Luca Matteis

I think it's time to hang up my Three.js hat. First of all, this is not a pity post—I'll be fine. I'm also not 100% confident about this. But I'm an over-sharer and like to talk out loud, so I thought I would share some thoughts on where I see things going and why I'm considering quitting Three.js development. Some signals I've noticed lately that have gotten me thinking: - Since Astra was released, I've probably seen at least 10 posts from different people that have achieved similar quality to Three.js Water Pro or better. - Someone downloaded a video recording of one my posts, fed it to Astra and recreated it with 90% accuracy - I've had less and less clients referrals - A Three.js developer I respect very much is retiring from the industry due to impact of AI and lack of interest - I've heard 2nd hand accounts of other developers losing majority of course/plugin sales due to AI - I've noticed Three.js posts have shifted from work created by seasoned developers to vibe-coded games and demos. Fundamentally, I no longer really see value in what I do when it can be replicated so easily. I've always enjoyed working on hard problems. Naturally, outsourcing the hard part to an agent takes away a lot of the enjoyment for me. High-level orchestration of agents does not tickle my brain in any special way. At the end of most days I feel unfulfilled and bored. I honestly feel like I've lost much of my critical thinking ability as I've stopped coding. I find it harder to focus on tasks and my attention-span and comprehension is noticeably dropping. My plan right now is to finish up Water Pro v4 and see how that performs. After that, I think it's time to start thinking about what else is out there for me. I'd love to hear thoughts from other developers & freelancers on the matter, positive or negative. Feel free to vent!