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What to learn to be a graphics programmer
231–240 of 251 posts
Re: What to learn to be a graphics programmer
#232Feels like we try to turn anything we do into a career or job, especially with the odd ML angle. How about you "do graphics programming" instead of "being a graphics programmer"? Like start doing simple stuff until it clicks and you see it for being logistics to the GPU, then you can layer on top all the crazy concepts. Its like a small mountain you climb and suddenly everything clicks and you think like "oh my"... t…
I don't think the wording implies a career or job. It's more implying an identity. "I'm a rock climber", "I'm a gamer", "I'm an artist", "I'm a mother", "I'm a father", "I'm a gym bro", "I'm a graphics programmer". None of these necessarily imply career or job, though they do tend to imply more than just a passing, casual involvement.
I agree with this. I've identified as a graphics programmer for a long time because it's a passion of mine and the fact that it's my profession seems almost like a happy accident.
Re: What to learn to be a graphics programmer
#233Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is extraordinarily beautiful aesthetically! It's always a shame when beautiful mathematics is presented with bad typography and ugly spacing.
Thanks! I'd like to take the credit for the design, but it's just the LaTeX defaults of the IEEEtran document class.
I guess I'm a sucker for tight margins and line spacings in technical writing. That's why I like HN!
Re: What to learn to be a graphics programmer
#234Earlier quoted context omitted.
There’s a separate role that is more along the lines of what you’re saying, called a Technical Artist (that’s what I do) I think graphics programmers benefit from having an artistic mindset, but they usually work so low level that it isn’t necessary to be successful.
Any suggestion for paths into tech art? I'm very strong in traditional media, I know my way around photoshop & blender very well[0] and I've self-studied programming to a level where I can read lower-level (c/c++) code and know what it's doing. I even got a PR merged into blender once! But I have no industry connection and my public portfolio is mostly charcoal and oil. The company that flew my drone animations is sm…
If you're asking for video games/creative studios, unfortunately my best advice is have good connections and a strong public portfolio. Both of these are solvable problems.
Your skills aren't immediately applicable to a tech artist role. You need to learn about the graphics pipeline (high-level) and how 3D models and particle effects are rendered behind the scenes, plus knowing specific tricks for rendering different common visual effects. You can learn all of this from free online resources.
Re: What to learn to be a graphics programmer
#235Earlier quoted context omitted.
There’s a separate role that is more along the lines of what you’re saying, called a Technical Artist (that’s what I do) I think graphics programmers benefit from having an artistic mindset, but they usually work so low level that it isn’t necessary to be successful.
I was a technical artist for a series of feature films during the early '00s. At a good studio they'll have art and design classes for the tech origin staff and scripting and bash classes for the art origin staff. I was both, and that was a ton of fun.
Sounds like great growth opportunities. This is my first job and I work in a small studio, I really wish I had mentorship and training like that.
Re: What to learn to be a graphics programmer
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
Dont forget funny "perks" like "crunch-time" and "pre-crunch-time" :-D
Yeah. Luckily I learned about those things at my first year at university in a "Computer Science with games design" course. I switched to straight CS in year two and I've always thought I dodged a bullet, there. Sad though. The most fun you can have with programming is maybe the least fun programming job of all.
Last sentence:
Quite true! Game Dev (and Graphics Programming) should be fun - though in todays environments, its everything apart from fun.
Honestly: For me today, writing boring business/workflow/CRUD/shop applications is the fun I should have had when being in GFX-programming - I do not know why its not fun to work for a game dev company.
Re: What to learn to be a graphics programmer
#237Earlier quoted context omitted.
"These annoying, jaded horse-drawn cart builders, cautioning youngsters from getting into the field in 1908."
Except the point of the jaded person is that building transportation vehicles is a bad industry to get into, because there is a massive switch from cart building to automobile and truck building on the basis that it has become impossible to build a full automobile as a single person.
"Graphics programming" is definitely not equivalent in scope (in the analogy) to "the entire transportation vehicle industry".
Re: What to learn to be a graphics programmer
#238Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nepo baby. Joking (sort of). I can't say I know of any in the fields I'm familiar with. I've watched tech get increasingly top-heavy since the covid hiring boom and bust, although it was already trending that way. There are a lot of fields dominated by boomers on the verge of retirement that are the safest bet for people who want to be good and make a good living but don't care to be extraordinary. I've heard that fr…
Nobody who has ambitions of being the top of their field in engineering wants to be a water treatment specialists, arborist or actuary (maybe actuary if you're a stats nerd). What you're saying is go do something on the based on the potential for you to be professionally successful.. What about people doing things they love? I hate these people telling people who love to do a certain thing that they should just becom…
Being into computers is now such a stereotypical way to be nerd, I would be way more interested to talk to a plumbing nerd right now.
Re: What to learn to be a graphics programmer
#239Earlier quoted context omitted.
Who is John Carmack? That old dude from the 90s? I kid, but there are many other modern Carmacks and id argue even more impressive contributions. The guy has done little since he left gaming. I wish more people praised Alex Evans. Dreams rendering tech is still unmatched to this day and was my inspiration for graphics, not Carmack.
My man :) Alex Evans has been my gfx coding hero since the 90s with his demoscene work, and I had the privilege of working briefly with him at Lionhead.
That is amazing and i am jealous.
Re: What to learn to be a graphics programmer
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
I always argued for custom game engines not for performance but so your game “feels” unique. I can spot a unity or unreal game from miles away. They have a smell if you will that is very hard to escape. Every game that has a custom engine just feels unique and interesting in a different way. I think this is why people likely push the custom engine. Any game that passes the finish line on a custom engine often has a l…
I have to disagree again sorry. I can't speak to being able to "spot a unity or unreal game from miles away," but if you want to make a game, make the damn game not an engine. I get the feeling there is a serious survivor bias happening here. Individuals who are talented and knowledgable enough to roll their own engine, make it well and quick enough, maintain motivation AND cross the finish line to actually make a ga…
I started out writing my own engine. Never finished a game. Switch to unity and finished two then hit industry.
Both games were mediocre if I am generous.
The janky demos i made with the custom engine felt and looked so much better. I even had folks on forums asking if they could join the project.
The issue is if everyone uses the same unity standard shader, lighting, posteffcts, etc, it ends up with a certain smell. The effort it takes to work around this requires implementing the version of the given components that better match the vision. Most custom game engines still use a plethora of libraries replacing the ones that matter. It also isnt so binary. Earlier box3d post was literally catalyzed by Unreals physics engine lacking some 3 line of code.
I think what you are really speaking to is that few people have the discipline or motivation to complete anything. The two games above that I completely were in a large part because i actually sat down wrote a design doc, made a schedule, and stuck to it aggressively reducing scope.
I recently wrote an article showing just how easy it is to make a game engine using css box shadows as the renderer, web audio, and a stupid simple tween system. I think it illustrates pretty well that people vastly overestimate what a engine is.