Daniel Torres Graphics Programmer
CURRENT GAMING OBSESSION?
Inside. What an amazing piece of art!
FAVORITE ALL-TIME GAME?
It’s a tie between The Last of Us and Shadow of the Colossus.
FAVORITE BAND?
Tool
BIGGEST HOBBY?
I brew my own sake!
HOW DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN A CAREER IN VIDEO GAMES?
I’ve always wanted to approach art from a technological point of view, create systems that support the artistic vision of a creative team, and enable them to bring fantastic worlds and stories to life. Being an avid video game player, it seemed like the perfect environment to make this happen.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN ON THE TEAM?
I joined BioWare in 2003 to create a game that aimed to be the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate while the rest of the team was finishing Knights of the Old Republic. That project eventually became Dragon Age: Origins.
On Mass Effect: Andromeda, I joined the graphics team right after finishing Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014.
GIVE THE READER AN IDEA ABOUT YOUR DAY-TO-DAY TASKS.
This changes depending on the development stage of the current project. At the beginning, I sit down with the visual effects artists to discuss the potential challenges. We invent possible solutions and work on a couple of quick prototypes to see what works best.
In the middle of the project, I review the systems we implemented and make sure the artists get the most out of them. We flesh out missing features, fine tune performances, discuss tackling unforeseen problems, and solve the occasional bug.
At the end of a project, there is no more time to add new features, so I look for broken content to fix. (BioWare games have so much content that there are many places where things can go wrong.)
WHAT WAS YOUR TRICKIEST TASK AND HOW DID YOU SOLVE IT?
To render galaxies and nebulas, we had to simulate very large groups of particles. More than 500,000 of the transparent little things! Rendering them all at the same time could bring any graphics engine to its knees.
The solution was pretty neat. The artist designed a nebula, cloud, or galaxy, and we separated them into smaller parts, like a puzzle. Using the properties of each part (mainly density), we created an “eggshell” with the section of the galaxy the player can see and hid the rest. We hid and revealed parts of the cloud, giving the player the sense that it is complete as they navigate through it.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF CONCERNING THE GAME?
I love the way space looks in the game! The artists spent a lot of time fine tuning all those planets, nebulas, galaxies, and stars. I’m proud that technology we designed helped them achieve their vision.
WHAT DO YOU FEEL HAS THE MOST IMPACT IN MAKING THE MASS EFFECT SERIES STAND APART FROM OTHER VIDEO GAMES?
This game is part of the Mass Effect universe and that gives it a different feel. The art, the music, and the story are unique to the Mass Effect franchise. We feel a responsibility to our audience that I think is unique. Knowing that people are anxiously waiting to play the next Mass Effect chapter is a great privilege we all share at the studio.
