DEV Community: Eric Buitrón López

My Reading Journey: Jan-Mar 2026

Eric Buitrón López — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 03:51:16 +0000

Overview

Hello everyone! This is my first book review entry of 2026. I've been very busy finishing my master's project, but I managed to read 6 books throughout the first three months of the year. I think I'm still on track to achieve my goal of reading 30 books throughout the year. Especially considering that I'll have a bit more time after my master's, although I'll go into more detail about that in a different blog post sometime soon. Let's dive into the reviews!

Nonfiction reviews

The Pragmatic Programmer

★★★★★ (5/5)

The Pragmatic Programmer, by David Thomas and Andrew Hunt, contains several tips and lessons from different aspects of software development. This book helps develop habits and attitudes with the goal of helping you have long-term success in a software development related career. I've had this book recommended to me by several people throughout my life and I also see it recommended online, so I've been interested in reading it for a long time. Any software developer or even any person that uses programming for anything would greatly benefit from reading this book. This book has definitely given me a new perspective on how to think about certain aspects of software development, and it has so many great tips that I'm sure I'll go back to reread sections of it often in the future.

The Anxious Generation

★★★★★ (5/5)

The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt, describes how mental health in adolescents has plunged since the early 2010s. The author explains why he believes that this is caused by the increased use of social media at a young age and the problems that it has caused. The book also contains several calls to action at different levels in society to help correct this problem. As someone from Gen Z, I felt identified with some parts of what the author mentions and his descriptions also made me realize some negative patterns related to the use of social media that I sometimes fall into. Sometimes it's hard to forget that there's so much more beyond what we see on our screens and I think that everyone would greatly benefit from taking some time every day to just lock your phone, look up, and actually experience what is going on around you.

I think I saw this book one day at my local library and was intrigued by the cover. After reading the description, I was even more intrigued, so I bought it. I think that everyone should read this book. At first glance, it seems to be targeted towards parents with young kids, but I think that the message should be read and understood by everyone in our society.

The costs of using social media, in particular, are high for adolescents, compared with adults, while the benefits are minimal. Let children grow up on Earth first, before sending them to Mars.

Play Unsafe

★★★☆☆ (3/5)

Play Unsafe, by Graham Walmsley, contains tips and advice on how to be a better game master for roleplaying games by planning less and playing more. Recently, I've been looking for books similar to Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master, and this was among the recommendations. While the advice is well suited for game masters working on their improvisation skills, I found it didn't offer many new ideas compared to other books on the topic like Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master. Still, it presents its message clearly and could be valuable for those new to improvisational GMing.

If you find something difficult, do it until it's not. If something scares you, do it until it doesn't.

Fiction reviews

The Hobbit

★★★★☆ (4/5)

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, goes over the story of how Bilbo Baggins got into an unexpected adventure and found himself with an even more unexpected treasure. This book is the prelude to The Lord of the Rings saga, which if you've been following my blog, you'll know is a saga that I've been reading throughout the last couple of years. I really liked the book and the background that it gives on characters that we also get to meet in the other books. The adventure is exciting and the worldbuilding is spectacular. As with any of the other books related to The Lord of the Rings, any fans of the saga or any fantasy fans would have an amazing time with this book.

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.

Digital Fortress

★★★★★ (5/5)

In Digital Fortress, by Dan Brown, the NSA has an invincible code-breaking machine that it uses for homeland security. However, the machine encounters a mysterious code that it can't break and now the protagonist, Susan Fletcher, is tasked with figuring out what is happening. Betrayals happen from all sides and the battle to save the agency now becomes a battle for her own life and her loved one's. This is an amazing mystery thriller that will have you want to read it in just one sitting. The book was published in 1998 but the parallels that it has to modern events, such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal, makes it even more interesting and engaging.

I've been planning on reading the books from Dan Brown and while browsing my local bookstore, I found this book and immediately felt compelled to read it. Any fans of Dan Brown, mystery and science fiction will have a great read.

Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil, by James Luceno, is a prequel novel to Revenge of the Sith. The book describes the chase that Anakin and Obi-Wan have to try to find more clues about the Sith Lord that they think is behind everything. From the Separatist side, it contains the background of General Grievous and his alliance with Count Dooku and Darth Sidious. I had heard for many years that the Star Wars Legends novels were usually regarded as very well-written fan fiction. Having read previously the Darth Plagueis book, I knew that reading the Revenge of the Sith trilogy of books would be interesting since that is one of my favorite movies from the Skywalker saga. I really enjoyed how the book expands the Star Wars universe and goes into details that the movies didn't cover. It was fun to read although at some points the book can get a bit slow, especially during politically heavy chapters. I recommend reading this book to any Star Wars fan, it will leave you wanting to rewatch Episode III.

Looking forward

You probably noticed that I added my score for each of the books. This is something that I plan on doing from now onward. Currently I'm reading So You Want To Be A Game Master, by Justin Alexander, and I'm about to start A.I. Apocalypse, by Dave Klapwyk. I hope you look forward to the next entry in a couple of months!

Meanwhile, I’d love to hear if you’ve read any of the books I reviewed in this entry or if you have any other recommendations. Let me know in the comments below and see you next time!

My Reading Journey: Oct-Dec 2025

Eric Buitrón López — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 23:36:10 +0000

Overview

Hello everyone! This is the last update of the books that I read in 2025. I managed to read a total of 29 books! It's a bit over half of my original goal of 52 books for the year, but I still think that it was a great accomplishment. The last 3 months I read 6 books which I'll review in this entry. Let's dive into those reviews!

Nonfiction reviews

We Were Dreamers

We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story, by Simu Liu, is an autobiography that goes over his life up to the point where he got his role as Shang-Chi in Marvel. It explores the difficulties that he had growing up as an immigrant in Canada. I first heard about this book when it was promoted for a talk that he gave at Western University in late 2025. I'm currently an immigrant in Canada so I connected to some of the ideas that Simu's parents had when they were also looking for better opportunities. This book made me reflect my own immigrant path and how that might shape up my future. I really recommend it to any immigrant or anyone who is related in any way to immigrants to have a better understanding of what some of us go through.

Without taking action, your best ideas are just random neurons firing in your brain, like lost ships passing through an endless ocean of consciousness, doomed to be forgotten.

Fiction Reviews

Attack on Titan: Lost Girls Vol 2

Attack On Titan: Lost Girls Vol 2, by Hiroshi Seko, is the second volume of the Lost Girls spin-off manga from Attack on Titan. It goes over the childhood of Mikasa and shows why she cares so much about Eren. It also shows her growth from a timid and somewhat weak girl into the strong character that is featured in the main volumes of the manga. Just like in the first volume of this spin-off, I really like how we get to know better another character from the universe and how it expands it.

Attack on Titan: Colossal Edition 3

Attack on Titan: Colossal Edition 3, by Hajime Isayama, collects volumes 11-15 of the Attack on Titan manga. These volumes go over more of the political elements of the story as more secrets about the titans and people within the walls get revealed. While I don't own the colossal edition, the volumes that make up this collection are part of the Attack On Titan Humble Bundle package I bought a while ago. I really like the story elements of this manga and I usually read each volume in one sitting. The world is getting more complex each time and I can’t wait to read the rest of the volumes in the manga!

