I’ve been building NOVA Break because I got tired of Pomodoro apps interrupting me with giant popups and screen locks right when I’m focused.

Instead of forcing a break, NOVA Break creates a small Interstellar-inspired black hole after 20 minutes of work. It doesn’t block clicks, typing, or scrolling—you can completely ignore it.

The twist is that if you keep ignoring it, the black hole slowly grows. The goal is to gently encourage breaks instead of demanding them.

The hardest part wasn’t the timer logic but making the effect actually feel like a black hole. Early versions looked more like glowing spinning circles, so I spent most of my time experimenting with CSS layers, blur effects, gradients, and perspective transforms until it felt cinematic.

I also added pointer-events: none so the effect never interferes with the page. Finding the right growth rate took a lot of tweaking too—too fast and it’s annoying, too slow and nobody notices it.

Next I’m experimenting with text warping, subtle audio effects, and stronger gravitational distortion.

My goal isn’t to make another productivity app—it’s to create a small sci-fi experience that reminds you to take a break without getting in your way.