diff --git a/build.bat b/build.bat
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..10ce3d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build.bat
@@ -0,0 +1,333 @@
+@echo off
+setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
+
+REM Build script for "Observations on the Sublime Dynamics of Eroding Matter"
+REM A C++ project using SDL2
+
+set "SCRIPT_NAME=%~n0"
+set "PROJECT_NAME=observations-on-the-sublime-dynamics-of-eroding-matter"
+
+REM Colors for output (Windows 10+)
+set "RED=[91m"
+set "GREEN=[92m"
+set "YELLOW=[93m"
+set "BLUE=[94m"
+set "NC=[0m"
+
+REM Function to print colored output
+:print_status
+echo %BLUE%[INFO]%NC% %~1
+goto :eof
+
+:print_success
+echo %GREEN%[SUCCESS]%NC% %~1
+goto :eof
+
+:print_warning
+echo %YELLOW%[WARNING]%NC% %~1
+goto :eof
+
+:print_error
+echo %RED%[ERROR]%NC% %~1
+goto :eof
+
+REM Function to check if command exists
+:command_exists
+where %1 >nul 2>&1
+if %errorlevel% equ 0 (
+    set "COMMAND_EXISTS=true"
+) else (
+    set "COMMAND_EXISTS=false"
+)
+goto :eof
+
+REM Function to check SDL2 installation
+:check_sdl2
+call :print_status "Checking SDL2 installation..."
+
+REM Check if SDL2 is available via vcpkg or system
+set "SDL2_FOUND=false"
+
+REM Check if SDL2 is in PATH
+where sdl2-config >nul 2>&1
+if %errorlevel% equ 0 (
+    call :print_success "SDL2 found in PATH"
+    set "SDL2_FOUND=true"
+    goto :sdl2_check_end
+)
+
+REM Check if vcpkg is available and SDL2 is installed
+where vcpkg >nul 2>&1
+if %errorlevel% equ 0 (
+    vcpkg list | findstr sdl2 >nul 2>&1
+    if %errorlevel% equ 0 (
+        call :print_success "SDL2 found via vcpkg"
+        set "SDL2_FOUND=true"
+        goto :sdl2_check_end
+    )
+)
+
+REM Check if SDL2 headers exist in common locations
+if exist "C:\SDL2\include\SDL2\SDL.h" (
+    call :print_success "SDL2 found in C:\SDL2"
+    set "SDL2_FOUND=true"
+    goto :sdl2_check_end
+)
+
+if exist "%ProgramFiles%\SDL2\include\SDL2\SDL.h" (
+    call :print_success "SDL2 found in %ProgramFiles%\SDL2"
+    set "SDL2_FOUND=true"
+    goto :sdl2_check_end
+)
+
+if exist "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\SDL2\include\SDL2\SDL.h" (
+    call :print_success "SDL2 found in %ProgramFiles(x86)%\SDL2"
+    set "SDL2_FOUND=true"
+    goto :sdl2_check_end
+)
+
+:sdl2_check_end
+if "%SDL2_FOUND%"=="false" (
+    call :print_warning "SDL2 not found. Please install SDL2:"
+    call :print_status "  1. Download from: https://www.libsdl.org/download-2.0.php"
+    call :print_status "  2. Or use vcpkg: vcpkg install sdl2"
+    call :print_status "  3. Or use MSYS2: pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-SDL2"
+    exit /b 1
+)
+
+goto :eof
+
+REM Function to check CMake
+:check_cmake
+call :print_status "Checking CMake installation..."
+
+call :command_exists cmake
+if "%COMMAND_EXISTS%"=="false" (
+    call :print_error "CMake not found. Please install CMake first:"
+    call :print_status "  Download from: https://cmake.org/download/"
+    call :print_status "  Or use chocolatey: choco install cmake"
+    call :print_status "  Or use winget: winget install Kitware.CMake"
+    exit /b 1
+)
+
+for /f "tokens=3" %%i in ('cmake --version 2^>nul') do (
+    set "CMAKE_VERSION=%%i"
+    goto :cmake_version_found
+)
+
+:cmake_version_found
+call :print_success "CMake found: version %CMAKE_VERSION%"
+
+REM Check minimum version requirement (simplified check)
+REM This is a basic check - you might want to implement proper version comparison
+call :print_success "CMake version check passed"
+goto :eof
+
+REM Function to check C++ compiler
+:check_compiler
+call :print_status "Checking C++ compiler..."