Rosalina's Storybook

Rosalina’s Storybook, by Nintendo, is a storybook that is featured in the Super Mario Galaxy game. It goes over the origin story of Rosalina and how she found the Lumas. This book got announced in a Nintendo Direct as part of the 40th anniversary of Super Mario and I preordered it right away. Super Mario Galaxy is one of my favorite videogames so having a real life version of Rosalina's Storybook is a childhood dream come true. The art and story bring back memories of playing this game as a kid. This is a book that any Mario fan will enjoy. It also makes for a great gift for young kids to start learning to read!

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins, goes over the tenth annual Hunger Games. The story goes over how an 18 year old Coriolanus Snow experiences the games as a mentor. Throughout the book, we get to see Snow become into the character that we all know from the original Hunger Games trilogy. I had already seen the movie but I bought the book because I wanted to read Sunrise on the Reaping before the movie comes out. I really liked a lot the book since it gives way more depth to the character of Coriolanus Snow. Once more, this is a love story and it's so interesting to see how different Snow was during his late teens and how he ended up becoming a person full of hate for the districts, especially district 12. The only downside from this book (which is also a very clear downside from the movie) is that the last part feels very rushed. I think that some additional chapters exploring the last part of the character arc for Snow would really help understand the drastic decisions that Snow makes at the end. Any fans of the original Hunger Games trilogy (books, movies, or even better both) will really enjoy this book.

Sunrise on the Reaping

Sunrise on the Reaping, by Suzanne Collins, goes over the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, where twice as many tributes are taken from their homes due to the Quarter Quell. This year, a 16 year old Haymitch Abernathy is called to participate in the Games. In this heartbreaking story we learn how Haymitch managed to win the games when the odds seemed to be everything except in his favor and why he became the alcoholic that Katniss meets in the first Hunger Games book. I had heard about the movie coming out next year so I bought the book when I saw it available in my closest library. Just like the rest of the books in the Hunger Games world, this is a love story. However, I think this might be the most heartbreaking one from all 5 books in the series. It added a lot more depth to Haymitch's character as well as giving an introduction to secondary characters who also became more important in the original Hunger Games trilogy.

I highly recommend reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes first because there are several references in this book that really show how at a similar age (late teens), Snow and Haymitch where really similar in many aspects. It was very interesting to see how different their lives turned out due to their experiences with the games. I also really liked how this dystopian world created by Suzan Collins is still brought down to earth with real life connections such as the hint of AI tools for creating videos. This technology has existed for several years now but it recently gained more attention due to its misuse in more public platforms such as X (aka Twitter) through the use of Grok.

He sighs when he mentions the tools that were abolished and incapacitated in the past, ones deemed fated to destroy humanity because of their ability to replicate any scenario using any person.

Looking Forward

As we start a new year, I look forward to reading more books and also setting a new reading challenge for myself. I’m planning to read at least 30 books during 2026 which should be achievable considering I read 29 last year. Currently I’m reading The Hobbit and I also need to finish reading The Pragmatic Programmer as well as C++20 for Programmers. For the time being I’ll keep releasing a new entry every couple of months so look forward to the next one!

I’d love to hear if you’ve read any of the books I reviewed in this entry or if you have any other recommendations. Let me know in the comments below and see you next time!

My Reading Journey: Jul-Sep 2025

Eric Buitrón López — Sat, 04 Oct 2025 18:57:34 +0000

Overview

Hello everyone! It's been a while since the last reading journey update. For this update I have 7 books I read in the past 3 months. I'm almost halfway through my reading goal of reading 52 books in the year and now I just have 3 months left so we'll see how far I get. Let's dive into the reviews for this entry!

Fiction Reviews

Artemis

Artemis, by Andy Weir, follows the life of a smuggler called "Jazz" who lives in the first and only city on the Moon. Things get complicated when her latest job turns south and she gets involved in a scheme between other parties to get control of the city and the future of the Moon colonization plans. I’m a fan of other books written by Andy Weir and this was the next in the list. Overall, I really liked it and I think that it is a very fun and engaging sci-fi novel. The universe is very well thought out and could probably actually happen in a not so distant future. I would really recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi or is fan of any of the other books (or their movie/series adaptations) of Andy Weir.

Brisingr

Brisingr, by Christopher Paolini, is the third entry in the Inheritance saga. Eragon and Saphira continue on their quest to help the Varden fight Galbatorix. Throughout the book Eragon learns more about his past and is faced with choices that require up to the ultimate sacrifice by some of his friends/allies. I'm really enjoying reading again through the whole saga and going through all of the important plot points that happen within the book. Anyone who likes to read fantasy and books about magic and dragons will enjoy this saga.

Attack On Titan: Lost Girls Vol 1

Attack On Titan: Lost Girls Vol 1, by Koji Seko, is the first volume of a spin-off manga from the beloved series. In this entry, Annie Leonhart leads the search on a missing girl on a case that gets more chaotic the more she discovers. This occurs one day before the expedition outside the walls where she is tasked with seizing Eren. I’ve been reading the Attack on Titan manga for the last couple of years, and this was the next entry. I liked this story and how it expands on the universe and on this character. Any fans of the manga or the series will enjoy this story.

Snow Crash

Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson, blends action in the Metaverse and in a dystopian reality that draws a lot of similarities to the current state of the US (even though it was published 33 years ago). Hiro Protagonist needs to solve and stop the spread of a new computer virus that could also affect all of humanity. This book was recommended to me several years ago by one of my undergrad professors and I finally read it. Although the book is hard to follow in some parts, I really liked it. I also really liked how much it made me think of current events in the US and in the world in general. Who would've thought that 30+ years ago, Neal Stephenson was describing something similar to ChatGPT through the Librarian character or some weird mix between Elon Musk and Donald Trump through Bob L. Rife? Anyone who likes science fiction, futurism, or discussions about the metaverse will find an interesting and entertaining read in this book.

A speech with magical force. Nowadays, people don't believe in these kinds of things. Except in the Metaverse, that is, where magic is possible. The Metaverse is a fictional structure made out of code. And code is just a form of speech - the form that computers understand.

Batman Hush

In Batman Hush, Batman has to discover who has been manipulating everyone around him in a story that introduces one of his closest villains. I already knew the general details of this story since it is regarded as a classic and is referenced in many places. However, it was until recently that I finally got it and read it. I really enjoyed the story and how it goes over a good portion of Batman's rogues, his past and also love affairs. Overall, the story gets very personal not only for Batman but for Bruce Wayne as well and I think that it's a very good read that Batman fans and anyone who likes to read comics in general will enjoy.

Nonfiction Reviews

A Tour of C++ (3rd Edition)

In A Tour of C++ (3rd edition), the designer of C++, Bjarne Stroustrup, describes an overview of everything that modern C++ has to offer including all the new additions to C++20 as well as some of the things to look out for in C++23. In the past few months, I searched for resources to learn more about C++, and this was one of the most recommended books. It made me realize how many things are covered by C++ and also understand some of the details of modern C++ such as move semantics and smart pointers. I think that anyone who already knows how to program in another language or in an older version of C++ will really benefit from having this book.

