Wookash Podcast

Freya Holmér has spent over a decade bridging the worlds of art and code — making tools, teaching math and shaders, and now building a brand new 3D modeling app for game developers. In this episode, she shares what it’s like to juggle creative burnout, perfectionism, and multiple ambitious projects at once. From Unity plugins like “Shapes” and “ShaderForge” to her deep skepticism of generative AI, we dive into what drives her work and the values behind it.

Website: https://www.acegikmo.com/

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/acegikmo

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/acegikmo

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/freya.bsky.social

Wookash Podcast

Show links: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lukasz-sciga

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7tExkDJcI6vvmpCguX8Ygd

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wookash-podcast/id1683109481

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9J9u3apteD0EuFjzRpt71w

RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/dd7643a4/podcast/rss

X: https://x.com/wookash_podcast

Inigo Quilez is a pioneer in creative coding, known for using pure mathematics to render stunning 3D visuals. In this episode, he shares how his unique path took him from demo scenes to Pixar, where he built tools to grow entire forests with code. We dive into his work on Shadertoy, why he created Quill for VR art, and his thoughts on C++, artistic expression, and building powerful tools for artists.

Heart Created with Math: https://youtu.be/aNR4n0i2ZlM?si=tzBOOlfB9p97SiS5

Skull Shader: https://www.shadertoy.com/view/4XsfDsYoutube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdmAhiG8HQDlz8uyekw4ENw

Website: http://iquilezles.org/X: https://x.com/iquilezles

Wookash Podcast

Show links: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lukasz-sciga

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7tExkDJcI6vvmpCguX8Ygd

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wookash-podcast/id1683109481

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9J9u3apteD0EuFjzRpt71w

RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/dd7643a4/podcast/rss

X: https://x.com/wookash_podcast

What happens when a AAA developer walks away from big studios to build his own game from scratch in a language most developers have never touched?

In this episode, we explore the journey behind Art of Reflection, a first-person puzzle game built in D. Lewis shares why he chose this unconventional language, how systems thinking shaped his design, and what it really takes to build something solo for over four years.

Lewis’ website: http://lewisnicolle.com/

X: https://x.com/hydrozoagames

The Art of Reflection: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2290770/The_Art_of_Reflection/

Wookash Podcast

Show links: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lukasz-sciga

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7tExkDJcI6vvmpCguX8Ygd

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wookash-podcast/id1683109481

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9J9u3apteD0EuFjzRpt71w

RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/dd7643a4/podcast/rss

X: https://x.com/wookash_podcast

In this interview, I talk with the developer behind File Pilot — a modern, fast, and customizable alternative to the default Windows File Explorer. We take a closer look at the motivations behind building it from scratch in C, the design philosophy that prioritizes simplicity and speed, and the technical challenges along the way.

He shares his experience moving away from traditional OOP, building a tightly integrated UI system, and how influences like Handmade Hero shaped his thinking. We also touch on his early Flash game dev days, working with threading, memory management, and building tools that actually feel good to use.

File Pilot: https://filepilot.tech/

Handmade: https://filepilot.handmade.network/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSZsgOOTYWadgPR-Ajxn86Q

X: https://x.com/vkrajacic

Wookash Podcast

Show links: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lukasz-sciga

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7tExkDJcI6vvmpCguX8Ygd

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wookash-podcast/id1683109481

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9J9u3apteD0EuFjzRpt71w

RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/dd7643a4/podcast/rss

X: https://x.com/wookash_podcast

This time I was joined by Tyler Glaiel – a sharp and hilarious programmer who's been making games for over two decades. We talk about his early days making games in Flash, building a custom game engine in C++ for The End is Nigh and the upcoming Mewgenics. Tyler shares what it took to reimplement Flash tech from scratch, his gripes with modern engines like Unity, and why he chooses SVN over Git!

Tyler’s Website: https://www.glaielgames.com/

Blog: https://blog.tylerglaiel.com/

X: https://x.com/TylerGlaiel

Wookash Podcast

Show links: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lukasz-sciga

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7tExkDJcI6vvmpCguX8Ygd

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wookash-podcast/id1683109481

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9J9u3apteD0EuFjzRpt71w

RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/dd7643a4/podcast/rss

X: https://x.com/wookash_podcast

Hear the story of Stewart Lynch — the solo developer behind 10x Editor, a lightning-fast C++ code editor built to handle massive projects. We dive into his background in game development, his time at Climax and Lionhead, and why he decided to create his own editor from scratch. Stewart shares his philosophy on performance, simplicity, and more!