+
+set "COMPILER_FOUND=false"
+
+REM Check for MSVC
+where cl >nul 2>&1
+if %errorlevel% equ 0 (
+    call :print_success "MSVC found"
+    set "COMPILER_FOUND=true"
+    goto :compiler_check_end
+)
+
+REM Check for MinGW
+where g++ >nul 2>&1
+if %errorlevel% equ 0 (
+    call :print_success "MinGW G++ found"
+    set "COMPILER_FOUND=true"
+    goto :compiler_check_end
+)
+
+REM Check for Clang
+where clang++ >nul 2>&1
+if %errorlevel% equ 0 (
+    call :print_success "Clang++ found"
+    set "COMPILER_FOUND=true"
+    goto :compiler_check_end
+)
+
+:compiler_check_end
+if "%COMPILER_FOUND%"=="false" (
+    call :print_error "No C++ compiler found. Please install one of:"
+    call :print_status "  - Visual Studio with C++ workload"
+    call :print_status "  - MinGW-w64"
+    call :print_status "  - Clang for Windows"
+    exit /b 1
+)
+
+goto :eof
+
+REM Function to clean build directory
+:clean_build
+if exist "build" (
+    call :print_status "Cleaning build directory..."
+    rmdir /s /q build
+    call :print_success "Build directory cleaned"
+)
+goto :eof
+
+REM Function to build project
+:build_project
+call :print_status "Creating build directory..."
+if not exist "build" mkdir build
+cd build
+
+call :print_status "Configuring project with CMake..."
+cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
+if %errorlevel% neq 0 (
+    call :print_error "CMake configuration failed"
+    exit /b 1
+)
+
+call :print_status "Building project..."
+cmake --build . --config Release
+if %errorlevel% neq 0 (
+    call :print_error "Build failed"
+    exit /b 1
+)
+
+call :print_success "Build completed successfully!"
+
+REM Check if executable was created
+if exist "%PROJECT_NAME%.exe" (
+    call :print_success "Executable created: %PROJECT_NAME%.exe"
+    call :print_status "You can run it with: %PROJECT_NAME%.exe"
+) else (
+    call :print_error "Executable not found after build"
+    exit /b 1
+)
+
+cd ..
+goto :eof
+
+REM Function to run tests (placeholder for future use)
+:run_tests
+call :print_status "Running tests..."
+call :print_warning "No tests configured yet"
+goto :eof
+
+REM Function to install (placeholder for future use)
+:install_project
+call :print_status "Installing project..."
+call :print_warning "Installation not configured yet"
+goto :eof
+
+REM Function to show help
+:show_help
+echo Usage: %SCRIPT_NAME%.bat [OPTIONS]
+echo.
+echo Options:
+echo   -h, --help     Show this help message
+echo   -c, --clean    Clean build directory before building
+echo   -t, --test     Run tests after building
+echo   -i, --install  Install the project
+echo   --check-only   Only check dependencies without building
+echo.
+echo Examples:
+echo   %SCRIPT_NAME%.bat              # Build the project
+echo   %SCRIPT_NAME%.bat -c           # Clean and build
+echo   %SCRIPT_NAME%.bat --check-only # Only check dependencies
+goto :eof
+
+REM Main script
+:main
+call :print_status "Starting build process for 'Observations on the Sublime Dynamics of Eroding Matter'"
+call :print_status "Project directory: %CD%"
+
+REM Parse command line arguments
+set "CLEAN_BUILD=false"
+set "RUN_TESTS=false"
+set "INSTALL_PROJECT=false"
+set "CHECK_ONLY=false"
+
+:parse_args
+if "%~1"=="" goto :args_parsed
+if "%~1"=="-h" goto :show_help
+if "%~1"=="--help" goto :show_help
+if "%~1"=="-c" (
+    set "CLEAN_BUILD=true"
+    shift
+    goto :parse_args
+)
+if "%~1"=="--clean" (
+    set "CLEAN_BUILD=true"
+    shift
+    goto :parse_args
+)
+if "%~1"=="-t" (
+    set "RUN_TESTS=true"
+    shift
+    goto :parse_args
+)
+if "%~1"=="--test" (
+    set "RUN_TESTS=true"
+    shift
+    goto :parse_args
+)
+if "%~1"=="-i" (
+    set "INSTALL_PROJECT=true"
+    shift
+    goto :parse_args
+)
+if "%~1"=="--install" (
+    set "INSTALL_PROJECT=true"
+    shift
+    goto :parse_args
+)
+if "%~1"=="--check-only" (
+    set "CHECK_ONLY=true"
+    shift
+    goto :parse_args
+)
+call :print_error "Unknown option: %~1"
+call :show_help
+exit /b 1
+
+:args_parsed
+REM Check dependencies
+call :check_cmake
+if %errorlevel% neq 0 exit /b 1
+
+call :check_compiler
+if %errorlevel% neq 0 exit /b 1
+
+call :check_sdl2
+if %errorlevel% neq 0 exit /b 1
+
+if "%CHECK_ONLY%"=="true" (
+    call :print_success "All dependencies are satisfied!"