Clean Code

Clean Code, by Robert C. Martin, goes over several best practices on writing clean code. It also includes several case studies on how code was made cleaner by refactoring. The last part includes a list of heuristics and "smells" that result in a knowledge base for how to write, read and clean code. I had already read this book about 4 years ago during my undergrad and I decided to read it again to remember all of the tips that it gives. It made me realize several things in my master's project code that weren't as clean as they could be. Sometimes it's easy to fall down the easiest path possible without thinking on how that will affect the code (and therefore you or others) in the future. I really recommend this book to anyone who programs and is interested in developing better code.

The next time you write a line of code, remember you are an author, writing for readers who will judge your effort.

Rather than spend your time writing the comments that explain the mess you've made, spend it cleaning that mess.

Looking Forward

I’m currently reading The Pragmatic Programmer as well as C++20 for Programmers. Besides these books, I plan on reading more Attack on Titan, finishing the Inheritance Saga and reading more of the books that I bought this year. Look forward for the next update where I’ll hopefully be closer to my yearly goal!

I’d love to hear if you’ve read any of the books I reviewed in this entry or if you have any other recommendations! Let me know in the comments below and see you next time.

Making Digital Worlds Feel Alive: My Research into Realistic Ambient Characters

Eric Buitrón López — Sun, 24 Aug 2025 20:17:36 +0000

Overview

Have you ever had that odd feeling that we're all living in a simulation? If you have, you are not alone. Many people have thought about this, resulting not just in amazing sci-fi entertainment content but also in the simulation theory which is constantly being backed up by more people. Simulations need to be populated by digital characters to give some sense of realism. However, defining exactly what makes these characters realistic is very difficult since it can be very subjective. Nevertheless, it can be broadly divided into two main categories: how realistic their visual representation is (rendering and animations) and how realistic their behavior is.

That last category is the area which I’m more interested in, and what I’m currently researching as part of my master’s in computer science. In this blog post I will go over more details about my research topic and an overview of what I’m trying to accomplish.

Video games as research domain

Simulations are used for many different things in a lot of fields. However, the area I’m most interested in is video games. Video games are probably the prime example of characters living in a simulation. Each game by itself creates a whole digital world (and sometimes universe) that you as a player get to interact and be part of. Games have a lot of different characters, and it would not be possible for me to focus on all of them during my master’s degree. Therefore, I decided that my research would focus on the behavior of ambient characters in video games. But why are video games particularly well-suited for this type of research?

Video games present unique challenges and opportunities for ambient character research. Unlike other simulations that might focus on specific behaviors or limited scenarios, games require characters to be believable across diverse situations (from peaceful market scenes to chaotic battles). Players also have unlimited time to observe these characters, making any flaws in behavior immediately apparent. This makes video games an ideal testing ground for developing robust ambient character systems that could eventually be applied to other simulation domains.

What are ambient characters?

Characters in video games can be categorized based on their role, purpose, and level of interactivity. First, we have player characters which are controlled directly by human players. Then we have non-player characters (NPCs) which are any characters in the game world that are not controlled by human players. NPCs can be categorized based on their significance and functionality in a game. Main NPCs have significant narrative or gameplay importance in the game. They also tend to have important interactions with the player characters. Meanwhile, ambient NPCs (think of the pedestrians walking city streets or patrons sitting in taverns) populate the game world and create a sense of life and immersion. However, they tend to have very limited interactions or significance to the player characters.

You might be wondering, if they have very limited interactions or significance for players, why would I choose them as my research topic? Well, these are the characters that create an illusion of life within the game. They make the digital world feel alive and populated which increases the immersion of players. This is very important because immersion is what makes players believe, at least for some time, that they are actually part of the digital world the game offers.

Problems with current ambient characters

If you have played or seen someone play any game with ambient characters you might already be aware that the current state of these characters is not as realistic as we would hope. They lack believable persistence (characters don't remember previous interactions or maintain consistent states when players aren't looking) and exhibit repetitive behavior. Additionally, they also tend to have a poor understanding of their environment (they might not react appropriately to weather, crowds, or dramatic events happening around them) which makes them behave in a way that doesn’t make sense for what is happening in the digital world.

All of this causes what is called a break in realism for the players since they no longer believe that the digital world is “real”. For instance, you might see characters continuing their cheerful shopping routines while explosions happen just meters away, or watch the same character have an identical phone conversation every time you pass a certain corner. These moments instantly remind players they're in a digital simulation, breaking the carefully crafted immersion developers work so hard to create.

Some of the most recent open-world games (such as Red Dead Redemption 2) are implementing systems that address some of the limitations. For example, the ambient characters in this game have daily routines, can recognize the player from previous encounters, and react contextually to ongoing events in the world. However, these solutions tend to be very game-specific and the fact that ambient characters aren’t really the main focus of a video game will always remain true. Developers have to put most of their focus on other systems and on making sure that the game is fun (which should always be the priority).

Ambient Character Behavior Framework

Given these significant limitations in current ambient character systems, there's clearly a need for a more sophisticated approach. This is where my research comes in. My goal with my research is to have more realistic ambient character behaviors. This can be seen as a focus on creating believable, varied, and contextually appropriate characters that enhance the player’s immersion of the game and makes them feel part of a living digital world.

My master's project focuses on proposing an ambient character behavior framework that addresses the current limitations. Rather than scripting countless behavioral variations, the framework enables characters to develop unique patterns based on their accumulated experiences and environmental awareness. Characters naturally avoid repetitive behaviors while maintaining meaningful persistence across player encounters - all without requiring individual programming for each character. While I can’t disclose the specifics of this framework yet, I can tell you that I’m currently working on implementing the first version of the framework and on creating a proof-of-concept demo. Hopefully, I’ll be able to show more progress about this soon.

Looking forward

While I’m focusing my master’s project on the video games domain, I have a bigger vision for what I want for my framework. If everything works out, it would be very interesting to expand my research into other types of simulations that aren’t necessarily for entertainment. I believe that having more realistic ambient character behavior is the first step towards improving training, digital twins, emergency response, city planning and many other simulations. Not to mention, probably the most interesting application, enabling digital characters for the Metaverse.

With this in mind, I’ll keep working on my master’s project. Meanwhile, there are certain topics related to my research that I’m looking forward to writing about in other blog posts such as: the difference between game AI and academic AI, the importance of having user perspectives when defining the quality of character behavior and the challenges of cross-platform development in gaming. I hope you look forward to these future posts and more updates about my research in the coming months.

How do you imagine digital characters will be perceived in the next 5 years? I would love to read your thoughts on this and on my research in the comments. See you next time!

My Reading Journey: May-Jun 2025

Eric Buitrón López — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 18:34:49 +0000

Overview

Hello everyone! Welcome to the third entry in my reading journey series. This time I read 4 books. I’m still way behind my Goodreads goal of reading 52 books in the year (which would mean every entry having 8 reviews). However, I’m not counting all the magazines that I’m reading and last year’s numbers might have also gone up because of all the comics I read (this year I haven’t read many comics). Anyways, let’s dive into the reviews for this entry!

