diff --git a/assets/bitmaps/cube.png b/assets/meshes/cube.png
similarity index 100%
rename from assets/bitmaps/cube.png
rename to assets/meshes/cube.png
diff --git a/assets/scenes/test_scene.yml b/assets/scenes/test_scene.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c2c8dfd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/assets/scenes/test_scene.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+nodes:
+  - type: mesh
+    translation: [0, 0, 0]
+    mesh: meshes/cube.obj
+  - type: mesh
+    translation: [1, 0, -10]
+    mesh: meshes/cube.obj
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/assets/shaders/glsl/scene_renderer.vert b/assets/shaders/glsl/scene_renderer.vert
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8908174
--- /dev/null
+++ b/assets/shaders/glsl/scene_renderer.vert
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#version 460
+
+layout(set = 1, binding = 0)
+uniform PerSceneParameters
+{
+    mat4 u_worldToView;
+    mat4 u_viewToClip;
+};
+
+layout(set = 1, binding = 1)
+uniform PerModelParameters
+{
+    mat4 u_modelToWorld;
+};
+
+layout(location = 0)
+in vec3 i_position;
+
+layout(location = 1)
+in vec2 i_texCoord;
+
+layout(location = 0)
+out vec2 o_texCoord;
+
+void main()
+{
+    gl_Position = u_viewToClip * u_worldToView * u_modelToWorld * vec4(i_position, 1.0);
+    o_texCoord = i_texCoord;
+}
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/4_textured_cube/app.cpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/4_textured_cube/app.cpp
index 8f9faf2..52a0d1f 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/4_textured_cube/app.cpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/4_textured_cube/app.cpp
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ void TexturedCubeApp::init(const AppInitArgs& args)
         .format = sdlpp::GPUTextureFormat::R8G8B8A8_UNORM_SRGB,
         .usage = {.sampler = true}
     };
-    mTexture = loadTexture("bitmaps/cube.png", textureArgs);
+    mTexture = loadTexture("meshes/cube.png", textureArgs);
     mSampler.create(mDevice, {});
 }
 
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/5_input/app.cpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/5_input/app.cpp
index b1f4a76..8d93a60 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/5_input/app.cpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/5_input/app.cpp
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ void InputApp::init(const AppInitArgs& args)
         .format = sdlpp::GPUTextureFormat::R8G8B8A8_UNORM_SRGB,
         .usage = {.sampler = true}
     };
-    mTexture = loadTexture("bitmaps/cube.png", textureArgs);
+    mTexture = loadTexture("meshes/cube.png", textureArgs);
     mSampler.create(mDevice, {});
 
     // open gamepad
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/6_ui/app.cpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/6_ui/app.cpp
index f27e7d7..23098a0 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/6_ui/app.cpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/6_ui/app.cpp
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ void UIApp::init(const AppInitArgs& args)
         .format = sdlpp::GPUTextureFormat::R8G8B8A8_UNORM_SRGB,
         .usage = {.sampler = true}
     };
-    mTexture = loadTexture("bitmaps/cube.png", textureArgs);
+    mTexture = loadTexture("meshes/cube.png", textureArgs);
     mSampler.create(mDevice, {});
 
     // open gamepad
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/7_3d_scene/app.cpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/7_3d_scene/app.cpp
index c4bf8ff..7139269 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/7_3d_scene/app.cpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/7_3d_scene/app.cpp
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include <glm/gtx/norm.hpp>
 
 #include "../scene/mesh.hpp"
+#include "../scene/loader.hpp"
 #include "../sdlpp/keyboard.hpp"
 #include "../util/bitmap.hpp"
 #include "../util/mesh.hpp"
@@ -64,7 +65,8 @@ void ThreeDSceneApp::init(const AppInitArgs& args)
 
     // init the scene
     mScene.init({.renderer = &mSceneRenderer});
-    mScene.getRootNode().emplaceChild<MeshNode>({.mesh = "meshes/cube.obj", .texture = "bitmaps/cube.png"});
+    loadScene("scenes/test_scene.yml", mScene);
+    // mScene.getRootNode().emplaceChild<MeshNode>({.mesh = "meshes/cube.obj", .texture = "meshes/cube.png"});
 
     mButton->clicked.connect([&]()
     {
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/SModule b/private/sdl_gpu_test/SModule
index 7843eac..ddddeb3 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/SModule
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/SModule
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ src_files = Split("""
     gui/label.cpp
     gui/ui_renderer.cpp
     gui/widget.cpp
+    scene/loader.cpp
     scene/mesh.cpp
     scene/scene.cpp
     scene/scene_renderer.cpp
@@ -45,7 +46,8 @@ prog_app = env.UnityProgram(
         },
         'spdlog': {},
         'stb': {},
-        'tinyobjloader': {}
+        'tinyobjloader': {},
+        'yaml-cpp': {}
     }
 )
 env.Default(prog_app)
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/application.cpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/application.cpp
index 2ee2cb9..f36d6b8 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/application.cpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/application.cpp
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include <mijin/util/variant.hpp>
 #include <mijin/virtual_filesystem/relative.hpp>
 