+    exit /b 0
+)
+
+REM Clean build directory if requested
+if "%CLEAN_BUILD%"=="true" (
+    call :clean_build
+)
+
+REM Build the project
+call :build_project
+
+REM Run tests if requested
+if "%RUN_TESTS%"=="true" (
+    call :run_tests
+)
+
+REM Install if requested
+if "%INSTALL_PROJECT%"=="true" (
+    call :install_project
+)
+
+call :print_success "Build process completed successfully!"
+exit /b 0
+
+REM Entry point
+if "%~1"=="-h" goto :show_help
+if "%~1"=="--help" goto :show_help
+goto :main
diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..684a835
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,256 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Build script for "Observations on the Sublime Dynamics of Eroding Matter"
+# A C++ project using SDL2
+
+set -e  # Exit on any error
+
+# Colors for output
+RED='\033[0;31m'
+GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
+BLUE='\033[0;34m'
+NC='\033[0m' # No Color
+
+# Function to print colored output
+print_status() {
+    echo -e "${BLUE}[INFO]${NC} $1"
+}
+
+print_success() {
+    echo -e "${GREEN}[SUCCESS]${NC} $1"
+}
+
+print_warning() {
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}[WARNING]${NC} $1"
+}
+
+print_error() {
+    echo -e "${RED}[ERROR]${NC} $1"
+}
+
+# Function to check if command exists
+command_exists() {
+    command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1
+}
+
+# Function to check SDL2 installation
+check_sdl2() {
+    print_status "Checking SDL2 installation..."
+    
+    if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
+        # macOS
+        if command_exists brew; then
+            if brew list sdl2 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+                print_success "SDL2 found via Homebrew"
+                return 0
+            else
+                print_warning "SDL2 not found. Installing via Homebrew..."
+                brew install sdl2
+                print_success "SDL2 installed successfully"
+                return 0
+            fi
+        else
+            print_error "Homebrew not found. Please install Homebrew first: https://brew.sh/"
+            return 1
+        fi
+    elif [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
+        # Linux
+        if command_exists pkg-config; then
+            if pkg-config --exists sdl2; then
+                print_success "SDL2 found via pkg-config"
+                return 0
+            else
+                print_warning "SDL2 not found. Please install libsdl2-dev:"
+                print_status "  Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install libsdl2-dev"
+                print_status "  Fedora: sudo dnf install SDL2-devel"
+                print_status "  Arch: sudo pacman -S sdl2"
+                return 1
+            fi
+        else
+            print_error "pkg-config not found. Please install it first."
+            return 1
+        fi
+    else
+        print_error "Unsupported operating system: $OSTYPE"
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+# Function to check CMake
+check_cmake() {
+    print_status "Checking CMake installation..."
+    
+    if command_exists cmake; then
+        CMAKE_VERSION=$(cmake --version | head -n1 | cut -d' ' -f3)
+        print_success "CMake found: version $CMAKE_VERSION"
+        
+        # Check minimum version requirement
+        REQUIRED_VERSION="3.16.0"
+        if [ "$(printf '%s\n' "$REQUIRED_VERSION" "$CMAKE_VERSION" | sort -V | head -n1)" = "$REQUIRED_VERSION" ]; then
+            print_success "CMake version meets requirement (>= $REQUIRED_VERSION)"
+        else
+            print_error "CMake version $CMAKE_VERSION is too old. Required: >= $REQUIRED_VERSION"
+            return 1
+        fi
+    else
+        print_error "CMake not found. Please install CMake first:"
+        print_status "  macOS: brew install cmake"
+        print_status "  Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install cmake"
+        print_status "  Or download from: https://cmake.org/download/"
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+# Function to check C++ compiler
+check_compiler() {
+    print_status "Checking C++ compiler..."
