_04 · 2025
Cosmos
A WebGL-driven visual essay that renders a live particle universe as you scroll, tuned to hold 60fps on a mid-range laptop.
Overview
Cosmos started as an experiment — how much can you render in the browser before the fans kick on — and turned into a full narrative piece. It uses instanced geometry, GPU-side simulation, and a scroll-tied timeline to move a hundred thousand particles through choreographed states.
Highlights
- Instanced meshes + custom shaders to keep draw calls under 20
- Scroll-driven timeline that syncs camera, particles, and typography
- Adaptive quality: silently drops particle count on lower-end GPUs
- Zero layout shift; hits Lighthouse performance 95+ on desktop