10x Editor Website: https://10xeditor.com/

Mastodon: https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@stewartlynch8

X: https://x.com/stewartlynch8

Wookash Podcast

Show links: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lukasz-sciga

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7tExkDJcI6vvmpCguX8Ygd

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wookash-podcast/id1683109481

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9J9u3apteD0EuFjzRpt71w

RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/dd7643a4/podcast/rss

X: https://x.com/wookash_podcast

Please welcome Dennis! He's an accomplished engineer building physics engines and physics based games from scratch! This means he's often doing graphics from scratch as well, so he's well versed in rendering technology as well! We talk a lot about his work, physics engines, mobile games he made like Sprinkle and Smash Hit, but also large productions like Teardown! You can learn a lot by listening to this one!

Website: https://voxagon.se/

X: https://x.com/voxagonlabs

Teardown: https://teardowngame.com/

SEE THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbYp5BarruI !! :)

Wookash Podcast

Show links: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lukasz-sciga

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7tExkDJcI6vvmpCguX8Ygd

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wookash-podcast/id1683109481

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9J9u3apteD0EuFjzRpt71w

RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/dd7643a4/podcast/rss

X: https://x.com/wookash_podcast

Hear the stories about Unity - engine and company from its first hire: Aras Pranckevičius! We talk about how did he end up working for Unity, how the company and culture changed over the years, what is the design for a lot of Unity systems like DOTS and Rendering Pipelines, and more!Wesbite: https://aras-p.info/Note the awesome blog: https://aras-p.info/blog/Mastodon: https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@arasX: https://x.com/aras_pWookash PodcastShow links: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lukasz-scigaSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7tExkDJcI6vvmpCguX8YgdApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wookash-podcast/id1683109481Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9J9u3apteD0EuFjzRpt71wRSS: https://anchor.fm/s/dd7643a4/podcast/rssX: https://x.com/wookash_podcast

This time I was joined by Daniel Benmergui - an indie game developer from Argentina! He made Storyteller, Dragonsweeper, as well as other games that combine art and design creating something unique (like "I wish I were a moon"). This discussion is one of my favorites, Daniel has such a peaceful mind, he's open to ideas and questions, it was an incredible pleasure to talk to him! We talk about game design, mentorship trip to US and working with Chris Hecker and Jonathan Blow, Storyteller, Dragonsweeper, and more!Storyteller: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1624540/Storyteller/Dragonsweeper (free & online): https://danielben.itch.io/dragonsweeperI Wish I Were A Moon (free & online): https://danielben.itch.io/i-wish-i-were-the-moonFidel Dungeon Rescue: https://danielben.itch.io/fidel-dungeon-rescueGame Engineering PodcastShow links: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lukasz-scigaSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7tExkDJcI6vvmpCguX8YgdApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wookash-podcast/id1683109481Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9J9u3apteD0EuFjzRpt71wRSS: https://anchor.fm/s/dd7643a4/podcast/rssX: https://x.com/wookash_podcast

I'm joined by Matt who made Taiji - a game exploring puzzles in an abstract way with similarities to the Jonathan Blow's the Witness! Unfortunately, I lost my side of the conversation, so the questions were re-recorded and stitched through the discussion! You can enjoy hilarious bits from Matt!The then-forgotten, now-remembered streamer who played Taiji: Tyler | aliensrockGreat takes on X: https://x.com/mvandevanderTaiji on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1141580/Taiji/Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/de-ch/Spiele/Nintendo-Switch-Download-Software/Taiji-2745747.htmlTaiji website: https://taiji-game.com/Game Engineering PodcastShow links: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lukasz-scigaSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7tExkDJcI6vvmpCguX8YgdApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/game-engineering-podcast/id1683109481Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9J9u3apteD0EuFjzRpt71wRSS: https://anchor.fm/s/dd7643a4/podcast/rssX: https://x.com/g_engineering_