Octo Jelly: squishable gummy octopus (WebGPU)
By Vib3Coded (@vib3coded). Model: GPT-6 Astra. Posted Sep 28, 2026. Original post: https://x.com/vib3coded/status/2104466170275324190
Create “Octo Jelly” - a beautiful, interactive 3D gummy octopus that users can grab, stretch, and squish directly in their browser. Deliver a complete single-file HTML experience using genuine WebGPU. ART DIRECTION Make the octopus look like a premium translucent gummy candy: a rounded head, eight curled tentacles, small suction cups, and a cute, understated face. Use a warm off-white background, soft studio lighting, and a subtle ground shadow. Keep the scene elegant and uncluttered, with the octopus large and centered. GEOMETRY AND MATERIAL * Generate all geometry procedurally. No external models or image files. * Connect all eight tentacles smoothly to the body, without visible gaps or floating parts. * Add rounded suction cups that stay attached as the tentacles deform. * Use glossy, translucent jelly with thickness-dependent color absorption, refraction, soft internal light scattering, and delicate rim highlights. * Thick areas should have richer color; thin tentacle tips should transmit more light. * Avoid opaque plastic, blown-out highlights, and visible mesh seams. SOFT-BODY PHYSICS Use a stable mass-spring or position-based dynamics system with elastic constraints and approximate volume preservation. * The head should feel soft but substantial. * Tentacles should be more flexible than the head, especially near their tips. * Allow users to grab the head or any tentacle at the clicked location. * Pulling should deform the nearby geometry first, then elastically pull the rest of the body. * On release, the octopus should wobble and gradually settle into its original shape. * Tentacles should react independently, with slightly delayed motion. * Include gravity, floor collisions, friction, and damping. * Prevent tentacles from passing through the floor. * Clamp extreme stretching and use fixed simulation steps so strong pulls do not break the model. * Do not fake softness by scaling or rotating the entire octopus. INTERACTION * Left-click or touch the octopus to grab and stretch it. * Right-drag or drag empty space to gently orbit the camera. * Support a limited zoom range. * Keep camera gestures separate from object dragging. * Add “Give it a nudge,” “Reset,” “Pause,” and “Reset view” buttons. * Include Firmness and Internal damping sliders. * Add “¼ speed” and “Show mesh” toggles. * Provide three color presets: Coral, Lagoon, and Grape. Change the material colors without resetting the simulation. INTERFACE Use a minimal editorial layout: * Top left: small “MATERIAL STUDIES” label. * Large italic serif heading: “Octo Jelly.” * Caption: “Eight arms. A little wobble. A very soft creature.” * Top right: a WebGPU status indicator. * Right side: a compact “THE SPECIMEN” control panel. * Bottom left: “Grab a tentacle. Pull gently. Let go.” Use clean sans-serif text for controls, thin borders, and generous whitespace. Avoid heavy panels or decorative UI effects. PERFORMANCE AND QUALITY * Use real WebGPU rendering, not a 2D canvas imitation or prerecorded animation. * Reuse geometry and buffers; do not rebuild meshes during dragging. * Keep suction cups, eyes, and other details attached to the deforming body. * Handle transparency without flickering, disappearing surfaces, or harsh black edges. * Support desktop and mobile layouts. * Show a clear fallback message if WebGPU is unavailable. * Test repeated grabs, strong pulls, releases, floor collisions, palette changes, pause, and reset. The result should feel like a little living gummy toy - glossy, squishy, expressive, and satisfying to stretch. Deliver the full working HTML, not a mockup or a code fragment.
