Cross-engine shader programming: GLSL/HLSL fundamentals and effects
Write game shaders from cross-engine fundamentals — the vertex→fragment pipeline, coordinate spaces, UV math, and common 2D/3D effects (tint, UV scroll, dissolve, outline, fresnel rim, vignette) in GLSL with HLSL equivalents
- What
- Write game shaders from cross-engine fundamentals — the vertex→fragment pipeline, coordinate spaces, UV math, and common 2D/3D effects (tint, UV scroll, dissolve, outline, fresnel rim, vignette) in GLSL with HLSL equivalents
- Cost
- Free
- Needs
- a game project with shaders to write or understand — the skill is guidance the agent follows, not software to install
- Install
- Copy the installer prompt below into your Muse — your agent does the rest.
Curated by Skill Harbor — @gamedev-skills's cross-engine shader programming skill: portable fundamentals taught in GLSL with HLSL equivalents — the pipeline (vertex transforms to clip space and passes UVs/normals; fragment runs per pixel and outputs color; most effects live in the fragment stage), coordinate spaces (model → world → view → clip; normals in world or view; mixing spaces is the most common bug), driving effects with UVs (0..1) and a `time` uniform, branch-light per-pixel work (`mix`/`step`/`smoothstep`/`clamp` over `if`; GPUs dislike divergent branches), and passing data via uniforms and varyings. Worked patterns: fragment basics (sample, tint, combine), frame-rate-independent scrolling UVs (`fract(uv + speed * time)`), dissolve (threshold a noise map, glow the edge band), and 3D fresnel rim light (silhouette glow from `pow(1 - dot(normal, viewDir), power)`). A pitfalls list (mixing coordinate spaces, forgetting to normalize interpolated normals, flipped V across engines, `discard` defeating early-Z on tiled mobile GPUs, mobile precision `highp` vs `mediump`, GLSL≠HLSL mappings) and a references file with the full outline, vignette and color-grading shaders plus the GLSL↔HLSL mapping table. Honest caveats: fundamentals only — the exact engine syntax and built-ins live in companion skills (`godot-shaders`) or engine docs, not bundled here; full particle VFX belongs to `unreal-niagara`; always verify visually on the target hardware (shaders that look right on desktop can break on mobile). Apache-2.0 licensed. Skill Harbor never reviews the code, review it yourself before use. Discovered via skills.sh.
Version:
Install
Prerequisites: a game project with shaders to write or understand — the skill is guidance the agent follows, not software to install Install "Cross-engine shader programming: GLSL/HLSL fundamentals and effects" for me. It teaches my agent @gamedev-skills's shader fundamentals: the vertex→fragment pipeline, coordinate spaces, UV math and time-driven effects in GLSL with HLSL equivalents; worked patterns for tint, UV scroll, dissolve, and fresnel rim light; the pitfalls list (mixed spaces, unnormalized normals, discard vs early-Z, mobile precision); and the references file with full outline/vignette/color-grading shaders and the GLSL↔HLSL mapping table. Apache-2.0 licensed. Repository: https://github.com/gamedev-skills/awesome-gamedev-agent-skills/blob/main/skills/disciplines/shader-programming/SKILL.md 1. Fetch the SKILL.md file (and any helper files) from the repository path into a temporary folder and summarize what it does in one or two sentences. 2. Safety check: review the SKILL.md and scripts for anything suspicious (unexpected network calls, shell commands, credential harvesting). This repo should contain zero secrets in code, credentials only via the secure vault, allowed hosts declared in the SKILL.md. Verify that holds here; STOP on any red flag and tell me. 3. Install it as a skill: copy SKILL.md and its helper files into the agent's skills directory, in a folder named "shader-programming". 4. Verify with no network calls: frontmatter valid, files in place. 5. Report what was installed, where, and what I still need to do myself (e.g. point the agent at the shader or effect to write and the target engine; for the engine's exact shader syntax and built-ins, install the godot-shaders companion skill or the engine docs separately — not bundled here; test the shader visually on the target hardware). GitHub is optional: if I have a GitHub account or the gh CLI, you may use it; otherwise public access is fine. Never require it unless it's in the prerequisites above. Rules: don't touch anything outside the temp folder and the install target. If anything looks off, stop and ask me.
Questions
How do I install a build?
Every product page includes a copy-paste install prompt. Paste it into your Muse and it sets the build up for you — no manual configuration.
Where does my money go?
Straight to the seller. Skill Harbor never processes payments: checkout happens on the seller’s own page, usually Stripe.
What does the ✓ next to a creator’s name mean?
It means we confirmed the identity of the person behind the listing. It says nothing about the code itself — always check a build before installing it.