Hushroom — Cozy 3D Virtual Study Hall & Social Sim
Hushroom Developer Blog & Engineering Notes
In-depth articles covering how we built our procedural Three.js 3D characters, toon-shaded study hall dioramas, drift-free Pomodoro timers, and WebAudio soundscapes.
Building Hushroom’s Procedural 3D Chibi Characters in Three.js Without External GLTF Assets
3D Engineering · October 28, 2026 · 6 min read
Why we replaced external 3D model files with a 100% code-driven geometry kit that builds, rigs, and skins customizable clay-toy avatars in milliseconds.
Why We Gate Chat to Break Time: Designing Social Presence Without Distraction
Game Design · October 26, 2026 · 5 min read
How Hushroom solves the central paradox of multiplayer study apps: feeling accompanied by real people without getting pulled into a noisy chat feed.
Crafting a Drift-Free Wall-Clock Pomodoro Timer That Survives Tab Sleep and Reloads
3D Engineering · October 24, 2026 · 5 min read
Why naive setInterval timers fail in background browser tabs, and how we built a deterministic wall-clock state machine with local persistence.
Toon Shading & Vertex-Baked Palettes: Lighting a Cozy Nighttime Study Hall at 60 FPS
3D Engineering · October 21, 2026 · 7 min read
How we achieved our warm amber-and-moonlight diorama look on mobile GPUs using custom gradient maps, vertex colour baking, and pools of lamp light.
Procedural WebAudio Soundscapes: How Room Focus Density Modulates Rain and Ambience
Audio & Atmosphere · October 19, 2026 · 5 min read
Inside our gapless WebAudio loop engine, synthesized chimes and cat purrs, and collective focusDensity audio shaping.
The Auto-Director Camera: Choreographing Arrivals, Break Spots, and Cat Moments
Game Design · October 16, 2026 · 6 min read
How our non-intrusive virtual cinematographer frames human moments in the study hall without causing motion sickness or breaking concentration.
Packing a Full 3D Character Outfit into a Single 27-Bit Integer
3D Engineering · October 14, 2026 · 5 min read
How `encodeSpec` and `specOf` serialize 11 customization channels and 9 boolean accessories into a single safe JavaScript number.
Designing Four Distinct Dioramas: Public Study Hall, Library Loft, Fireside Lounge, and Attic
Game Design · October 11, 2026 · 6 min read
How room capacity, seat fill order, and architectural lighting shape the social feel of each space in Hushroom.
Expressive 2D Canvas Face Decals on 3D Clay Heads: Blinking, Reading, and Sleeping States
3D Engineering · October 8, 2026 · 5 min read
How our procedural face atlas (`faceAtlas.ts`) draws crisp, resolution-independent eyes, eyebrows, blush, and glasses onto curved 3D geometry.
Privacy-First Multiplayer: Anonymous Sessions, Turnstile Verification, and Ephemeral Chat
Multiplayer & Privacy · October 5, 2026 · 5 min read
How we keep Hushroom safe from bots and spam while requiring zero email addresses, passwords, or personal accounts.
Mobile-First 3D Web Performance: Adaptive Pixel Ratio, Frame Pacing, and Instanced Props
3D Engineering · October 2, 2026 · 6 min read
Running a real-time Three.js study hall for hours without overheating phones or spinning up laptop fans.
Changelog & Roadmap: From v1 Pixel Prototype to v2 Real-Time 3D Social Sim
Patch Notes · September 28, 2026 · 5 min read
A complete release history of Hushroom and what we are building next for our community of late-night learners.