The Transformative Impact of Open Source in Academia
Tales from the 3rd Dimension
Explore the impact of open source on academia and its transformation over time as Royal, General Manager of Digital Media and Games at the Linux Foundation, speaks to Stephen Jacobs, professor at RIT’s School of Interactive Games & Media and head of Open@RIT. Stephen recounts his longtime involvement in open source, sparked by a program to develop educational games for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative that led to the birth of the netbook market and groundbreaking programs at RIT. He explains how open source projects, like the Open 3D Engine, enable students to gain practical...
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Gaming across AR/VR/XR Interfaces
Tales from the 3rd Dimension
In this podcast episode, Royal O’Brien, General Manager of Digital Media and Games at the Linux Foundation, discusses gaming across AR, VR, and XR interfaces with Sidharth Moudgil from AWS. Sid is a Senior Graphics Engineer and has extensive experience in rendering for games. They discuss the complexity of graphics programming, challenges of rendering for VR applications, and the structure of the XR gem, among much more. Guest: Sidharth Moudgil, Senior Graphics Programmer, Amazon
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From Dungeon Master to Diversity Champion: A Conversation with Gaming Luminary Sheri Graner Ray
Tales from the 3rd Dimension
Diversity and inclusion haven’t been the hallmarks of the gaming industry. But that’s changing thanks to advocates like Sheri Graner Ray and open source technologies that allow anyone to develop and showcase their skills. In this episode of Tales from the 3rd Dimension, Open 3D Foundation (O3DF) Executive Director Royal O’Brien chats with Sheri – an award-winning game designer, author, and consultant – about the trails she has blazed in the gaming industry, the barriers that have been torn down, and how others can forge their own path. In addition to revealing the...
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Beyond Games: How Open Source 3D Simulations are Accelerating Robotic Innovation
Tales from the 3rd Dimension
The applications for open source 3D technologies extend well beyond gaming realms. In fact, Open 3D Engine (O3DE) is increasingly being used to develop and validate the next generation of robots – those that will help us explore new worlds and assist with countless tasks here on Earth. In this episode of Tales from the 3rd Dimension, Open 3D Foundation (O3DF) Executive Director Royal O’Brien talks with Robotec.ai’s VP of Robotics and Simulation Adam Dąbrowski about the value of simulating robot behaviors and their environments using O3DE. In the wide-ranging discussion, Royal and Adam...
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Democratization of the Creator Community
Tales from the 3rd Dimension
Amazing interactive 3D content can spring to life across all 3D engines—and in time, the Metaverse—with open source tools that creators are accustomed to using. Integration and shared standards for interoperability across real-time 3D engines bring freedom and flexibility to those creators. Collaborative communities such as the Open 3D Foundation foster incredible innovation and creativity, drawing industry leaders together. Royal O’Brien talked with Marc Petit, Vice President of the Unreal Engine Ecosystem at Epic Games about their shared passion for the future of 3D technology,...
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Modularity, Extensibility and the Future of Game Engines
Tales from the 3rd Dimension
In response to the explosive growth of the content creator community and their desire to create new experiences and bring novel worlds to life, a complexity of tools has emerged. In this episode of Tales from the 3rd Dimension, Austin Robison, Head of Product for Game Engine and Developer Services at Amazon Web Services, and Open 3D Foundation Executive Director Royal O'Brien, talk about how the Open 3D Engine addresses these complexities through its modular, extensible framework. The two explore the evolution of game engines, what it truly means to be modular, how modularity differs from...
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Momentum Continues for Performant C++
Tales from the 3rd Dimension
C++ is the underlying language driving projects in nearly every industry. It can be found in medical devices, oil exploration, financial, gaming, big machine equipment, safety devices, you name it, C++ is a part of it. Until the last few years, there have been very few options that deliver the performance of C++, and it continues to evolve. In this episode, Royal O’Brien talks with Jason Turner about C++, its origins and where it’s going. Listen and get their perspectives on: Why tools like optimizing compilers, smart pointers, and standard containers make manual memory...
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Scratching the Itch: 3D Innovation in Film and Games
Tales from the 3rd Dimension
In many ways, the seedlings of today’s eye-popping 3D visual effects were planted a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. From its formation in 1975 to fulfill George Lucas’ vision for Star Wars to its wildly successful spinoff, Pixar Animation Studios, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) has been at the forefront of digital creation and innovation for decades. In this episode of Tales from the 3rd Dimension, ILM Chief Creative Officer Rob Bredow joins Open 3D Foundation Executive Director Royal O’Brien for an in-depth conversation about the parallels between the film and gaming...
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Engine Design as a Holistic Adventure
Tales from the 3rd Dimension
Most listeners know that Huawei isn’t just a mobile phone company. But many might not realize that it runs a global network of research institutes that are working on optimizing engine development. Tobias Alexander Franke, principal game engine architect at Huawei, talks with Royal about why the company prefers working with open source 3D engines over commercial 3D engines. Highlighting the benefits of different perspectives, he believes open source collaboration results in a more well-rounded engine. Tobias and Royal reflect on other hot topics like the early days of the Open 3D Engine...
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The Future Is Immersive
Tales from the 3rd Dimension
“Do more work out in the open” is the #1 piece of advice Shehzan Mohammed has for his students, as director of 3D Engineering and Ecosystems at Cesium and GPU Programming lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. With an academic focus and a vision for the future of 3D modeling, Shehzan shares his views with Royal about the benefits of working in open source and the fulfillment that comes from it. They explore and illuminate the work needed to process massive amounts of raw data and stream it through the cloud. Shehzan shares some of his favorite use cases he has been a part of at...
info_outlineAmazing interactive 3D content can spring to life across all 3D engines—and in time, the Metaverse—with open source tools that creators are accustomed to using. Integration and shared standards for interoperability across real-time 3D engines bring freedom and flexibility to those creators. Collaborative communities such as the Open 3D Foundation foster incredible innovation and creativity, drawing industry leaders together.
Royal O’Brien talked with Marc Petit, Vice President of the Unreal Engine Ecosystem at Epic Games about their shared passion for the future of 3D technology, covering a lot of ground:
- The evolutionary moments in 3D and the biggest trends that emerged in the transformative years from the 1990s to now, including:
- The transition from work stations to PCs
- Real-time ray tracing (which brought Marc out of retirement and to Epic Games)
- Content democratization
- The maturity of hardware platforms
- The emergence of AI and ML advancements in helping create good content, allowing humans to do really creative things.
- The role 3D engines play as integrated toolsets, as complex as operating systems.
- The need for real-time 3D to be accessible everywhere, and why open source technology is the key to making that possible.
Marc and Royal share an excitement for a future creator economy with real-time 3D as a mainstream medium. Together, all players in the industry can create a shared, standardized foundation of content that will catapult us to the next level of creation.