Fiction Reviews

Eldest

Eldest is the continuation of the Inheritance saga. This second part goes over the actions of Eragon and Saphira after the events of the first book. Eragon takes his training with the elves and continues helping the Varden fight Galbatorix's army.

I really enjoyed the book and how it expands upon the universe. The book starts to build up some very important events for the universe and the saga which I look forward to reading again. Anyone who likes to read fantasy and books about magic and dragons will really enjoy this fantastic series.

Deadpool: Samurai, Vol 1

Deadpool: Samurai is a manga where Deadpool is in a universe where he is now looking to be part of the Avengers team. The manga takes place in Tokyo with new and also existing Marvel characters making appearances.

The manga is entertaining and has some funny moments. Overall, it's an interesting take on the Deadpool character and I look forward to reading more of this manga. I believe that anyone who likes to read manga and/or likes Deadpool will have a great time with this manga.

Nonfiction Reviews

Threats: What Every Engineer Should Learn from Star Wars

Threats: What Every Engineer Should Learn From Star Wars is a book that goes over several threats within software development and explains them with Star Wars examples. It encompasses different areas for both software and hardware threats with the goal of making the reader be aware of what exists in the field.

Any software engineer or anyone who works in industries that use any software for critical workflows will benefit from reading this book. After reading it, I think that I'm now more aware of different threats that exist within software development. While I don't think I'll use the knowledge in this book any time soon, it's good to know that I now have a reference for when this becomes more relevant in my work.

Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment

Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment is the latest book from game journalist Jason Schreier. It describes three decades of existence of Blizzard Entertainment by going over its beginning, how it fell in the public eye and it's future after the acquisition from Microsoft.

Anyone in the gaming industry or that has any interest in the industry, as well as Blizzard fans, will enjoy the read. After reading it, I believe I'm now more aware of the things that happened within the company. It also made me realize that it serves as a good reflection of the ups and downs of the video game industry in general. I also found it very interesting that Andy Weir, one of my favorite sci-fi authors, worked for a couple of years in Blizzard before being fired and later turning into a world-known author.

Looking Forward

For the next couple of months I plan on continuing with the Inheritance saga. I’m currently reading the Brisingr book. I also plan on starting to read some of the many books I’ve bought recently, starting with Artemis by Andy Weir. I will also keep reading the magazines from my subscriptions, including the digital subscription of Game Informer.

I’d love to hear if you’ve read any of the books I reviewed in this entry or if you have any other recommendations! Let me know in the comments below and see you next time.

My Reading Journey: Mar-Apr 2025

Eric Buitrón López — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 23:58:03 +0000

Overview

Hello everyone! Welcome to the second entry in my reading journey series. This time I have managed to read only 5 books. While I’m a little bit behind on my Goodreads goal of reading 52 books in the year, the last couple of months have been very busy with the end of the academic winter term. Now that I’m done with classes, I’m sure that I can have more time for reading and hopefully catch up to my goal. Let’s go into the reviews for this entry!

Fiction Reviews

Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland

I briefly mentioned in the last entry that I was starting to read a collection of Celtic fairy tales and lore that my dad gifted me for Christmas. The first book in this collection is Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland by Lady Wilde. It contains a varied recollection of folklore and fairy tales.

Overall, I liked the format of having small stories and legends that make up for an interesting and entertaining recompilation of tales. It did inspire several ideas for games or game mechanics which I made sure to note down in Post-its that are now scattered across the book. Only the future will tell if I ever use them. I think that people who like fairy tales, want to learn more about Ireland, or like to learn about legends and superstitions in different countries would find this an interesting read.

Eragon

The Inheritance Cyle is a book series that I remember fondly from my teen years. A couple of years ago, a new entry in the series was published and I decided to read again the whole series to remember and be better prepared for the new books that Chrisopher Paolini has planned.

For anyone who is unfamiliar with this series, Eragon is the first entry about a young boy who discovers a dragon egg and suddenly has to decide if he'll help fight against the evil king of this fantasy universe. I really enjoyed reading again this book, and I also couldn’t stop thinking about a review I saw on Goodreads where the plot of the book was compared to Star Wars (A New Hope). The inspiration can be clearly noticed, but as someone who really likes Star Wars, I don’t see that as a necessarily bad thing. I believe that anyone who likes fantasy and books about magic and dragons will have a great time reading it.

Nonfiction Reviews

To-Do List Formula

The book To-Do List Formula: A Stress-Free Guide To Creating To-Do Lists That Work! by Damon Zahariades goes over different methods to create a to-do list. It highlights the pros and cons of each method and at the end gives an overall framework that allows you to create to-do lists in the best way that works for you.

I discovered this book from my amazon recommendations, and I think it can be really useful for everyone. Reading it helped me realize how I was setting myself up for potential disappointment by not creating realistic and specific to-do lists. I believe that now I have at least a slightly better method for creating them and feeling accomplished at the end of every day.

Here are my 3 favorite quotes:

“Your task list isn’t a tool for getting everything done. Rather, it’s a tool that will ensure you get the right things done."

“If you only have four hours at your disposal, make sure the items on your to-do list can be completed within that time frame. Otherwise, you’ll set yourself up for failure.”

“Your emotional state plays a significant role in how successfully you work from your lists."

Thinking, Fast and Slow

The book Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman describes the concept of the 2 systems that govern our decision-making process. System 1 is the part of our brain that acts without too much thinking and system 2 is the part of our brain that analyzes things before taking action. The book goes over a lot of detail about how this affects different decisions we make.

This book was a recommendation from the professor of my masterclass in HCI course, and I’m really glad I read it because it helped me better understand when the best moment is to use each of these systems. I’m also more aware now about them and hopefully I won’t fall under all the assumptions that are made by system 1. I believe that anyone interested in knowing how we make decisions will have a good read.

These are my 3 favorite quotes:

“We can be blind to the obvious, and we are also blind to our blindness."

“When people believe a conclusion is true, they are also very likely to believe arguments that appear to support it, even when these arguments are unsound.”

“People attach values to gains and losses rather than to wealth, and the decision weights that they assign to outcomes are different from probabilities”

Deja de Planear Y Comienza a Acabar

In Deja de planear y comienza a acabar.: Historia de un agilista, Sergio Enrique Zamora Rubio describes his experience through learning about the agile framework. The book goes from the narration of a work trip were Agile was taught to the descriptions of the author trying to apply this framework in the company where he worked. It gives very useful advice for people who are just starting out with the agile methodology.

This was a gift from my girlfriend, and I believe that any software engineer or anyone interested in agile will find it entertaining. I was already familiar with this framework, and it made me remember my time during university where I had to apply this knowledge (Semestre i). I still found that it had very good advice and tips to remember the importance and applications of agile.

Here are my favorite quotes:

“Algo está mal en un entorno laboral donde el pedir ayuda es tomado como incompetencia."

“La creatividad no se incrementa con más tiempo trabajando, se requieren espacios para pensar, para divergir"

Looking Forward

For the next couple of months, I plan on finishing the Celtic fairy tale collection. I’m also currently reading Eldest, which is the second entry in the Inheritance cycle, and a book called Threats: What Every Engineer Should Learn From Star Wars.

