SimToyEngine – Minimal OpenGL Renderer
A lightweight renderer built entirely from scratch in modern OpenGL, focusing on hands-on understanding of the graphics pipeline.
Project Overview
This project demonstrates my ability to write a renderer from scratch, manually control the rendering process, and implement fundamental graphics features without relying on engine frameworks.
It highlights strong low-level OpenGL and shader programming skills and a clear understanding of how a renderer works at its core.
Technical Specifications
- API: Modern OpenGL
- Language: C++
- Shaders: GLSL
- Architecture: Minimal renderer
- Features: Custom shader pipeline
- Platform: Cross-platform
Key Implementations
Rendering Basics
- Set up custom GLSL shader pipeline
- Implemented tangent-space normal mapping, transparency, skybox
- Added support for multiple materials on a single mesh
Manual Scene Construction
- No scene graph – objects and transforms managed manually for clarity
- Hard-coded demo scenes to validate rendering features
Engine Fundamentals
- Camera module with perspective projection
- Input handling (mouse/keyboard)
- Quaternion-based rotation (replacing Euler angles)
- Basic physics/math utility functions
Tooling
- Integrated ImGui for debugging UI and runtime parameter tweaking
Tools & Technologies Used
OpenGL
Graphics API
GLSL
Shader Language
C++
Core Language
ImGui
Debug UI
View Source Code