Desert Safari — Awwwards-Level Website

Sirocco — a cinematic 3D desert journey told through scroll. Seven chapters from first light to a campfire under the stars.

Live: https://desert-journey.vercel.app

Features

• 7-chapter scroll-driven journey (GSAP ScrollTrigger + React Three Fiber)
• 14-minute cinematic autopilot — idle 5s and the journey plays itself, looping with a film cut back to dawn
• Photogrammetry gate: Poly Haven "Mountainside" 4K scan (CC0), camera flies through the seam
• Procedural terrain with baked height attributes, sand glints, cloud shadows, micro-ripple shading
• Physics: slope-aware tumbleweeds, gusting wind, banking birds with wingbeats, camel walk cycle with knee articulation
• Night sky: Milky Way, mottled moon, shooting stars, campfire with smoke and embers
• Generative WebAudio score — hijaz-scale melody, wind layer, fire crackle; no audio files
• Adaptive resolution (PerformanceMonitor), zero-allocation render loops

Stack

Next.js 14 · React Three Fiber · Three.js · GSAP ScrollTrigger · Framer Motion · Tailwind CSS

Run

npm install
npm run dev

Deploy

vercel --prod

Credits

• Mountainside photogrammetry scan + sand textures: Poly Haven (CC0)