I have a lot of other books waiting to be read so hopefully I make more progress with them soon. I also decided to buy a yearly subscription to the PC Gamer magazine (and got digital access to all the previous releases) as well as the Nintendo Force magazine. While I can’t track them in Goodreads, I will still review them in following entries.

Having said that, I’m interested to know if you have read any of the books I’ve reviewed so far or if you have any recommendations! Let me know in the comments below.

My Reading Journey: Jan-Feb 2025

Eric Buitrón López — Sun, 02 Mar 2025 17:24:49 +0000

Overview

Hello everyone! Welcome to a new series where I will tell you all about my reading journey. Every couple of months, I'll gather up reviews of books I've read and share my thoughts and experiences. You’ll notice that I typically gravitate toward fantasy and science fiction for fiction reading, while my nonfiction preferences include productivity books and topics related to my interests, such as game design and design thinking. That said, I'm always open to reading almost any book.

Over the past couple of months, I've managed to read six books spanning both fiction and nonfiction. Each one has offered something unique to my perspective as both a reader and game developer. What I value most about reading is that books provide different perspectives of the world. As a game developer, this broader knowledge is essential. It allows for better representation in games and fuels creativity. I strongly believe that the more we understand about different areas and fields, the richer our creative work can become. Let’s dive into the reviews!

Fiction Reviews

Attack on Titan: Before the Fall

I’ve been reading for a couple of years the Attack on Titan manga. Recently, I was able to obtain the full collection of the series through a Humble Bundle (they sell bundles for games, books & software, definitely check it out here). I’ve been reading the full story and I just read a novel called Attack on Titan: Before the Fall. The story takes place long before the main Attack on Titan series begins, which adds wonderful depth to the world-building. It explores how the equipment used to defeat titans was originally developed.

What I particularly enjoyed was experiencing this story as a novel rather than manga. It allowed me to imagine the events instead of seeing them through panels, creating a different but equally engaging experience. If you're an Attack on Titan fan or enjoy fantasy in general, this book is definitely worth checking out.

Attack on Titan: Kuklo Unbound

Following Before the Fall, I read its continuation, Kuklo Unbound. This story centers on the child of a titan and covers the second and third parts of the overall Before the Fall storyline. We follow Kuklo's journey and discover how he managed to kill a titan. I really enjoyed how it continued to expand the universe. The story itself is very entertaining and adds another layer to the rich Attack on Titan lore. Fellow fans of the series and fantasy enthusiasts will likely appreciate this book as much as I did.

Interestingly, after finishing both novels, I learned there's also a manga version consisting of 17 volumes. While I own these volumes (thanks again, Humble Bundle!), I haven't read them since the story is essentially the same with only slight changes. The novels felt sufficient for experiencing this part of the Attack on Titan world.

The Return of the King

I also completed The Return of the King, the final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy which I've been reading over the past couple of years. The book is divided into two main sections: the first covers the events involving the remaining fellowship of the ring members up through the war in Mordor, while the second details what happened to Bilbo and Frodo during this time.

What I loved most about this conclusion was how thoroughly it wrapped up the story, providing details about what happened in each part of the fictional universe and to every character. The appendices at the end were particularly fascinating, making the universe feel much more complete with descriptions of events from all ages, different languages, and other rich details.

This book will resonate with anyone who has been reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy or any of Tolkien's other works. It's also perfect for those who enjoyed the movies but haven't yet experienced the books, as well as fantasy lovers in general.

Nonfiction Reviews

Games as a Service

Shifting to nonfiction, I read Games as a Service: How Free to Play Design Can Make Better Your Games, which aims to prompt readers to ask important questions about creating a successful game-as-a-service model. Each chapter covers different areas to consider and includes practical exercises and questions to apply to your own game ideas.

I found this book through a Humble Bundle of game design books, and it provides valuable tips for anyone looking to create a freemium game. This resource has changed my perspective by making me aware of important considerations for implementing a games-as-a-service model in my own projects. While I may not remember every tip, I now have a valuable reference to return to when needed.

If you're interested in creating freemium games or understanding this model better, this book is an excellent resource. Game developers in general would benefit from checking it out.

The Design of Everyday Things

Another fascinating read was The Design of Everyday Things, which explains the concept of design thinking and how it can be applied to practically anything while keeping the end user in mind. The book provides numerous real-life examples of both good and bad design and explains why design matters so much.

This recommendation came from my master class in human-computer interaction course, and it has genuinely changed my awareness of design. I now pay much more attention to the design of things I use daily. Anyone involved in product design, those interested in understanding how others think, and really anyone at all would find this book enjoyable and enlightening.

Here are my 3 favorite quotes:

“The same technology that simplifies life by providing more functions in each device also complicates life by making the device harder to learn, harder to use.”

“More and more evidence is accumulating that we use logic and reason after the fact, to justify our decisions to ourselves (to our conscious minds) and to others”

“The problem with the designs of most engineers is that they are too logical. We have to accept human behavior the way it is, not the way we would wish it to be.”

Significant Zero

The last nonfiction book I read was Significant Zero, an autobiography by Walt Williams, a video game writer who has worked on several popular titles such as Spec Ops: The Line and BioShock 2. He describes his life in the video game industry and his experiences with various projects since entering the field.

I honestly don't remember how I discovered this book but I'm glad I read it. It inspired me to create stories that matter or convey meaningful messages rather than just make the player feel powerful, which was the final message of the book. Writers, game developers, and gamers would all find value in Williams' experiences and insights.

Here are my 3 favorite quotes:

“Like all art, games are an expression of the people who make them; people who are unique, derivative, functional, broken, and above all, messy”

“I don’t think people are afraid to be emotionally challenged by their games. I think they’re waiting for it. Gamers are ready for a deeper, more emotional experience. They want to play games that matter.”

“Imagine a video game that inspires the best in us rather than the worst. Imagine exploring what it means to be human instead of revisiting how it feels to be powerful. Imagine putting down the controller and being left with a sense of hope, for you and for the world.”

Looking Forward

I'm currently reading a collection of Celtic fairy tales and lore, specifically Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland by Lady Wilde. This collection was a Christmas gift from my dad, and even though I knew very little about these tales going in, they've been quite interesting so far. Reading these stories has sparked some creative inspiration. I'm considering how they might inspire game ideas. Similar to how The Witcher series draws from folklore, I think Celtic fairy tales and folklore could provide rich material for game development.

I've also begun reading Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. This was another recommendation in my masterclass in HCI course and I can't wait to read more of it.

Having said that, this was my book journey for the first couple of months of the year. I'll update you with the next part in a couple of months! What books have you been reading lately? I'd love to read your recommendations in the comments!

From Gaming to Healthcare: AI Research in My Master’s Journey

Eric Buitrón López — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:32 +0000

Overview

Hello everyone! As I progress through this academic term, I'm thrilled to share the progress on several projects that sit at the intersection of gaming, artificial intelligence, and human-computer interaction. Each initiative represents a piece of a larger puzzle, exploring how we can enhance virtual experiences through innovative applications of AI and thoughtful design principles. Let me take you through this exciting journey of discovery and development.

