I’ve always been amazed by the amount of functionality a web site can attain with JavaScript alone. When training myself in dynamic JavaScript-based functionality, I collaborated with good friend and colleague Peter Wooley on a fun project to push the interactivity aspect of client-side scripting.
The resultant Mario Scene Editor is a fun, picture-making application where users can choose from a variety of backgrounds and sprites (all from the classic Super Mario Bros.) to create an original image.
Usability techniques used here include custom alert menus, saving via cookies, and the ability to view a console of all activity by tapping the tilda (~) key. This was great fun to build, and established a lot of techniques I would use in projects that followed.