# Xander Berten, Graphics programmer

> Real-time rendering, GPU-driven pipelines and light transport. Finishing a Master’s in Visual Computing at Charles University.

Open to graphics programming and rendering engineer roles: real-time rendering, GPU-driven pipelines, engine and tools work.

## Contact

- Email: berten.xander@gmail.com
- Location: Prague
- Website: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/
- GitHub: https://github.com/XanderBert
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xander-berten/
- Blog: https://xanderbert.github.io/

## About

I specialize in graphics and tools programming, with a focus on real-time rendering. I’m finishing a Master’s in Visual Computing and Game Development at Charles University in Prague.

## Experience

- **Unity VR Developer**, SupportSquare (Now): Prototyping and building VR training courses for industrial clients.
- **Tools / Gameplay Programmer, dev team lead**, Nexus Interactive · Mythic Champions: Tools and gameplay programming on an upcoming indie fighting game in Unreal Engine, and leading the development team.
- **Intern**, Cyborn: Built custom data assets for Unreal Engine, fixed graphics bugs, and designed reusable systems inside editor plugins.

## Education

- Master’s · finishing: Visual Computing and Game Development, Charles University, Prague
- Bachelor’s: Game Development, Digital Arts and Entertainment, thesis on merging GTAO with a fast SSAO technique

## Awards

- Top 25 Emerging Game Developers (2024), Digital Confex, 3rd Gaming & Animation Confex
- Community Award, Unwrap Game Jam (2024), Just Keep Swimming, out of 38 games

## Skills

- Graphics APIs: Vulkan, DirectX 11 / 12, OpenGL
- Languages: C++, Slang, GLSL, HLSL, C#, Python, Lua
- Engines: Unreal Engine, Unity, The Forge
- Profiling & debug: RenderDoc, Nsight Graphics, Tracy, Pix

