Today we're happy to introduce you to Daisuke Shimizu, one of our Senior Graphics Engineers and the person responsible for the awesome improvements to the Volumetric Fog that we introduced in 3.8.2.

Name and position
Daisuke Shimizu, Senior Graphics Engineer

Why did you want to work in the games industry and how did you get started?
When I was a boy, my father bought me a video game console which was SEGA Mark III. I became really interested in it and turned into a big fan of video games. Eventually I decided that I wanted to be a game developer. I studied Computer Science in a university in Japan, and then applied for a job in the games industry. But I couldn’t get a job quickly because the big recession continued in Japan at the time; companies narrowed their entrance to the industry. Fortunately, I got a job at small game developer company and I started my career there.

What are you working on at the moment? What's first on your to-do list?
I’m working on Voxel-based Volumetric Fog currently. It’s already used in some of our upcoming games. Improving its availability, performance, and visual quality is the top priority task on my to-do list.

What music do you listen to at work?
I usually listen to electronic dance music such as Zedd, Alesso, and so on.

What tools are you using at the moment?
I always use Visual Studio with Visual Assist X to write and debug program codes. And I frequently use RenderDoc; it’s a graphics debugging tool. I think it’s very useful for all graphics engineers. One more thing, I’ve used OneNote for 10 years. It’s my favorite tool to take a note.

What types of games do you like, and what is your favorite game of all time?
I like all types of games, particularly action games. There are many favorite games in my heart such as Super Mario Bros., Contra and Final Fight. But overall, Shadow of the Colossus is at the top of my list of favorite games.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I had lived in Japan for a long time, so everything I’ve seen here in Germany is interesting for me. I really enjoy the life here. Furthermore, I can go neighbor countries easily. I’ve enjoyed traveling around Europe.

Where are you going on your next vacation?
I’ll go to Hohenzollern castle this summer. I heard it’s a really nice castle and I’m looking forward to seeing it.

Do you have any tips for people wanting to get started in the industry?
I think learning programming is important for all people who want to join in the industry. It’s a fundamental skill for making video games; it also empowers you to solve your problems and make your creative process more efficient by making your own tools. Even if your job is not as a programmer, you will greatly benefit from having a programmer’s mindset.

Hope you're enjoying our little dev interviews. Thanks for reading!

All the best,
The CRYENGINE team.