← All resources

IceFall Games - Graphics Blog

Blog Intermediate

Phil (IceFall Games)

Visit resource ↗

Description

IceFall Games Graphics Blog is Phil's developer blog on mtnphil.wordpress.com documenting a custom deferred rendering engine for an indie game project. Posts read as a build log with implementation tradeoffs rather than step-by-step tutorials for beginners.

Topics include G-buffer layout, HDR lighting passes, global illumination experiments, ambient occlusion, decal projection from depth and normals, snow accumulation masks, water shaders integrated after deferred lighting, and special effects categories. Many entries discuss Xbox-era performance costs and alternative pass ordering.

The deferred decal articles explain projecting textures via bounding boxes that sample depth (and optionally normals), with object-type IDs in the G-buffer to avoid decals on characters. Water posts cover forward-rendered transparent surfaces that reconstruct terrain positions from the depth buffer for absorption along view rays.

All content is free on WordPress in the graphics category. Writing assumes you already understand deferred rendering vocabulary and is most valuable as a case study of one developer's full-stack renderer choices.

Cited in other engine blogs and forum threads as a practical reference for deferred decals and indie-scale lighting architecture, though it reflects a specific engine rather than a general framework.