+#include "./scene/loader.hpp"
 #include "./util/bitmap.hpp"
 #include "./util/spdlog_wrapper.hpp"
 
@@ -125,6 +126,11 @@ sdlpp::GPUTexture Application::loadTexture(const fs::path& path, sdlpp::GPUTextu
     return texture;
 }
 
+void Application::loadScene(const fs::path& path, Scene& outScene)
+{
+    sdl_gpu_test::loadScene(mFileSystem.getPath(path), outScene);
+}
+
 void Application::uploadTextureData(const sdlpp::GPUTexture& texture, const Bitmap& bitmap) const
 {
     sdlpp::GPUTransferBuffer transferBuffer;
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/application.hpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/application.hpp
index f271685..a9f304b 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/application.hpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/application.hpp
@@ -77,6 +77,8 @@ public:
     [[nodiscard]]
     sdlpp::GPUTexture loadTexture(const fs::path& path, sdlpp::GPUTextureCreateArgs& inout_args);
 
+    void loadScene(const fs::path& path, class Scene& outScene);
+
     void uploadTextureData(const sdlpp::GPUTexture& texture, const struct Bitmap& bitmap) const;
 
     template<typename TVertex>
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/loader.cpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/loader.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..21a9625
--- /dev/null
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/loader.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+
+#include "./loader.hpp"
+
+#include <yaml-cpp/yaml.h>
+#include "./mesh.hpp"
+
+namespace sdl_gpu_test
+{
+namespace
+{
+void loadCommonNodeProperties(const YAML::Node& yaml, SceneNode& node)
+{
+    const YAML::Node& translationNode = yaml["translation"];
+    glm::vec3 translation = {0.f, 0.f, 0.f};
+    if (translationNode.IsDefined())
+    {
+        mijin::ensure(translationNode.IsSequence() && translationNode.size() == 3
+            && translationNode[0].IsScalar() && translationNode[1].IsScalar() && translationNode[2].IsScalar(),
+            "Invalid scene YAML: node translation must be sequence of three scalars.");
+        translation.x = translationNode[0].as<float>();
+        translation.y = translationNode[1].as<float>();
+        translation.z = translationNode[2].as<float>();
+    }
+
+    node.setTransform(Transform3D::make(translation));
+}
+
+std::unique_ptr<MeshNode> loadMeshNode(const YAML::Node& yaml)
+{
+    MIJIN_ASSERT(yaml.IsMap(), "yaml must be a map");
+
+    const YAML::Node& meshNode = yaml["mesh"];
+    mijin::ensure(meshNode.IsScalar(), "Invalid scene YAML: invalid or missing mesh property for mesh node.");
+
+    std::string meshPath = meshNode.as<std::string>();
+    std::string texturePath;
+
+    const YAML::Node& textureNode = yaml["texture"];
+    if (!textureNode.IsDefined())
+    {
+        const std::string::size_type dotPos = meshPath.rfind('.');
+        texturePath = std::string_view(meshPath).substr(0, dotPos);
+        texturePath.append(".png");
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        mijin::ensure(textureNode.IsScalar(), "Invalid scene YAML: invalid texture property for mesh node.");
+        texturePath = textureNode.as<std::string>();
+    }
+
+    return std::make_unique<MeshNode>(MeshNodeCreateArgs{
+        .mesh = std::move(meshPath), .texture = std::move(texturePath)
+    });
+}
+
+void loadSceneNodes(const YAML::Node& nodesNode, SceneNode& parentNode)
+{
+    MIJIN_ASSERT(nodesNode.IsSequence(), "nodesNode must be a sequence");
+
+    for (const YAML::Node& nodeNode : nodesNode)
+    {
+        mijin::ensure(nodeNode.IsMap(), "Invalid scene YAML: scene node is not a sequence.");
+
+        std::unique_ptr<SceneNode> newNode;
+        const YAML::Node& typeNode = nodeNode["type"];
+        if (!typeNode.IsDefined())
+        {
+            newNode = std::make_unique<SceneNode>();
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            mijin::ensure(typeNode.IsScalar(), "Invalid scene YAML: scene node type not a scalar.");
+
+            const std::string type = typeNode.as<std::string>();
+            if (type == "mesh")
+            {
+                newNode = loadMeshNode(nodeNode);
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                throw std::runtime_error(std::format("Invalid scene YAML: invalid scene node type '{}'.", type));
+            }
+        }
+        loadCommonNodeProperties(nodeNode, *newNode);
+        parentNode.addChild(std::move(newNode));
+    }
+}
+}
+
+void loadScene(const mijin::PathReference& path, Scene& outScene)
+{
+    std::unique_ptr<mijin::Stream> stream;
+    mijin::throwOnError(path.open(mijin::FileOpenMode::READ, stream));
+
+    std::string content;
+    mijin::throwOnError(stream->readAsString(content));
+
+    const YAML::Node root = YAML::Load(content);
+    mijin::ensure(root.IsMap(), "Invalid scene YAML: root is not a map.");
+
+    const YAML::Node& nodesNode = root["nodes"];
+    mijin::ensure(nodesNode.IsSequence(), "Invalid scene YAML: nodes missing or not a sequence.");
+
+    loadSceneNodes(nodesNode, outScene.getRootNode());
+}
+}
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/loader.hpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/loader.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..20a54c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/loader.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+
+#pragma once
+
+#if !defined(SDL_GPU_TEST_PRIVATE_SDL_GPU_TEST_SCENE_LOADER_HPP_INCLUDED)
+#define SDL_GPU_TEST_PRIVATE_SDL_GPU_TEST_SCENE_LOADER_HPP_INCLUDED 1
+
+#include <mijin/virtual_filesystem/filesystem.hpp>
+
+#include "./scene.hpp"
+
+namespace sdl_gpu_test
+{
+void loadScene(const mijin::PathReference& path, Scene& outScene);
+} // namespace sdl_gpu_test
+
+#endif // !defined(SDL_GPU_TEST_PRIVATE_SDL_GPU_TEST_SCENE_LOADER_HPP_INCLUDED)
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/mesh.cpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/mesh.cpp
index 99c4079..26023b6 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/mesh.cpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/mesh.cpp
@@ -8,6 +8,18 @@ MeshNode::MeshNode(MeshNodeCreateArgs args) : mMeshPath(std::move(args.mesh)), m
 