Healthcare Innovation Through Reinforcement Learning

Working with three colleagues, I'm currently engaged in a fascinating project that applies reinforcement learning (RL)—a type of AI that learns through trial and error—to healthcare decisions. We're building upon Microsoft's research into what they call "medical dead-end states": critical points in patient treatment where certain decisions could lead to irreversible outcomes.

This project will focus initially on sepsis cases, where early intervention is crucial. Think of it like a GPS system that not only shows you where you are but warns you about roads ahead that might lead to dead ends. Our goal is to create a RL model, inspired by the paper’s implementation, that helps doctors identify these high-risk states and make informed treatment decisions.

While this project is not directly related to my gaming research, it strengthens my understanding of reinforcement learning techniques, which may later contribute to optimizing AI decision-making in virtual environments.

Enhancing Usability: The Shift from 2D to 3D in Simulation Games

My journey into my human-computer interaction (HCI) project began with a simple observation while playing Shop Empire 2, a mall management simulation game. The game, while engaging, presents several usability challenges that I believe could be addressed through thoughtful 3D design.

Current Challenges in the 2D Version

The existing game faces several key usability issues that affect player experience:

Interface Clutter

The current user interface (UI) spreads across the screen in what I've found to be a somewhat chaotic manner. This isn't just about aesthetics; it directly impacts how players interact with the game. Since everything exists in a single 2D plane, the interface elements compete for limited screen space. It's like trying to arrange puzzle pieces when there's no way to layer them; everything competes for the same space.

Visual Congestion

As the mall gets busier, Non-Player Character (NPC) sprites begin to overlap. This creates what I call a "visual stack" problem. Imagine trying to watch multiple people through a window where everyone appears to be standing in the exact same spot! Speech bubbles and emotion indicators, which are crucial for understanding customer needs, become particularly problematic as they layer on top of each other.

My 3D Prototype Solution

My 3D prototype aims to address these challenges by utilizing depth and space in more intuitive ways. Think of it as moving from watching a puppet show to observing a real mall; the added dimension creates natural separation and organization.

Measuring Impact Through Careful Testing

To ensure these changes actually improve player experience, I'm developing a comprehensive testing approach:

Within-Subject Testing Sessions

Each player will experience both versions of the game, allowing them to make direct comparisons. Think of it like trying on both an old and new pair of shoes—you can immediately feel the difference.

Think-Aloud Protocol

Players will verbalize their thoughts as they play, giving insights into their decision-making process and frustrations. This is similar to having someone narrate their experience as they navigate a new building.

Performance Metrics

I’ll also try to track various in-game measurements such as time to complete certain tasks and number of clicks to provide and compare performance metrics when playing each version of the game.

Breathing Life into Virtual Characters: Generative Agents using LLMUnity

One of my most exciting ventures this term involves exploring how we can make game characters feel more alive and believable. This project builds upon fascinating research described in the Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior paper, which introduces a novel way of thinking about NPC behavior.

A Stepped Approach to Complex AI

Instead of tackling everything at once, I'm structuring the project into phased steps to gradually build complexity. Here's how I'm approaching it:

Integration with Language Models

I’m starting with the integration of large language models (LLMs)—sophisticated AI systems that can understand and generate human-like text. I'm using a library called LLMUnity, which should allow me to integrate these capabilities directly into the game engine.

Short-Term Memory Implementation

The next step is to add a lightweight version of the memory architecture. Think of it as giving NPCs the ability to remember recent events and react to them, similar to how we maintain awareness of our immediate surroundings and recent interactions.

Long-Term Memory Implementation

The final step is to implement the full version of the memory architecture proposed in the paper. This could potentially pave the way for the implementation of memory-enabled NPCs in commercial games, leading to more immersive and dynamic interactive experiences for players.

Tackling Challenges

This project presents several interesting hurdles both technically and ethically that I'm actively working to overcome:

Model Selection and Cost Management

One of the biggest challenges is finding the right balance between capability and cost. The original research used expensive commercial models, but I'm exploring open-source alternatives that could make this technology more accessible.

Ethical impact

One of the main concerns when using LLMs is their potential behavioral impact on humans. The paper highlights some of these issues, such as racial bias and the possibility of individuals forming deep attachments to AI. Although my current project won’t tackle these challenges directly, they remain crucial considerations for anyone working with AI.

Another key concern with generative AI is where to draw the line between AI-generated content, such as dialogue, and the work of a narrative designer. I strongly believe that generative AI should serve to aid and enhance human creativity, not replace it. It will be fascinating to see how these discussions evolve as AI research continues to shape the industry.

Master's Research: Enhancing Background NPC Behavior for Greater Realism

All these projects feed into my master’s research, where I’m working to transform how we think about background NPCs in open-world games. These are the characters that make up the "living" part of our virtual worlds, yet they're often relegated to performing simple, repetitive actions.

The Background NPC Challenge

Traditional approaches to background characters often rely on what can be seen as static behavior patterns:

Fixed Scheduling

Current NPCs typically follow unchanging daily routines. Imagine a shopkeeper who performs exactly the same actions at exactly the same times, day after day. It's efficient from a programming perspective but breaks the illusion of a living world.

Limited Persistence

Many games use what's known as a "spawn-despawn system," where NPCs essentially cease to exist when not in the player's view. While this saves computational resources, it can break immersion if a player decides to track or follow specific characters.

Building a New Framework

My research aims to create a more dynamic system where characters can:

Generate realistic schedules that adapt to circumstances
Maintain persistence even when not in the player's view
React meaningfully to changes in their environment

To accomplish this, I’m looking forward to implementing these systems:

Scheduling and Planning

I'm developing a system that combines a sort of goal-oriented action planning (a way for NPCs to figure out how to achieve their objectives) with the creative capabilities of language models. Think of it like having each NPC maintain their own dynamic to-do list that adapts to circumstances. This will be heavily inspired by the Generative Agents project.

Action Translation System

A crucial component of my framework is what I call the "natural-to-mechanical translation layer." This system will take the high-level behaviors generated by the language model (like "get coffee because I’m tired") and convert them into specific game actions (walking to the coffee machine, operating it, drinking the coffee) that are actually carried out by the NPCs. This will definitely be limited by the number of actions and animations that are present in the simulation or game where I test the framework. However, it could be a great first step.

Technical challenges

These are some of the technical challenges that I’m aware will be present during my master’s research:

Performance Considerations

One of my key focuses is ensuring these more complex behaviors don't overwhelm system resources. It's like choreographing a complex dance. We need all the dancers to move naturally and independently, but we also need to make sure the stage can handle everyone performing at once.

The Translation Challenge

Perhaps the most interesting technical puzzle I'm facing is how to convert the natural language outputs from these AI models into actual game actions. Imagine if someone described what they wanted to do, and we needed to translate that into specific button presses in a game controller. The system that I want to implement has a similar challenge, but at a much more complex scale. My solution involves creating a mapping system where AI-generated outputs are constrained to predefined in-game actions.

Beyond Gaming

While I’m focusing the implementation of my research in gaming, the exciting part of this project is how it could extend to other areas.

