Feel free to check out browserquest, or at least the video walkthrough of it. This is an HTML5 game that uses websockets to communicate in a manner that allows for some interesting features in a browser based format.

I know about browserquest. And I have already programmed something similar in Javascript using node.js (i.e. HTML5 + websockets).

Unfortunately, the amount of work required to finish up lead me to put it on hold to try and finish something simpler first. In particular, to produce art assets on the same level of polish as browserquest will require many months of dedicated effort.

I am thinking of doing something like what indie/low-budget Japanese RPGs do: superimposing characters over a fixed background. E.g. http://www.blisteredthumbs.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/22.jpg. Recettear did it the same way for its NPC conversations: http://www.rpgamer.com/games/other/pc/recettear/screens/recettear5.jpg.