Personal project / Engine & tools programming
A personal game engine where I explore C++ and C# interoperability, editor tooling and the systems underneath a game.
01 / Context
I work on Hibou in my free time to understand how native systems and a managed editor fit together.
The starting point was C++ and C# interoperability. From there, the project became a place to explore rendering, entities and components, project persistence and tools for working with a scene.
I prioritize editor tools and the connection between the two languages. That choice also shapes the renderer: enough to work with a scene while I focus on the systems I want to understand.
02 / Technical decisions
Rendering
The engine uses OpenGL for rendering. I chose it for simplicity and a relatively quick implementation, so I could concentrate on editor tools and C++ / C# interoperability instead of pursuing photorealistic graphics.
Editor tooling
The editor interface is built with Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). It gives me a Windows UI foundation for developing scene tools and exploring interfaces such as node editors alongside the native engine.
Project persistence
Each project is handled independently. Scenes, entities, components and settings are serialized so a project can be saved and loaded. This is part of making the editor useful across separate working sessions.
Engine architecture
The engine core uses an entity-component-system (ECS) architecture with EnTT. It is where I explore how entities and components are represented underneath the editor.
03 / Under the hood
Build configuration
Project and solution files are generated programmatically with Sharpmake, Ubisoft's open-source C# build configuration tool.
Memory / In progress
I'm progressively replacing parts of the standard C++ library with Electronic Arts' EASTL to explore finer control over memory allocation in engine systems.
This is ongoing work. The focus here is the implementation and the choices involved.
04 / Work in progress
The next goal is a node-based system for authoring gameplay logic.
The UI foundation uses Nodify. My current focus is the underlying graph model and logic execution: how a graph authored in the editor becomes logic that runs.
This is a direction I'm exploring in the project, rather than a finished feature.
Québec City, QC, Canada / Available for opportunities
I'm open to opportunities in software development, tools programming and gameplay programming, as well as junior 3D artist roles. If my experience could be a good fit for your team, I'd be happy to connect through my social profiles.
