Resurrecting Teletext: Building Modern Teletext with Kiro for Kiroween Hackathon 🎃

Oğuz Kopan — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 19:27:14 +0000

🎃 Resurrecting Teletext: Building Modern Teletext with Kiro AI 👻

For the Kiroween Hackathon, I resurrected 1970s teletext technology as a modern web app. Modern Teletext faithfully recreates BBC Ceefax-style navigation with AI chat, interactive games, live radio streaming, and Halloween horror elements - all built in 60 hours with Kiro AI.

🏆 Category: Resurrection

🔗 Live Demo: https://oguzkopan.com

📦 GitHub: https://github.com/oguzkopan/teletext

What is Teletext? 📺

Teletext was a 1970s-90s broadcast system that transmitted text over TV signals. Users navigated with three-digit page numbers (100, 201, 302) to access news, weather, and sports - all in a character grid with 8 colors. It was fast, accessible, and distraction-free. And it's been dead for over a decade.

Why resurrect it? Modern web design is bloated and distracting. Teletext was the opposite: keyboard-only navigation, instant loading, no ads, no tracking. Perfect for the Resurrection category!

The Tech Stack 🛠

Frontend: Next.js 14, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
Backend: Firebase App Hosting (serverless, no Cloud Functions!)
AI: Google Gemini via Vertex AI (direct integration)
Audio: HTML5 Audio API for live radio streaming
Development: Kiro AI IDE

What I Built: 50+ Pages of Retro Goodness 🚀

Page 100: Kiroween-Themed Main Index 🏠

The hub of everything with full Halloween treatment:

🎃 Animated decorations (pumpkins, ghosts, bats)
Live date/time display
Organized sections: News, Sports, Markets, AI, Games, Services
Color-coded navigation (Red/Green/Yellow/Blue buttons)
Quick access to popular pages

News Pages (200-299) 📰

Real news content with smart navigation:

200: News index with breaking news banner
201: UK News with 5 top stories
202: World News from international sources
203: Local News with community updates
Single-digit navigation: Press 1-5 on news pages to read full articles
Article pages (201-1, 201-2, etc.): Full article text with source attribution

The innovation here: context-aware input. On news pages, pressing 1 reads article 1. But you can still type 201 to navigate to another page. Kiro helped me build a metadata-driven input system that switches modes dynamically.

Sports Pages (300-399) ⚽

Live scores and match updates:

300: Sports index with live scores indicator
301-304: Football, Cricket, Tennis, Live Scores
Single-digit navigation: Press 1-3 to read sports stories
Real-time score updates (when API is connected)

Markets Pages (400-499) 📈

Financial data in retro style:

400: Markets overview with major indices (FTSE, S&P 500, DAX, Nikkei)
Live cryptocurrency prices (BTC, ETH, XRP) with 24h changes
401-403: Stocks, Crypto, Commodities
450-453: Currency exchange, lottery results, horoscopes
460-462: Flight info, hotels, restaurants
470-472: TV guide, radio listings, cinema times

AI Oracle (Page 500): The Game-Changer 🤖

This is where I broke from traditional teletext. Instead of menu-driven navigation, I built a direct chat interface:

export function createAIOraclePage(): TeletextPage {
  return {
    id: '500',
    title: 'AI Oracle Chat',
    rows: [
      '{cyan}500 {yellow}🤖 AI ORACLE CHAT 🤖',
      '{yellow}╔════════════════════════════════════╗',
      '{yellow}║    {cyan}🎯 ASK ME ANYTHING 🎯{yellow}        ║',
      '{yellow}╚════════════════════════════════════╝',
      '',
      '{white}Type your question below and press {green}ENTER{white}:',
      '',
      '{yellow}▶{white} _',  // Blinking cursor
    ],
    meta: {
      inputMode: 'text',  // Enable text input!
      textInputEnabled: true,
      aiChatPage: true,
      stayOnPageAfterSubmit: true  // Responses appear on same page
    }
  };
}

What makes this special:

Type any question directly (no menu navigation!)
AI responses appear on the same page (no page jumping)
Powered by Google Gemini via Vertex AI
Maintains teletext aesthetic while being modern
Page 501: Quick topic shortcuts for instant answers

Kiro's contribution: When I said "I want direct text input on page 500," Kiro understood immediately and generated the entire metadata system (inputMode, textInputEnabled, stayOnPageAfterSubmit) without me explaining the architecture.

