Wookash Podcast

Sander J. Skjegstad, a production sound mixer and programmer from Norway/Sweden, blends film set experience with audio tool creation. He talks about his path from batch scripts to low-level languages, building audio plugins and a dynamic phase-alignment algorithm, organizing the Better Software Conference, and frustrations with WAV metadata and toolchains. Short, energetic conversation about craft and creativity.

Jonathan Blow, independent game designer behind The Witness and creator of the Jai language. He talks about the decade-long craft behind Order of the Sinking Star. He dives into tooling, editor workflows, visual and water systems, and how metaprogramming in Jai shaped development. He also covers team evolution, build systems, and plans for Jai’s beta and engine release.

Jan Wilczek, a freelance audio developer and founder of WolfSound, dives deep into the engineering side of sound. He shares his journey from music to digital signal processing, highlighting the intricacies of sound conversion and synthesis techniques. Jan explores how different synthesis methods, like additive and subtractive, create unique audio textures. He discusses the role of neural networks in sound generation and the importance of C++ in audio development, making complex concepts both accessible and fascinating.

Ginger Bill, the creator of the Odin programming language, takes listeners on a fascinating journey through the design of an AsyncIO API. He dives into the differences between sync and async I/O, detailing coroutines and cooperative multitasking. The discussion spans OS-level async APIs for Windows, Linux, and macOS and evaluates SDL3's async capabilities. Bill also shares his insights on why he dislikes async/await, using a creative graph-coloring metaphor to illustrate the complexities of function interactions. It's a deep dive into API design and programming philosophy.

Charlie Malmqvist, a systems and graphics programmer known for projects like NowGrep, shares his insightful journey from learning programming languages to building innovative tools. He discusses breaking into graphics programming, the challenges of contract work, and why he founded NowGrep to streamline file searches. Charlie also emphasizes a zero-dependency approach for high performance and shares his principles on memory management and data structures. Plus, he spills the beans on organizing the Better Software Conference, focusing on quality and community.

In this discussion, Ben Visnes, a Compiler and WebAssembly engineer at Mozilla, shares his journey from early web development with JavaScript to leading the Handmade Network community. He dives into the essence of low-level programming, the philosophy behind the Handmade movement, and the importance of ‘reinventing the wheel.' Ben explains WebAssembly's significance as a portable bytecode and its evolving role beyond browsers. He emphasizes real engineering practices and the challenges of memory management in web development. A must-listen for tech enthusiasts!

Andreas Fredriksson, a systems and engine programmer known for his work in the demo scene and at leading game studios like Insomniac, shares his journey into programming after discovering the Commodore 64. He dives into the evolution of demo culture, compares hardware from the C64 to the Amiga, and highlights the importance of collaboration between artists and programmers. Andreas discusses leadership lessons, the balance between technical innovation and production needs, and his coding philosophies, all while blending humor and insightful perspectives.

Fabien Giesen, a software engineer and graphics expert known for his in-depth technical writing, shares insights from his journey in programming. He discusses the game-changing impact of Turbo Pascal and the challenges with assembly language documentation. Fabien also explains the significance of keyboard debouncing for VR, how he built low-latency display setups, and the evolution of graphics control from DOS to Windows. His experiences range from developing software for Intel's Larrabee GPU to tracing the lineage of engineering teams across major gaming platforms.

In a captivating conversation, Allen Webster, a developer and tools researcher, shares his journey from experimenting with GameMaker to creating Forecoder. He reveals the inspiration behind his innovative coding editor and discusses its unique architecture. Allen explains the challenges of building code intelligence and introduces the concept of C-scripting, which enhances game engine workflows. His vision for modernizing programming tools through richer data structures sparks an engaging exploration of the future of coding.

Nicolas Lopez, engine architect at Ubisoft, delves into the intricacies of the Anvil engine and its role in the Assassin's Creed series. He discusses the benefits of a monorepo approach, which enhances collaboration and streamlines code management. Topics like balancing shared and specific resources, optimizing for GPU vs. CPU, and implementing ray tracing are explored. Nicolas also shares insights into Ubisoft's telemetry systems that help test dynamically changing game environments and the management of vast codebases, all while ensuring performance remains high.