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Pranav Jain
Software Development
GPU and CPU Particle Systems
The focus of my thesis was to create a system that could simulate particles on both the CPU ( Central Processing Unit ) and the GPU ( Graphics Processing Unit ). The project also included an editor with modules and properties similar to commercial game engines like Unity and Unreal , allowing users to create custom particle effects in real time .
I chose this project because I have always been fascinated by particles and visual effects in games . Even the simplest interactions can look much more impactful with the use of particles .
The thesis took approximately 336 hours to complete . In developing the system , I gained a solid understanding of the standard rendering pipeline , learned how Compute Shaders can be used for general-purpose computing on the GPU , and gained insights into various concepts related to multi-threading on the CPU . I also acquired skills in optimizing code and profiling system performance using commercial tools like Nvidia Nsight Graphics , Intel VTune , and the Tracy Profiler .
Particle systems have always been a big part of video games . Learning how they work and how to architect one myself has boosted my confidence as a game programmer .
96 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT