre
+- **Lock key:** Same musical key, different songs
+- **Lock structure:** Same form, different content
+
+### Extended Duration Tracks
+
+Currently tracks are 1-3 minutes. Options for longer generation:
+
+- **Duration targets:** 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 30 min
+- **Section variety:** More section types, less repetition over time
+- **Development:** Themes introduced early, developed/transformed later
+- **Dynamic arrangement:** Instruments enter/exit more gradually
+- **Key changes:** Modulation to related keys for freshness
+
+Needs work on structure generation to stay interesting over longer durations.
+
+### Endless / Drift Mode
+
+Continuous generation without song boundaries. Music slowly morphs over time:
+
+- **No endings:** Stream runs indefinitely until stopped
+- **Parameter drift:** Tempo, key, energy slowly shift over minutes/hours
+- **Genre blending:** Gradually transitions between genres (lofi → ambient → vaporwave)
+- **Seamless evolution:** No abrupt changes, everything crossfades organically
+- **Drift speed control:** How fast parameters change (glacial → noticeable)
+
+Different from automix (discrete songs with crossfades). This is one continuous piece that becomes something else over time. Like generative ambient for long sessions.
+
+Could have presets:
+- **Study drift:** Stays in chill zone, very slow changes
+- **Journey drift:** Explores full mood space over hours
+- **Night drift:** Follows time of day (energetic evening → ambient late night → gentle morning)
+
+---
+
+## Session Workflow
+
+Features for working with generated music (session-only, no persistence across visits).
+
+### Favorites
+
+- **Star current track:** Save to session favorites list
+- **Favorites panel:** Review starred tracks
+- **Re-generate from favorite:** Recreate using saved seed
+- **Export all favorites:** Batch download
+
+### Another Take
+
+- **Regenerate similar:** New song, same parameters
+- **Variation slider:** How different should the new take be (0% = nearly identical, 100% = just the locked params)
+- **A/B comparison:** Toggle between current and previous
+
+### Quick Export
+
+WAV and MIDI export already exist. See [Export Improvements](#export-improvements) for format ideas.
+
+Workflow improvements:
+
+- **One-click export:** Download what's playing without opening menus
+- **Export from favorites:** Batch download all starred tracks
+- **Auto-filename:** Use generated track name as filename
+
+---
+
 ## New Genres
 
 Genres that fit the 90s web aesthetic and are achievable with oscillator synthesis:
@@ -433,6 +566,98 @@ Option 1 is cleanest - adds drums/bass/melody/pad/arp/fx gain nodes, mute contro
 - **Loop Export** - Just the main loop, perfect for tiling
 - **Ringtone Length** - 30-second export option
 
+### CLI / API Design
+
+For using the generator outside the browser (batch generation, game asset pipelines, scripting):
+
+**Architecture goal:** Keep generation logic cleanly separated from browser-specific code (Web Audio API, DOM). Core generation should be pure functions that output note/timing data, with rendering as a separate layer.
+
+**Potential CLI:**
+```bash
+npx nocturnal-music generate --emotion dread --duration 30 --loop --out track.wav
+npx nocturnal-music batch --preset tense-ambient --count 10 --out ./assets/
+npx nocturnal-music list-presets
+```
+
+**Programmatic API:**
+```typescript
+import { generate, render } from 'nocturnal-music';
+
+const song = generate({
+  emotion: 'dread',
+  duration: 30,
+  loop: true,
+});
+
+await render(song, { format: 'wav', output: 'track.wav' });
+```
+
+**Why this matters:** Games using non-JS tech (Godot, Unity, Love2D) can't embed the generator at runtime. But a CLI/API lets you generate assets during development and drop the files into any project.
+
+**HTTP endpoint:**
+```
+GET /generate?emotion=dread&duration=30&loop=true&format=wav
+→ Returns audio file
+```
+
+Could run as a local dev server or hosted service. Useful for non-JS projects that want on-demand generation during development.
+
+**Game editor plugins:**
+
+Integrate directly into game engines as editor extensions:
+- **Godot plugin** - Generate and import audio from editor panel
+- **Unity package** - Custom window for music generation
+- **Love2D helper** - Lua script that calls local endpoint
+
+Side benefit: Learning each editor's plugin system while building something useful.
+
+**WASM build:**
+
+Compile generator to WebAssembly for embedding in non-JS environments:
+- Rust, Go, C++, etc. can load WASM modules
+- Runtime generation in Godot, Unity, Love2D becomes possible
+- Same generation logic, different host language
+
+**Not a priority** - web tool with good export workflow covers most use cases. But keeping the code modular makes this possible later.
+
+---
+
+## Beyond Music
+
+### Sound Effects Generation
+
+Procedural SFX using similar synthesis approach:
+
+- **UI sounds:** Clicks, hovers, confirms, cancels, errors
+- **Footsteps:** Variations on surface types (wood, stone, grass)
+- **Impacts:** Hits, explosions, thuds with energy scaling
+- **Ambient loops:** Wind, rain, room tone, forest
+- **Pickups/collectibles:** Satisfying chimes and swooshes
+
+Royalty-free, infinite variations, no licensing headaches.
+
+### Adaptive Music Sets
+
+Generate variations of the same theme for dynamic game audio:
+
+- **Calm / Medium / Intense** versions of one piece
+- Same key, tempo, core motifs - different energy and density
+- Compatible layers that can crossfade based on gameplay
+- Export as stems for in-game mixing
+
+Example: Generate a "dungeon theme" → get exploration layer, combat layer, boss layer that all work together.
+
+### Visual Sync / Generative Visuals
+
+Music generation already produces structured data (beats, sections, energy curves). Export this for visual sync:
+
+- **Beat markers** - Drive particle bursts, screen shake, flash
+- **Section changes** - Trigger color palette shifts, transitions
+- **Energy curves** - Control intensity of visual effects over time
+- **Frequency data** - Already have analyser, could export for offline use
+
+Could pair with procedural visual generators. Another "learn a thing" angle (shaders, visual programming).
+
 ---
 
 ## Wild Ideas
@@ -498,23 +723,31 @@ No user tracking required - all based on time, input, or page content.
 ## Priority Tiers
 
 ### Do Next (High Impact)
-- Song seed for sharing
+- Song seed for sharing/recreating tracks
+- Favorites system (star tracks, review, regenerate from seed)
+- Scene/emotion preset selector (menu, tension, peaceful, dread, etc.)
+- Loop-ready export options (bar count, seamless mode)
 
 ### Do Eventually (Medium Impact)
+- Extended duration tracks (5-30 min with more section variety)
+- Endless/drift mode (continuous morphing stream)
+- Stem export (separate drums/bass/melody files)
+- Parameter locking UI (beyond just genre lock)
+- Transition stingers (short hits for scene changes)
+
+### Do Maybe (Fun but Effort)
 - More visualizer modes
 - Station special effects (PIRATE RADIO glitches, THE VOID processing)
 - Time-locked stations
 - Texture/atmosphere layer
-
-### Do Maybe (Fun but Effort)
 - Skin system
 - Weather/traffic reports
-- Click-to-trigger sounds
-- Album art generation
-- Easter eggs (Konami code, time-based triggers)
 - Tune-in dial UI
 
 ### Do If Bored (Wild)
+- Click-to-trigger sounds
+- Album art generation
+- Easter eggs (Konami code, time-based triggers)
 - Multiplayer shared radio
 - LLM-generated lyrics
 - Physical CD burn animation