When I started designing Head in the Cloud, a horror text-adventure game, I figured C would be the natural language of choice. There is a romanticism to writing a text-based game in C. But I wanted to ship the game, and I knew that C wasn’t the best choice for that (for me).
I ultimately chose Tauri, a framework that allows you to build desktop applications using web technologies, over a traditional systems language. Here’s why.
1. Avoiding the Language Learning Curve
My biggest constraint was time. As a Lead Software Engineer with two decades of experience in web development, I’m most familiar with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Conversely, I don’t know C and my knowledge of Rust (another systems language) is novice at best.
Choosing C would have turned this into a language learning exercise rather than a game development journey. By choosing Tauri, I eliminated the “language tax.” I can think in game logic—inventory arrays, state management, narrative branching—rather than syntax. The goal is to ship a game, not to learn a language.
2. CSS is Great for Text, Layouts, and Graphics
The web browser is the most sophisticated text rendering engine in existence. If I were to build in C, I would be giving that up. I also wanted keep the option to modernize the game with graphics. A text-based game benefits a lot from illustrations.
Using Tauri allows me to use CSS. I can utilize Flexbox and Grid for responsive layouts that look good on any screen size. I can load custom web fonts to set the retro atmosphere instantly. I can use CSS animations for subtle text fades or “glitch” effects that would be nightmarish to code from scratch in C. Tauri gives me a AAA-level UI layer for free.
3. Smaller Build Sizes than Electron
The immediate counter-argument to using web tech for desktop apps is usually “Electron bloat.” Electron bundles a version of the Chromium browser and Node.js into every single application installer. This leads to simple chat apps weighing in at 100MB+.
Tauri solves this by relying on the Operating System’s native webview (WKWebView on macOS, WebView2 on Windows, WebKitGTK on Linux). It does not bundle a browser.
The result is massive binary reduction. A basic Tauri app can be less than 5MB. For a text adventure game, keeping the footprint small is essential. I get the development experience of Electron without forcing the user to download an entire web browser just to play a text game.
4. Simpler Architecture than Electron
While I wanted the web environment, I did not want the Electron ecosystem. Electron is powerful, but it requires you to manage the complexity of the Main vs. Renderer processes, context bridges, and inter-process communication (IPC).
Tauri simplifies this architecture. It is built on Rust, providing a secure, lightweight backend that communicates with the frontend. I don’t have to worry about spinning up worker threads manually or managing complex menu configurations just to get a window on the screen. It provides sensible defaults that let me focus on the JavaScript layer where my game logic lives.
5. Iteration Velocity
Game development requires constant tweaking. You change a line of dialogue, you tweak a color, you adjust a timing delay.
In a C environment, this is a compile-run loop. In the Tauri environment, I have access to Hot Module Replacement (HMR). I can change the CSS of the game interface or the JavaScript logic of a puzzle, and the game window updates instantly without a restart. Over the course of a 6-month development cycle, those saved seconds compound into days of saved time.
6. Safety by Default
Writing a game in C opens the door to memory leaks and segfaults. One bad pointer arithmetic error can crash the user’s desktop.
Tauri relies on Rust for its backend bindings. Even though I am a Rust novice, I benefit from Rust’s memory safety guarantees. I am writing high-level JavaScript, which is sandboxed, and the heavy lifting is done by a backend that is proven to be memory-safe. It is a safety net that C simply does not offer.
7. Cross-Platform without the Pain
Finally, compiling C for Windows, macOS, and Linux requires managing makefiles, compiler flags, and distinct build environments. Tauri abstracts this complexity. With a few commands, I can cross-compile binaries for the major operating systems. Since the UI is just a webview, I don’t have to rewrite the rendering logic for different OS window managers. It ensures Head in the Cloud is accessible to everyone, regardless of their machine.
Conclusion
There is no “best” language, only the best tool for the job at hand. For a high-fidelity 3D shooter, C++ or Rust is the answer. But for a narrative-driven text adventure built by a veteran web developer? Tauri offers the perfect intersection of performance, file size, and developer velocity. It lets me respect the user’s hardware while respecting my own time.
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