+    
+    if command_exists g++; then
+        print_success "G++ found: $(g++ --version | head -n1)"
+    elif command_exists clang++; then
+        print_success "Clang++ found: $(clang++ --version | head -n1)"
+    else
+        print_error "No C++ compiler found. Please install g++ or clang++"
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+# Function to clean build directory
+clean_build() {
+    if [ -d "build" ]; then
+        print_status "Cleaning build directory..."
+        rm -rf build
+        print_success "Build directory cleaned"
+    fi
+}
+
+# Function to build project
+build_project() {
+    print_status "Creating build directory..."
+    mkdir -p build
+    cd build
+    
+    print_status "Configuring project with CMake..."
+    cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
+    
+    print_status "Building project..."
+    make -j$(nproc 2>/dev/null || sysctl -n hw.ncpu 2>/dev/null || echo 4)
+    
+    print_success "Build completed successfully!"
+    
+    # Check if executable was created
+    if [ -f "observations-on-the-sublime-dynamics-of-eroding-matter" ]; then
+        print_success "Executable created: observations-on-the-sublime-dynamics-of-eroding-matter"
+        print_status "You can run it with: ./observations-on-the-sublime-dynamics-of-eroding-matter"
+    else
+        print_error "Executable not found after build"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+# Function to run tests (placeholder for future use)
+run_tests() {
+    print_status "Running tests..."
+    # Add test execution logic here when tests are implemented
+    print_warning "No tests configured yet"
+}
+
+# Function to install (placeholder for future use)
+install_project() {
+    print_status "Installing project..."
+    # Add installation logic here when needed
+    print_warning "Installation not configured yet"
+}
+
+# Function to show help
+show_help() {
+    echo "Usage: $0 [OPTIONS]"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Options:"
+    echo "  -h, --help     Show this help message"
+    echo "  -c, --clean    Clean build directory before building"
+    echo "  -t, --test     Run tests after building"
+    echo "  -i, --install  Install the project"
+    echo "  --check-only   Only check dependencies without building"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Examples:"
+    echo "  $0              # Build the project"
+    echo "  $0 -c           # Clean and build"
+    echo "  $0 --check-only # Only check dependencies"
+}
+
+# Main script
+main() {
+    print_status "Starting build process for 'Observations on the Sublime Dynamics of Eroding Matter'"
+    print_status "Project directory: $(pwd)"
+    
+    # Parse command line arguments
+    CLEAN_BUILD=false
+    RUN_TESTS=false
+    INSTALL_PROJECT=false
+    CHECK_ONLY=false
+    
+    while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+        case $1 in
+            -h|--help)
+                show_help
+                exit 0
+                ;;
+            -c|--clean)
+                CLEAN_BUILD=true
+                shift
+                ;;
+            -t|--test)
+                RUN_TESTS=true
+                shift
+                ;;
+            -i|--install)
+                INSTALL_PROJECT=true
+                shift
+                ;;
+            --check-only)
+                CHECK_ONLY=true
+                shift
+                ;;
+            *)
+                print_error "Unknown option: $1"
+                show_help
+                exit 1
+                ;;
+        esac
+    done
+    
+    # Check dependencies
+    check_cmake || exit 1
+    check_compiler || exit 1
+    check_sdl2 || exit 1
+    
+    if [ "$CHECK_ONLY" = true ]; then
+        print_success "All dependencies are satisfied!"
+        exit 0
+    fi
+    
+    # Clean build directory if requested
+    if [ "$CLEAN_BUILD" = true ]; then
+        clean_build
+    fi
+    
+    # Build the project
+    build_project
+    
+    # Run tests if requested
+    if [ "$RUN_TESTS" = true ]; then
+        run_tests
+    fi
+    
+    # Install if requested
+    if [ "$INSTALL_PROJECT" = true ]; then
+        install_project
+    fi
+    
+    print_success "Build process completed successfully!"
+}
+
+# Run main function with all arguments
+main "$@"