Virtual Reality and Training

By focusing on background NPCs, I'm actually addressing a crucial need in virtual reality training environments. Think about medical training simulations or emergency response scenarios. The background characters need to behave realistically to create authentic learning experiences. My research could help create more believable environments for professional training across various fields.

Digital Twins and Simulation

The techniques I'm developing for scheduling and planning NPC actions could be valuable for simulating human behavior in digital twin environments. This could help urban planners understand how people might use new spaces, or help businesses optimize their operations by simulating customer behavior.

Future Virtual Social Spaces

As we move toward more immersive virtual social spaces (aka "the metaverse"), the need for believable background characters becomes crucial. Not every avatar in these spaces will be controlled by a real person, but they all need to contribute to the sense of a living, breathing virtual world.

See you soon!

As these projects progress toward their spring completion dates (except my master’s research), I'm excited about their potential impact on both gaming and broader virtual experiences. Each challenge solved brings us one step closer to creating more believable, engaging virtual worlds. This research journey represents more than technical advancement—it’s about creating meaningful experiences that enhance how we interact with digital worlds. Whether in games, simulations, or virtual environments, these innovations aim to make our digital interactions more natural, engaging, and purposeful. Microsoft’s research team just published a paper titled World and Human Action Models Towards Gameplay Ideation in the journal Nature (you can also check out a more general blog post here). This publication further reinforces my belief that research in this area will only become increasingly impactful for the industry.

I can’t wait to share more about these projects once they’re completed. Meanwhile, stay tuned for my next blog post, where I'll be sharing insights from my reading journey so far in the year. I’d love to hear your thoughts! Which of these projects do you find most interesting? Let’s discuss in the comments!

The Return of the Blog

Eric Buitrón López — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 22:53:43 +0000

Life update

Hello everyone, it's been almost a year since my last blog entry and I decided it was time to come back to continue with this hobby. Many things have happened in my life since my last blog post and I became very busy which is one of the reasons I stopped posting new entries. I'm happy to share that one of the main reasons I’ve been so busy is because I started my masters in computer science in Canada. Studying my masters in another country has always been a dream of mine and I’m so excited to be able to have this opportunity.

As I reflect back on the year, I realize that with so many changes in my life it was inevitable to become so busy. With the beginning of the new year, I’m looking forward to reorganizing and retake the flow I had when I started this blog back in 2023 (you can check out how everything started here). This blog started out as a hobby for sharing progress in my personal projects. Somehow as time passed, I started feeling like it was just another task that I had to complete which led me to delay writing for longer until I just stopped. The start of the year is just the perfect time to set some goals for myself to avoid this from happening and filling more fulfilled with the use of my free time (which as a masters student can sometimes be very limited).

Goals

Here are some of the goals that I have for 2025, maybe by the end of the year I’ll do a “year in review” and see how much progress I made towards them.

More Blogs

First of all, I really look forward to writing more blogs this year. I won’t put a timeframe as I did last year since that takes the fun out of it. Besides, I might not have something to write about every x amount of time. However, I don’t want to just stop writing like I did last year.

More Game Dev

Releasing more games, even if just small ones or “demo” versions is one of my main goals of the year. This will allow me to continue to build my experience in this while working in my masters at the same time. To help me be more motivated to actually do more game dev, I spent more money than I would care to admit in last year’s Unity Black Friday sale (Although if you ask my family, they’ll tell you that I just like to spend money for the sake of it). I’m aiming to publish between 3-4 demos on itch.io and maybe even start a more complete version on one of these games.

More Language Learning

Another goal I have for this year is to dedicate more time to learning and practicing other languages. It will probably involve spending more time each week in Duolingo to practice my German and learn French. However, it would also be great to learn French formally at some point.

More Gaming

I think this is a goal I have for myself every year and I’m not sure I’ll ever complete it but giving myself time to work towards my gaming backlog is also something that I want to accomplish. Having all these goals for being more productive with my free time is always great but I also think it’s essential to give myself some time for entertainment to avoid feeling burned out from everything else in my life. As always, the winter sale did its best at expanding my backlog but I look forward to playing Baldur’s Gate 3, Hades, and the Remedy connected universe games (Alan Wake, Quantum Break and Control) for the next couple of months.

More Sports

This is another yearly goal I set for myself which I can never manage to follow for the whole year. I start strongly at some point and that same determination vanishes as quickly as it arrives. Hopefully having the university facilities very close to where I live will change that this year. I look forward to going to the gym, swimming and playing soccer between other things. If any of my friends from Canada are reading this and see me do nothing throughout the year please refer me back here to remind me of this goal.

Follow your dreams

It is no secret that my life dream is to somehow work in the video game industry. It can be a very harsh industry and it currently is not at its best point but this has always been a dream of mine since I was in middle school. Last year I wrote my thoughts on the state of the industry (which you can read here) and unfortunately it hasn’t really improved. However, I remain hopeful that it will improve with time which I’ll use in the meantime to prepare. I think it’s just perfect timing that I’m currently doing my masters and who knows, maybe I’ll forge my own path into the industry through research. These past couple of years I’ve been able to fulfill dreams that I’ve had for many years so this is just a reminder for everyone to keep pursuing your dreams. Before you realize it, they’ll become real if you keep working towards them.

See you soon!

I’m not going to put unnecessary pressure on myself by telling you when to expect the next blog since that’s one of the main reasons I started feeling as if this was just another chore that I had to complete. Having said that, here are some things I might write about throughout the year:

More about my master’s topic and progress.
News about my game dev projects, starting with a demo of a game I made last term that I hope to release before the end of the month.
My experience as an international student arriving to a new country.
Book review compilations.
Productivity tips and my setup.

To be honest, the list you just read is more of a brainstorm of things I would like to write about in the year but I might not end up writing about every single one of them. Hopefully it won’t be too long before you read from me again. I hope you have a wonderful start of the year and I look forward to reading any comments you might have!

Exploring Computer Graphics: Chronicle #9

Eric Buitrón López — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 04:00:12 +0000

Overview

Hello everyone, it's been almost 2 months since the last computer graphics chronicle. During this time, I've made some progres in my projects, but I've also made some important decisions regarding how I plan to continue with this series. First of all, I decided to archive for the time being my journey into shaders project. I realized that I was really dragging it out because I felt like I was just watching a bunch of tutorials that I probably won't be applying anytime soon.

The second change is that I'm going to be dedicating less time to this series and to all of my computer graphics projects. Until recently, these were my main "free time" projects. However, I recently decided to focus most of my free time that I dedicate to projects to video game development. I will probably share more about those projects in their own blog posts when the time is right. Meanwhile, I'll continue writing this computer graphics chronicle whenever I finish the next part of each of my journeys. Hopefully, this will happen every couple of weeks but sometimes it might take a bit longer.

Anyways, with this news out of the way, let's get into the progress I made!

