How TCGArchitect is Built

At TCGArchitect we want to be as transparent as possible with the community we build for. So to answer any questions related to our process, codebase, practices, etc., we created this page to provide you the full details.

Technical Overview

Frontend

The front-end stack is built using custom code with the use of public libraries and components used in most modern websites.

Back-end

The backend stack is akin to the frontend with a mix of custom code with intermingling of public libraries and components.

Dev tools (What we use to make the site)

This is a pretty standard setup for any dev and used across the professional industry. These are the tools we've been using for almost a decade now so we just kept using them for our passion project.

API (Middleware)

We use an industry standard for all API traffic with a little bit of extra security created by MidnightSoda and Orginal_Sly_Fox.

SEO

If you ever want to take a look at our stack visually (or any other website) you can install the "Wappalyzer" extension for Chromium-based browsers.

Use of AI

AI is one of the most advanced systems we as a human race has created. AI as we know it today is not true Artificial Intelligence but instead an advanced algorithmic reasoning machine. AI was created to be an I/O system at a massive scale. This essentially boils down to it ingesting massive datasets and you "training" this advanced algorithm to become what we now know as AI. Sadly, AI has not been used in the intended use case and is instead being used to generate art, take jobs, and other things besides its intended use case. We at TCGArchitect do not agree with any creative human art being done by a machine. (MidnightSoda moonlights as an artist and Orginal_Sly_Fox runs a publishing company.)

First and foremost, MidnightSoda (LinkedIn) and Orginal_Sly_Fox (LinkedIn) are software engineers and developers (Fox being more of a jack of all trades). We use open source libraries and packages that are publicly available and use industry standards. We also frequent sites like Stack Overflow and use Google to search for resolutions we have used snippets of code from multiple public sources. We are unable to check every package, library, or code snippet for any AI-generated content so there is always a possibility that such code was generated by AI without our knowledge. Some AI-assisted programming was used for boilerplate creation and SEO generation following the industry standards. Most AI code is indistinguishable from human-made code as coding is generally done one way with a few slight variations. Nevertheless, we felt it was important to be open and clear about that regardless.

Beyond that, we do not use Generative AI for anything creative for our site. But for complete transparency, programs we work with have added in AI features, the majority of which we do not use. Here are those in detail:

• Microsoft Windows 11: Windows 11 added Copilot to its OS and even after disabling the feature many times it still turns itself back on. It's a reason why I am switching to Linux.
• GitHub: When pushing to a repo there is a GitHub Copilot feature that checks your code and provides "Bug Fixes." This feature has been disabled on the TCGArchitect repos but I wanted to add this for transparency's sake.
• VSCode: Added multiple coding agents to its editor. All of the AI generation features have been turned off but some features are now built in, such as tab completion and AI assisted coding, though those are hardly used as they tend to be wrong (and they're expensive).
• AI-assisted programming: We cannot speak for every developer we've collaborated with regarding their personal use of AI-assisted programming tools. We have found that some GA sites have used Generative AI or fully Generatated AI templates and we have declined to work with them due to these factors.

Generative AI is not used in any other aspects of the website. To be clear, that includes: art, blog posts, decklists, and tools. We pride ourselves on our community-written blog and we work closely with all the people that make that happen.

Our logos and graphic assets are designed by my SO, MidnightSoda, Orginal_Sly_Fox, and our UI/UX Designer (anonymous) in Krita, MS Paint, and Adobe products.

Credits

• Overall Site Design: Our UI has been designed by our UI/UX Designer (anonymous).
• Architecture and Devops: MidnightSoda
• DB Design: Orginal_Sly_Fox, MidnightSoda
• API Development: MidnightSoda
• Front-end and UI/UX Development: Orginal_Sly_Fox, MidnightSoda
• Mobile App Design, Maintenance, and Creation: App Developer (anonymous)

I would also like to say thank you to my SO for putting up with me working into the night and waking up early to make sure this site has run smoothly.

Stats

• Hours Worked on the Site: ~2,000 hours (probably more)
• Tears Cried When Something Broke: ~At least a gallon
• Arguments About What Color the Site Should Be: 3
• Hairs That Have Turned Gray: Too Many

We want to be upfront: AI has been integrated into many of the tools the industry relies on, often without much choice on our end. We've documented every instance of this above as honestly as we can. What we can control, we have and where we can't, we've been transparent about it.

To be clear about where we stand: we don't believe in using AI as a substitute for human creativity. That means no AI-generated art, blog posts, or "vibe-coded" features. We pride ourselves on our community-human-written content and work closely with the people who make that happen. Every single thing you see on this site was built custom from the ground up. No templates or UI kits. Some of us still put in the elbow grease.

If you have any additional questions or issues, please reach out to Orginal_Sly_Fox on Discord.