// DEGEN SHADER LAB
GAME SHADER LIBRARY
64 GPU effects. 16 categories. Every one runs in real-time on a single fragment shader. Move your mouse over the preview — you are part of the render.
NOT TUTORIALS. TOOLS.
Every shader site has a fire demo. A plasma ball. A dissolve effect.
The code is always the same: a smoothstep, a noise function,
some uniforms wired to sliders. You copy it, paste it, and nothing happens —
because the demo was built to teach a concept, not to ship in a game.
These are different. Each shader here was designed for a specific game moment: the instant a sword connects, the frame a shield absorbs a projectile, the second a player enters a cave and the torch becomes the only light source. The GLSL solves a production problem, not an academic one.
The usage notes are the point. Every entry says what game mechanic it serves,
which uniforms to drive from game state, and how to layer it with other effects.
dissolve isn't "a noise threshold." It's "enemy death animation —
drive uProgress 0 to 1 on kill, set uOrigin to the killing blow position."
Mouse interaction here isn't decoration. It's a rehearsal. When you move your cursor over the force field, you're testing the same input path a player's projectile would use. The preview IS the integration test.
// BROWSE BY CATEGORY
Combat & Death
Energy Weapons
Shields & Barriers
Status Effects
Movement & Transition
Environment
Advanced VFX
Game Feel
Materials & Surfaces
Terrain & World
Lighting
Utility & Post-Process
State Visualization
Information Design
Gameplay Feedback
Composable Systems
// DESIGN CONSTRAINTS
SINGLE PASS
One vertex shader, one fragment shader, no render targets. If it needs ping-pong buffers, it belongs in a compositor — not a game shader library.
UNIFORM-DRIVEN
Every visual parameter is a uniform you set from game code. No internal state, no hidden timers. The game owns the shader, not the other way around.
COMPOSABLE
Layer dissolve over hit-flash. Stack subsurface with rim-light. Material-modifier on top. Each shader is a pure function — vec3 in, vec3 out.
USAGE-FIRST
The description explains the math. The usage note explains the game. Which mechanic it serves, which uniforms to animate, what the player feels.