Wookash Podcast Aras Pranckevičius on Unity Engine internals and company!
Mar 22, 2025
Aras Pranckevičius, the first non-founder employee at Unity Technologies and current contributor to Blender, shares his journey in game development. He discusses Unity's transition from a startup to a corporate powerhouse and the challenges of scaling engineering teams. Aras dives into technical intricacies like DOTS and rendering pipelines, while also touching on his recent work optimizing Blender’s video editor. His insights into the evolving landscape of game engines and advice for aspiring programmers make for an engaging listen.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Joining Unity's Early Team
- Aras joined Unity when it was a tiny team of four people including founders and an intern.
- He moved from Lithuania to Copenhagen, drawn by the bizarre but charming CEO pirate hat.
Challenges of Growing Teams
- Growing a software team causes repeated crises requiring new organizational structures.
- Above around 20 people, specialization and multiple teams become necessary to maintain productivity.
Value of Open Source Engine Code
- Keeping Unity engine source code closed limits developers' ability to debug and customize deeper engine behavior.
- Open source availability helps understand issues and implement workarounds during game production.