Live Radio Streaming (Page 471) 📻

One of my favorite features - 9 international radio stations integrated into teletext:

export function createRadioListingsPage(): TeletextPage {
  return {
    id: '471',
    title: 'Radio Listings',
    rows: [
      '{cyan}471 {yellow}📻 RADIO LISTINGS 📻',
      '',
      '{cyan}▓▓▓ NOW PLAYING ▓▓▓',
      '{yellow}► {white}Radio Swiss Jazz',
      '{white}  Jazz                {cyan}Switzerland',
      '{white}  Quality: {green}128kbps',
      '',
      '{cyan}▓▓▓ AVAILABLE STATIONS ▓▓▓',
      '{green}[1]{white} Radio Swiss Jazz      {green}Jazz        {cyan}Switzerland',
      '{green}[2]{white} Radio Swiss Classic   {green}Classical   {cyan}Switzerland',
      '{green}[3]{white} Radio Paradise        {green}Eclectic    {cyan}USA',
      // ... 6 more stations
    ],
    meta: {
      inputMode: 'single',
      inputOptions: ['1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7', '8', '9'],
      radioPlayer: {
        enabled: true,
        currentStation: station,
        stations: RADIO_STATIONS
      }
    }
  };
}

Features:

9 live radio stations (Switzerland, UK, France, USA)
Press 1-9 to switch stations instantly
Audio plays in background while navigating other pages
Genres: Jazz, Classical, Pop, Eclectic
Real streaming URLs (no mock data!)

How Kiro helped: I said "Add live radio with instant station switching." Kiro generated the entire system: station data structure, HTML5 Audio integration, single-digit input mode, and background audio persistence. It even suggested the meta.radioPlayer object pattern!

Games Hub (600-699) 🎮

Interactive entertainment in teletext:

600: Games index with leaderboard
601: Quiz of the Day (AI-generated questions)
610: Bamboozle Quiz (spot the fake answer)
620: Random Facts & Trivia
650: 🐍 Halloween Snake Game (playable offline!)

Halloween Snake Game (Page 650) 🐍

A full ASCII snake game with 5 progressive levels:

const LEVELS = [
  { name: 'Graveyard', speed: 200, scoreTarget: 5, obstacles: [] },
  { name: 'Haunted House', speed: 150, scoreTarget: 10, obstacles: [...] },
  { name: 'Cursed Forest', speed: 120, scoreTarget: 15, obstacles: [...] },
  { name: 'Ghost Town', speed: 100, scoreTarget: 20, obstacles: [...] },
  { name: 'Demon Realm', speed: 80, scoreTarget: 30, obstacles: [...] }
];

Features:

Ghost snake (@ for head, o for body)
Pumpkin food (O)
Red obstacles (█) that increase per level
Progressive difficulty (speed increases)
Level names with Halloween theme
Score tracking and level progression

Kiro's magic: I said "Create a Halloween snake game with levels and obstacles." Kiro generated the entire game logic: level system, obstacle collision detection, progressive difficulty, ASCII rendering, and keyboard controls. It even suggested the Halloween-themed level names!

Interactive Theme Selection (Page 700) 🎨

Press 1-4 to instantly switch themes:

export function createThemeSelectionPage(): TeletextPage {
  return {
    id: '700',
    title: 'Theme Selection',
    rows: [
      '{cyan}700 {yellow}🎨 THEME SELECTION 🎨',
      '',
      '{cyan}▓▓▓ AVAILABLE THEMES ▓▓▓',
      '',
      '{green}[1] {yellow}CEEFAX {white}- Classic BBC Teletext',
      '{white}    Traditional yellow/blue color scheme',
      '',
      '{green}[2] {green}ORF {white}- Austrian Teletext Style',
      '{white}    Green/black matrix-style aesthetic',
      '',
      '{green}[3] {white}HIGH CONTRAST {white}- Accessibility Mode',
      '{white}    Maximum readability, bold colors',
      '',
      '{green}[4] {magenta}HAUNTING MODE {white}- Spooky Theme',
      '{white}    Dark atmospheric colors with effects',
    ],
    meta: {
      themeSelectionPage: true,
      inputMode: 'single',
      inputOptions: ['1', '2', '3', '4']
    }
  };
}

No page reload - themes apply instantly via the metadata system. The KeyboardHandler component reads meta.inputMode and switches behavior dynamically.