 }
 
+Transform3D MeshNode::getCombinedTransform() const noexcept
+{
+    Transform3D result = mTransform;
+
+    for (SceneNode* parent = mParent; parent != nullptr; parent = parent->getParent())
+    {
+        result = parent->getTransform().apply(result);
+    }
+
+    return result;
+}
+
 void MeshNode::setMesh(std::string resourcePath)
 {
     mMeshPath = std::move(resourcePath);
@@ -68,10 +80,10 @@ void MeshNode::updateSceneMesh()
     if (mMeshId == SceneRenderer::UNSET_MESH_ID || !mScene->getRenderer().updateRenderListEntry(mMeshId, {
         .mesh = mMesh,
         .texture = mTexture,
-        .transform = mTransform
+        .transform = getCombinedTransform()
     }))
     {
-        mScene->getRenderer().addMeshToRenderList(mMesh, mTexture, mTransform, mMeshId);
+        mScene->getRenderer().addMeshToRenderList(mMesh, mTexture, getCombinedTransform(), mMeshId);
     }
 }
 }
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/mesh.hpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/mesh.hpp
index 4e5f849..64478a7 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/mesh.hpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/mesh.hpp
@@ -29,6 +29,9 @@ private:
 public:
     MeshNode(MeshNodeCreateArgs args);
 
+    [[nodiscard]]
+    Transform3D getCombinedTransform() const noexcept;
+
     void setMesh(std::string resourcePath);
     void setTexture(std::string resourcePath);
 
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/scene.hpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/scene.hpp
index ce326e2..562d0ee 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/scene.hpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/scene.hpp
@@ -31,6 +31,14 @@ protected:
 public:
     virtual ~SceneNode() noexcept = default;
 
+    [[nodiscard]]
+    SceneNode* getParent() const noexcept { return mParent; }
+
+    [[nodiscard]]
+    const Transform3D& getTransform() const noexcept { return mTransform; }
+
+    void setTransform(const Transform3D& transform) noexcept { mTransform = transform; }
+
     virtual void handleEnteredScene();
 
     SceneNode* addChild(scene_node_ptr_t&& node);
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/scene_renderer.cpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/scene_renderer.cpp
index 6e28706..99508e2 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/scene_renderer.cpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/scene/scene_renderer.cpp
@@ -13,11 +13,16 @@ namespace sdl_gpu_test
 {
 namespace
 {
-    struct VertexShaderParameters
-    {
-        glm::mat4 worldToView;
-        glm::mat4 viewToClip;
-    };
+struct PerSceneParameters
+{
+    glm::mat4 worldToView;
+    glm::mat4 viewToClip;
+};
+
+struct PerModelParameters
+{
+    glm::mat4 modelToWorld;
+};
 }
 void SceneRenderer::init(Application& application)
 {
@@ -76,7 +81,7 @@ std::shared_ptr<SceneTexture> SceneRenderer::getTexture(const std::string& resou
 
 void SceneRenderer::render(const SceneRendererRenderArgs& args)
 {
-    VertexShaderParameters vertexShaderParameters = {
+    PerSceneParameters perSceneParameters = {
         // note that we are transforming the world, but are passed the camera transform, so invert it
         .worldToView = glm::translate(
             glm::transpose(glm::yawPitchRoll(args.camera.yaw, args.camera.pitch, args.camera.roll)),
@@ -107,10 +112,14 @@ void SceneRenderer::render(const SceneRendererRenderArgs& args)
 
     static const glm::vec4 WHITE(1.f, 1.f, 1.f, 1.f);
 
