Wookash Podcast Mike Turitzin | SDF game engine? | Mike Turitzin
Mar 14, 2026
Mike Turitzin, graphics programmer behind the WebGPU SDF Engine and former Figma renderer, talks about signed distance fields and why they matter for dynamic geometry. He explains sphere tracing, contrasts SDFs with triangle meshes, and why meshes are still used for physics. He also covers using WebGPU, avoiding engine bloat, and plans for making a game with his engine.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Early Modding Sparked A Career In Graphics
- Mike Turitzin learned programming by modding games and writing QuakeC before knowing C, which shaped his graphics focus.
- He started with QBasic screen savers, modded Doom/Quake, wrote tutorials in 1996–97, and built a Quake total conversion and bots.
Start Graphics With Tutorials And Tinkering
- Learn graphics by combining tutorials and hands-on projects rather than starting with massive textbooks.
- Use web tutorials like LearnOpenGL and tinker daily; expect repeated reads of the same topic to build understanding.
SDFs Offer Dynamic Geometry Beyond Voxel Grids
- Mike chose SDFs to avoid fixed-grid voxel fidelity limits and enable dynamic high-fidelity geometry with CSG-like operations.
- He was inspired by Dreams, Inigo Quilez, and wanted a world whose source of truth isn't a fixed-resolution grid.