The Cursed Page 666: My Kiroween Showpiece 👻💀

A fully animated horror experience with ASCII skull art:

                      ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
                    ▄█░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░█▄
                  ▄█░░▄▄░░░░░░░░░░░▄▄░░█▄
                 █░░█░░█░░░░░░░░░█░░█░░█
                 █░░░▀▀░░░░░░░░░░░▀▀░░░█
                 █░░░░░░░░░▄▄▄░░░░░░░░░█
                 █░░░░░░░▄█░░░█▄░░░░░░░█
                 █░░░░░░█░░░░░░░█░░░░░░█
                 █░░░░░░█░▄▄▄▄▄░█░░░░░░█
                  █░░░░░░▀▀▀▀▀▀▀░░░░░░█
                   █░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░█
                    ▀█░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░█▀
                      ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

                    ╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗
                    ║  THE SPIRITS HAVE BEEN AWAKENED       ║
                    ║  You have disturbed their slumber     ║
                    ╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝

▓▓▓ CURSED TRANSMISSIONS ▓▓▓
The teletext signal is corrupted... Strange messages appear...

[SIGNAL LOST] The darkness spreads...
[INTERFERENCE] We are watching...
[CORRUPTED] You cannot escape...

Pure CSS Animations (no JavaScript overhead):

Glitch effect: Text shifts and distorts like corrupted signals
Pulse: Warning messages glow red
Flicker: Entire page flickers like unstable CRT
Shake: Elements tremble for emphasis
Skull breathing: Subtle scaling animation
Color shift: Eerie hue rotation

@keyframes glitch {
  0% { transform: translate(0); opacity: 1; }
  20% { transform: translate(-2px, 2px); opacity: 0.8; }
  40% { transform: translate(2px, -2px); opacity: 0.9; }
  60% { transform: translate(-1px, 1px); opacity: 0.85; }
  80% { transform: translate(1px, -1px); opacity: 0.95; }
  100% { transform: translate(0); opacity: 1; }
}

[data-page-id="666"] [data-cursed="true"] {
  animation: glitch 2s infinite;
}

Accessibility:

All animations respect prefers-reduced-motion
High contrast mode available
Screen reader friendly
Full keyboard navigation

Variants:

666: Main cursed page with ASCII skull
666-1: Alternative with different ASCII art (eyes with 👁 emoji)
666-2: Original version

Kiro's creativity: I said "Create a cursed page with animated ASCII skull and glitch effects." Kiro generated the entire horror experience: hand-crafted ASCII art, CSS animations, multiple variants, and accessibility support. It even suggested the "CURSED TRANSMISSIONS" messages!

Beautiful 404 Error Page 🎃

Not just a boring "Page Not Found" - a Halloween-themed masterpiece with animated ASCII skull, spooky decorations, helpful navigation suggestions, and the message "The spirits took it away..."

How I Used Kiro: The Development Journey 🤖

1. Spec-Driven Foundation 📋

I created 4 comprehensive specs in .kiro/specs/:

modern-teletext/ - The foundation:

38 EARS-compliant requirements
34 correctness properties for property-based testing
Complete architecture design
40+ implementation tasks

teletext-ux-redesign/ - Visual polish:

Full-screen layout system (90%+ screen utilization)
Theme-specific animations
Navigation indicators and breadcrumbs
Content type icons (📰 NEWS, ⚽ SPORT, 🤖 AI)

teletext-core-redesign/ - Architecture improvements:

Multi-column layout engine
Advanced navigation router
Input handling system
Page renderer with visual verification

teletext-complete-overhaul/ - Final touches:

Error handling and retry logic
Performance optimization
Accessibility improvements
Comprehensive testing

Why specs worked: With detailed requirements, Kiro understood the entire system. When I asked it to implement a feature, it knew the constraints, patterns, and architecture without me repeating myself.

2. Vibe Coding for Features 💬

After the spec foundation, I used conversational development for rapid iteration:

Me: "I want page 500 to have direct text input for AI chat, not menu navigation. Users should type questions and get responses on the same page."