+    args.cmdBuffer->pushVertexUniformData(0, std::span<const PerSceneParameters>(&perSceneParameters, 1));
     for (const RenderListEntry& entry : mRenderList)
     {
+        PerModelParameters perModelParameters = {
+            .modelToWorld = entry.transform.matrix
+        };
         args.cmdBuffer->pushFragmentUniformData(0, std::span(&WHITE, 1));
-        args.cmdBuffer->pushVertexUniformData(0, std::span<const VertexShaderParameters>(&vertexShaderParameters, 1));
+        args.cmdBuffer->pushVertexUniformData(1, std::span<const PerModelParameters>(&perModelParameters, 1));
         renderPass.bindFragmentSampler({.texture = entry.texture->texture, .sampler = mSampler});
         renderPass.bindVertexBuffer({.buffer = entry.mesh->vertexBuffer});
         renderPass.drawPrimitives({.numVertices = static_cast<Uint32>(entry.mesh->numVertices)});
@@ -187,10 +196,10 @@ bool SceneRenderer::updateRenderListEntry(mesh_id_t meshId, const RenderListUpda
 void SceneRenderer::createPipeline()
 {
     // create shaders
-    const sdlpp::GPUShader vertexShader = mApplication->loadShader("shaders/glsl/textured_3dtriangles_from_buffer.vert.spv", {
+    const sdlpp::GPUShader vertexShader = mApplication->loadShader("shaders/glsl/scene_renderer.vert.spv", {
         .format = sdlpp::GPUShaderFormat::SPIRV,
         .stage = sdlpp::GPUShaderStage::VERTEX,
-        .numUniformBuffers = 1
+        .numUniformBuffers = 2
     });
     const sdlpp::GPUShader fragmentShader = mApplication->loadShader("shaders/glsl/color_from_texture.frag.spv", {
         .format = sdlpp::GPUShaderFormat::SPIRV,
@@ -242,6 +251,10 @@ void SceneRenderer::createPipeline()
         .rasterizerState = {
             .cullMode = sdlpp::GPUCullMode::BACK
         },
+        .depthStencilState = {
+            .enableDepthTest = true,
+            .enableDepthWrite = true
+        },
         .targetInfo = {
             .colorTargetDescriptions = colorTargetsDescs,
             .depthStencilFormat = sdlpp::GPUTextureFormat::D16_UNORM
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/sdlpp/gpu.hpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/sdlpp/gpu.hpp
index 813de24..3e2c467 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/sdlpp/gpu.hpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/sdlpp/gpu.hpp
@@ -464,12 +464,12 @@ static_assert(sizeof(GPUColorTargetInfo) == sizeof(SDL_GPUColorTargetInfo)
 struct GPUDepthStencilTargetInfo
 {
     SDL_GPUTexture* texture = nullptr;
-    float clearDepth = 0.f;
+    float clearDepth = 1.f;
     GPULoadOp loadOp = GPULoadOp::LOAD;
     GPUStoreOp storeOp = GPUStoreOp::STORE;
     GPULoadOp stencilLoadOp = GPULoadOp::LOAD;
     GPUStoreOp stencilStoreOp = GPUStoreOp::STORE;
-    bool cycle = false;
+    bool cycle = true;
     Uint8 clearStencil;
 };
 static_assert(sizeof(GPUDepthStencilTargetInfo) == sizeof(SDL_GPUDepthStencilTargetInfo)
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/mesh.cpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/mesh.cpp
index 446bd67..c2850dc 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/mesh.cpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/mesh.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 
 #include "./mesh.hpp"
 
+#include <mijin/io/stlstream.hpp>
 #include <tiny_obj_loader.h>
 
 namespace sdl_gpu_test
diff --git a/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/mesh.hpp b/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/mesh.hpp
index 1e1b797..eac9811 100644
--- a/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/mesh.hpp
+++ b/private/sdl_gpu_test/util/mesh.hpp
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@
 #include <glm/vec2.hpp>
 #include <glm/vec3.hpp>
 #include <glm/vec4.hpp>
-#include <mijin/io/stlstream.hpp>
 #include <mijin/virtual_filesystem/filesystem.hpp>
 
 namespace sdl_gpu_test