## Work

- [EOS Renderer](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/eos-renderer/): A Vulkan rendering library built from scratch, bindless resources and buffer device addresses, GPU-driven SDSM cascaded shadows and inline ray-traced shadows. (2026 · Graphics Programming · Vulkan, Slang, GPU-driven) Source: https://github.com/XanderBert/EOS Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/eos-renderer.md
- [Polarization Rendering with Stokes Vectors and Mueller Matrices](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/polarization-renderer/): A small C++ simulation of polarized light, Stokes vectors, Mueller matrices and the full Fresnel equations for dielectrics and metals, checked against nine reference cases. (2026 · Graphics Programming · Polarization, Light transport, Fresnel) Source: https://github.com/XanderBert/PolarizationRenderer Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/polarization-renderer.md
- [Spectral Uplifting: Comparing Wavelength Sampling Strategies](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/spectral-uplifting/): An interactive C++ sandbox that turns measured light and reflectance spectra into color, comparing fixed buckets, random Monte Carlo and hero wavelength sampling against ground truth. (2026 · Graphics Programming · Spectral rendering, Monte Carlo, Color science) Source: https://github.com/XanderBert/SpectralUplifting Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/spectral-uplifting.md
- [Liquid Gravity](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/liquid-gravity/): A fast-paced movement shooter, skate, control gravity and fight. I was technical lead and lead programmer. (2025 · Games · Group project, Tech lead) Source: https://github.com/XanderBert/LiquidGravity Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/liquid-gravity.md
- [Merging GTAO and a Fast SSAO Technique](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/gtao-fast-ssao/): Bachelor's thesis on screen-space ambient and directional occlusion, two SSAO techniques merged in compute shaders to get the best of both. (2025 · Graphics Programming · Bachelor's thesis, The Forge, Compute) Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/gtao-fast-ssao.md
- [Volumetric Clouds](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/volumetric-clouds/): Real-time volumetric clouds raymarched against a 3D density texture, following the Graphics Programming Conference masterclass, as a standalone shader project. (2025 · Graphics Programming · Raymarching, 3D density texture) Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/volumetric-clouds.md
- [Custom Detail Panel and Component Visualizer](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/custom-detail-panel-component-visualizer/): An Unreal Engine editor tool that lets the whole team create and edit grindable splines on meshes, with a component visualizer and a custom Slate detail panel. (2024 · Tool Development · Unreal Engine, Editor module, Slate) Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/custom-detail-panel-component-visualizer.md
- [Top 25 Emerging Game Developers](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/top-25-emerging-game-developers/): Received the Top 25 Emerging Game Developers award at Digital Confex's 3rd Gaming & Animation Confex. (2024 · Awards · Digital Confex) Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/top-25-emerging-game-developers.md
- [Bread End](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/bread-end/): A 48-hour Global Game Jam game about recreating endings for the famous falling bread slice. I built the data-driven ending and unlock system. (2024 · Games · Global Game Jam 2024, Unreal Engine) Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/bread-end.md
- [Software Rasterizer](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/software-rasterizer/): What a GPU does under the hood, my own depth buffer, vertex culling and texture mapping, with normal, diffuse, metal and specular maps. (2024 · Graphics Programming · C++, Depth buffer, CPU) Source: https://github.com/XanderBert/SoftwareRasterizer Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/software-rasterizer.md
- [Software Raytracer](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/software-raytracer/): A multithreaded CPU raytracer, pixels rendered in parallel with std::execution, accelerated with a per-triangle bounding volume hierarchy, Cook-Torrance materials. (2024 · Graphics Programming · C++, BVH, Multithreaded) Source: https://github.com/XanderBert/Software-RayTracer Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/software-raytracer.md
- [Unreal Engine, Machine Learning and C++](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/unreal-learning-agents/): A C++ write-up for Unreal's Learning Agents plugin, reinforcement learning, imitation learning, deployment, and combining networks with behavior trees. (2024 · Other · Unreal Engine, Learning Agents, C++) Source: https://github.com/XanderBert/Unreal-Engine-Learning-Agents-Learning-Environment Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/unreal-learning-agents.md
- [Realtime Vulkan Shader Editor](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/vulkan-shader-editor/): A shader editor with a Vulkan 1.3 backend, hot-reloading shaders, runtime-editable materials, compute post-FX and glTF / OBJ import. (2024 · Graphics Programming, Tool Development · Vulkan 1.3, Hot reload, GLSL) Source: https://github.com/XanderBert/VulkanPlayground Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/vulkan-shader-editor.md
- [Just Keep Swimming](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/just-keep-swimming/): Won the Community Award out of 38 games at the Unwrap Game Jam 2024. I worked on enemy behavior, interactables and vertex-shader animation fixes. (2024 · Games, Awards · Unwrap Game Jam 2024, Community Award) Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/just-keep-swimming.md
- [Unreal Engine Hitbox Editor](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/unreal-hitbox-editor/): A custom asset type and viewport for editing hitboxes, built for the indie fighting game Mythic Champions and later ported to the Night Sky Engine framework. (2024 · Tool Development · Unreal Engine, Editor modules, Custom asset) Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/unreal-hitbox-editor.md
- [DirectX 11/12 Rasterizer](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/directx-rasterizer/): A rasterizer for learning the rendering pipeline and DirectX. Implements four swappable shading models, debugged in RenderDoc, later ported to DirectX 12. (2023 · Graphics Programming · DirectX 11, DirectX 12, SDL, RenderDoc) Source: https://github.com/XanderBert/DX-11-12-Rasterizer Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/directx-rasterizer.md
- [Unreal Engine Icon Creation Tool](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/unreal-icon-creation-tool/): Replaces the screenshot → Photoshop → re-import loop with an in-engine tool that captures icons with alpha from a render target in two clicks. (2023 · Tool Development · Unreal Engine, Editor plugin, Render targets) Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/unreal-icon-creation-tool.md
- [Peng Game Engine](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/peng-game-engine/): A small modern C++ game engine built around game programming patterns, with a Pac-Man clone on top supporting co-op, versus and controllers. (2023 · Other · C++, Game programming patterns, XInput) Source: https://github.com/XanderBert/Peng-Game-Engine Full text: https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/work/peng-game-engine.md

## Optional

- [Full text of every project](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/llms-full.txt)
- [Sitemap](https://xanderbert.github.io/portfolio/sitemap.xml)