Kiro: Generated the entire system:

inputMode: 'text' metadata
textInputEnabled: true flag
stayOnPageAfterSubmit: true to prevent navigation
Input cursor with blinking animation
AI response rendering on same page
Integration with Vertex AI

Me: "Add live radio streaming on page 471. Users should press 1-9 to switch between 9 international stations. Audio should play in background."

Kiro: Created complete radio system:

Radio station data structure with 9 stations
HTML5 Audio API integration
Single-digit input mode for station selection
Background audio that persists during navigation
Station metadata (name, country, genre, bitrate)
Beautiful teletext-style station listings

Me: "Create a Halloween snake game on page 650 with 5 levels and increasing obstacles."

Kiro: Built entire game:

5 difficulty levels with Halloween-themed names
Obstacle system that increases per level
Score tracking and level progression
ASCII rendering (@ for head, o for body, O for food, █ for obstacles)
Keyboard controls (arrow keys)
Level transition system

Me: "Create cursed page 666 with animated ASCII skull art, glitch effects, and disturbing messages."

Kiro: Generated horror experience:

Hand-crafted ASCII skull art
CSS animations (glitch, pulse, flicker, shake)
Multiple variants (666, 666-1, 666-2)
Accessibility support (reduced motion)
Escape routes to safe pages
"CURSED TRANSMISSIONS" messages

3. The Power of Context Awareness 🧠

What impressed me most: Kiro never forgot the constraints. Across hundreds of conversations, it remembered:

Teletext format rules (character grid, colors)
Page numbering scheme (100-899)
Navigation patterns (3-digit, single-digit, colored buttons)
Metadata system architecture
Accessibility requirements
Performance guidelines

Example: When I asked for the radio feature, Kiro automatically:

Used the metadata pattern I'd established
Added accessibility features (keyboard navigation)
Implemented error handling
Followed the teletext aesthetic
Suggested improvements (background audio persistence)

Key Challenges & Solutions 🔧

Challenge 1: Text Input in Teletext

Problem: Traditional teletext only had numeric input. How do I add text input for AI chat while maintaining authenticity?

Solution: Metadata-driven input modes:

meta: {
  inputMode: 'text',  // vs 'single' or 'triple'
  textInputEnabled: true,
  stayOnPageAfterSubmit: true
}

The KeyboardHandler component reads this metadata and switches input modes dynamically. On page 500, it enables text input. On page 700, it enables single-digit selection. On other pages, it uses 3-digit navigation.

Challenge 2: Live Radio Streaming

Problem: How do I integrate audio streaming without breaking the teletext aesthetic?

Solution: The meta.radioPlayer object pattern:

meta: {
  radioPlayer: {
    enabled: true,
    currentStation: station,
    stations: RADIO_STATIONS
  }
}

The RadioPlayer component reads this metadata and manages HTML5 Audio in the background. Audio persists during navigation because it's managed at the app level, not the page level.

Challenge 3: Animated ASCII Art

Problem: How do I animate the cursed page skull without JavaScript overhead?

Solution: Pure CSS animations with data attributes:

[data-page-id="666"] .skull {
  animation: skull-pulse 3s ease-in-out infinite,
             glitch 2s infinite,
             color-shift 5s infinite;
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  [data-page-id="666"] .skull {
    animation: none;
  }
}

GPU-accelerated, performant, and respects accessibility preferences!

Challenge 4: Context-Aware Navigation

Problem: News pages need single-digit input (press 1-5 for articles) but also need 3-digit navigation (type 201 for next page).

Solution: Context-aware input handler:

meta: {
  inputMode: 'single',  // Accept 1-digit on this page
  inputOptions: ['1', '2', '3', '4', '5']  // Valid options
}

The input handler checks current page metadata and switches modes. On news pages, pressing 1 reads article 1. But typing 2-0-1 still navigates to page 201!

Development Workflow 🔄

My typical day with Kiro:

Morning: Review spec, identify next feature

Conversation: "Let's implement [feature], referencing requirements X.Y"

Generation: Kiro generates implementation

Testing: Run tests, check in browser

Refinement: "Can we improve [aspect]?"

Iteration: Kiro updates code

Commit: Git commit with clear message

Example conversation:

Me: "The cursed page needs more variants. Create 666-1 with different ASCII art."

Kiro: Generated createCursedPageVariant() with new skull design featuring 👁 emoji eyes, registered in page registry, added to navigation

Me: "Perfect! Now add a glitch effect that makes text shift randomly."

Kiro: Created CSS keyframe animation, added to cursed-page.css, applied via data attributes, included reduced-motion support

This cycle was incredibly fast. Features that would take hours took minutes!

The Results 📊

Final Stats:

📄 50+ pages across 9 sections
🎨 4 themes with instant switching
🤖 AI Chat with direct text input (no menu navigation!)
📻 9 radio stations with live streaming
🎮 5 games including Snake with 5 levels
👻 3 cursed page variants with CSS animations
🎃 Beautiful 404 error page with ASCII art
⚡ <500ms page load times
♿ Full accessibility support (keyboard nav, reduced motion, screen readers)

Development Time:

Spec creation: ~8 hours
Implementation with Kiro: ~40 hours
Testing and polish: ~12 hours
Total: ~60 hours (would have been 200+ hours without Kiro)

Code Quality:

TypeScript strict mode
Comprehensive error handling
Property-based testing
Accessibility compliant
Performance optimized

Try It Yourself! 🚀

Live Demo: https://oguzkopan.com

Must-Try Pages:

100 - Main index (start here!)
201 - UK News (press 1-5 for articles)
300 - Sports (press 1-3 for stories)
400 - Markets with live crypto prices
500 - AI Chat (type any question!)
471 - Radio (press 1-9 for stations)
600 - Games hub
650 - Halloween Snake Game
666 - 👻 Cursed page (if you dare!)
700 - Theme selection (press 1-4)
404 - Beautiful error page

Navigation Tips:

Type 3 digits to navigate (e.g., 2 0 1)
Press 1-9 on special pages for quick actions
Use arrow keys for multi-page content
Press R/G/Y/B for colored button navigation
Type text on page 500 for AI chat

Key Learnings 📚

Spec-Driven vs. Vibe Coding

Spec-Driven (for architecture):

Perfect for system design and complex features
Ensures consistency across codebase
Enables property-based testing
Great documentation for future development
Requires upfront planning but saves time later

Vibe Coding (for features):

Lightning fast for new features
Great for experimentation and iteration
Natural conversation flow
Quick prototyping
Needs good foundation first

My Approach: Spec for architecture, vibe for features. Best of both worlds!

Kiro's Superpowers 🦸

Context Awareness: Kiro remembered constraints across hundreds of conversations. It never forgot the teletext format rules, page numbering scheme, or metadata patterns.

Pattern Recognition: After implementing one feature, Kiro understood the pattern and generated similar features consistently. The radio player followed the same metadata pattern as the AI chat.

Proactive Improvements: Kiro added error handling, accessibility features, and performance optimizations without being asked. It suggested background audio persistence for the radio player.

Creative Solutions: When I said "make it spooky," Kiro generated ASCII art, animations, and effects I hadn't imagined. The "CURSED TRANSMISSIONS" messages were its idea!

Conclusion 🎬

Building Modern Teletext with Kiro was transformative. The combination of spec-driven architecture and vibe coding for features created a workflow that was both structured and flexible.

Kiro didn't just generate code - it understood context, maintained consistency, and proactively improved the codebase. It felt like pair programming with an expert who never gets tired, always has creative ideas, and remembers every detail.

The Kiroween hackathon pushed me to explore Kiro's full potential. This project would have taken months without AI assistance. With Kiro, I built a fully-featured application with 50+ pages, live radio, AI chat, games, and spooky animations in just 60 hours.

For the love of building, or maybe the love of darkness, I crafted something wicked. And Kiro was with me every step of the way. 🎃👻

Resources 📚

Kiro IDE: https://kiro.dev
Kiroween Hackathon: https://kiroween.devpost.com/
Project Repo: https://github.com/oguzkopan/teletext
Live Demo: https://oguzkopan.com

Built with 💚 (and a little bit of 🩸) for Kiroween 2024

kiro #kiroween #hackathon #ai #webdev #teletext #resurrection

Forem: Oğuz Kopan