My Journey into Computer Graphics

Reading materials

To make things go smoother in this project, I decided that I'm going to finish reading all of the material even if I don't apply the theory right away. This will allow me to get at least an introduction to all of the basic concepts, which was the initial goal of this journey. I finished reading The Graphics Codex and I will finish the rest of the books so that I only have to focus on the implementation part. The books that I still have to finish are:

Raytracing From the Ground Up

For the implementation part of this project, I will continue to read and complete the exercises from Ray Tracing from the Ground Up. This time, I completed the viewing system chapter where I had to implement a very simple perspective viewing system. I tested it by rendering one of the scenes from the starting chapters (which I cover in more detail in the Chronicle #7). I placed the eye point of the perspective system at the coordinate (0.0, 0.0, 500.0) and changed between these 3 viewing distances:

Viewing distance of 200.0
Viewing distance of 400.0
Viewing distance of 800.0

My Journey into OpenGL

Learn OpenGL

I completed the lighting maps section from LearnOpenGL. In this section I first added diffuse maps to the scene.

Then I added a specular map which allowed me to define a different shininess for the metallic part of the box.

Then I added an emission map which represents textures that are always lit up.

Udemy course

Meanwhile, in the Computer Graphics with Modern OpenGL and C++ Udemy course, I completed some of the lighting sections. First, I added ambient lighting to the scene. Remember that ambient lighting simulates the constant light that is always somewhere in the world (either from the sun, moon, or other distant light).

Then I added diffuse lighting. Remember that this type of lighting simulates the directional impact that a light has on an object.

Finally, I added specular lighting. Remember that this type of lighting simulates the bright spot of a light that appears on shiny objects.

See you soon!

Here are my next goals for each project:

My Journey into Computer Graphics: Finish reading all of the reading resources and complete the practical viewing system exercises from Ray Tracing from the Ground Up.
My Journey into OpenGL: Complete the remaining lighting sections in LearnOpenGL and the Udemy course.

See you soon!

Exploring Computer Graphics: Fortnightly Chronicle #8

Eric Buitrón López — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 15:10:14 +0000

Overview

Hello everyone, in these recent weeks I've decided that instead of stressing myself for trying to write this chronicle every single week (without much success recently), I will write it every 2 weeks. This will give me more time to space out the tasks that I want (and I'm actually able) to complete each week. Renaming the entire series in every platform I publish is kind of a hassle so the only change will be in the title. On another hand, I wasn't able to advance in my journey into OpenGL project this past couple of weeks, which is why there isn't a section for that project in this fortnight's chronicle. With this news out of the way, let's go into the progress I made!

My Journey into Computer Graphics

I read all the chapters related to the viewing system in The Graphics Codex, Fundamentals of Computer Graphics (5th edition) and G raphics and Visualization: Principles & Algorithms. I also completed the antialiasing chapter from Ray Tracing from the Ground Up. In this chapter, I implemented 3 different techniques for antialiasing: regular sampling, random sampling, and jittered sampling. To test the differences, I compared each method by raytracing a single sphere and a Sinusoid function with 1, 4 and 16 samples per pixel. Overall, the best results were obtained by using jittered sampling. Below you'll be able to see a side-by-side comparison of the difference between using different samples per pixel for each method when raytracing the single sphere. Besides, I also created a comparison between each method when using 16 samples per pixel.

Regular Sampling

Random Sampling

Jittered Sampling

Methods comparison for Single Sphere

Warning!

As a heads-up warning, the comparison image of the raytracing of the sinusoid function can cause some dizziness for some people. Please watch it at your own risk or feel free to skip the following subsection entirely.

Methods comparison for Sinusoid

My Journey into Shaders

For this project I finished reading The Unity Shader Bible. I generated the following image while following the surface chapter.

However, I later decided to just take notes while reading the rest of the chapters. At least for the foreseeable future, this is how I plan to continue with this project, by just taking notes of what I learn. Mostly because the resources I'm using apply for very specific use cases and I'm just interested in knowing that they exist and that I can refer back to a specific resource if I want to apply it someday.

See you in a fortnight!

Here are my next goals for each project:

My Journey into Computer Graphics: Complete the perspective viewing & practical viewing system exercises from Ray Tracing from the Ground Up.
My Journey into OpenGL: Complete the remaining lighting sections in LearnOpenGL.
My Journey into Shaders: Watch the videos about lighting and tri-planar projection from Ben Cloward's Shader Graph Basics YouTube playlist.

See you in a fortnight!

State of the Gaming Industry

Eric Buitrón López — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 06:22:06 +0000

Hello everyone, today's post is something a lot more personal than my usual posts. With all the recent layoffs in the past year in the gaming industry, I've had a weird feeling that I just couldn't quite understand. With this week's news of back-to-back layoffs, the number of people affected in 25 days of 2024 has already reached more than half of the total (reported) layoffs of 2023. I finally wrote down how I really feel about all of this, and I wanted to share it to the world. I struggled a lot deciding if I should go public with this. I'm not looking for anything other than to just share how I feel. I'm sure that I'm not the only person that feels this way and while not everyone shares publicly their feelings, it's always comforting to know that you're not the only one feeling this way. Anyways, here's how I've truly felt about the industry for quite a while now:

It's disheartening to see the industry of your dreams, the motivation behind studying your university degree, behind all your professional dreams and hopes, crumble beneath its own weight. How can it be possible that a multi-billion-dollar industry, which is also the biggest entertainment industry in the world, be such a terrible workplace. From any angle that you look, there is a horror story warning you to stay clear and stay away from the industry if you want a peaceful life. Either the drenching crunch stories that end up at best in fatigue and/or burnout. Or the constant feeling for minorities of not fitting in or being diminished (something that happens at large in the tech industry). Or having to get out of bed and go to work every day not knowing if it's the last day you'll set a foot in the company of your dreams, being cut off access, without warning, to everything that you've poured every drop of your soul and passion for the last days/weeks/months/years. It's just awful to think of all the scenarios that are happening to thousands of people throughout the industry.

How can this industry bring so much hope, dreams, and entertainment to billions of players worldwide, but not be able to treat the people behind decently? How am I supposed to feel when all that I want is to be part of this industry, to be part of creating all the wonderful experiences that I've enjoyed since I was a little kid, to give back and bring joy and happiness through the beautiful art form of interactive entertainment. How am I supposed to feel when everywhere I look, everything I see, everything I hear, screams back at me to stay away. That no matter how hard I try, how much I do, how much I eventually put into this industry, it will eventually turn its back on me without any hesitation. That I will never truly feel safe, that I will never feel like I truly belong here. Because that's what it's telling everyone that is already part of the industry. From indies to AAA developers, from people that have just gotten their first "gig" to (~~war~~ game industry) veterans with years, even decades, of experience, no one is safe.

So, what should the hopes be for someone like me. Someone who is just starting his professional career. Someone without industry experience. Someone who has dreamed of being part of this horrendously amazing industry for the majority of his life. Should I feel grateful that so far, I've been rejected in every attempt I've made to be part of the industry? That I should give up on everything and accept that it will never be sustainable to live off something that you're really passionate about? Is this just a curse of working in anything related to the arts, to slowly succumb to the weight of entertaining the world while you give up your personal life?

I really hope that the industry gets back on its feet and starts treating the people involved decently. My thoughts go out to everyone that has been affected by any of the problems of the industry.