Preface

Hello! My name is Javier. I’m a Software Engineer by day, with a passion for graphics programming and game development.

To be honest from the start: I don’t have much experience in graphics programming or game development beyond some hobby projects and following tutorials. However, I do have a strong foundation in programming and software development principles, which I believe will help me learn and grow in this area.

I also think that a full voxel engine tutorial built from scratch is something that’s missing on the internet. By making mistakes and learning as a beginner, I hope to provide others with the motivation and resources to start their own journey into voxel engines.

Disclaimer: about AI usage

I’m not an AI, bro. All the content here is written by me; I only use AI tools to help with grammar and spelling.

When working on the code, I write everything myself (that means no Cursor, Claude, etc.). I do have code completion enabled in my IDE, but I don’t use it much. After working with Copilot for a few years, I found it more distracting than helpful.

I find that asking ChatGPT about specific problems or for new ideas can be useful, especially when backed up with references. But when you don’t understand something, it’s better to backtrack and do some research on Google or YouTube. Once you build a foundation and have a clear idea of what you want to do, you can better judge whether what the AI suggests makes sense. Letting an AI write code for you when you don’t understand the problem is a recipe for disaster.

One problem I see nowadays is the AI-fueled bloating of the internet with low-quality content and non-optimal or non-working code and tutorials. I want this to be a real project, where I learn and share my experience as a beginner in graphics programming and voxel engines.

Introduction

The idea for this project was born from a desire to create a simple voxel engine from scratch.

There is no strict schedule, I will work on this whenever I have the time and motivation. However, I will try to update the journal as often as possible. Occasionally, I will also publish more detailed articles under a dedicated blog tag (for example, deep-dive) to explore specific techniques, concepts, or design decisions in greater depth.

In short, this journal will link to daily commits with brief explanations of what was done, which resources were used, and what challenges were faced, so others can follow along and learn from my experience.

The repository for this project can be found here: Voxel Journey

So that’s it for now! I’m excited to start this journey and share my experiences with you. Let’s build a voxel engine from scratch—one day at a time!

Stay tuned for the next entry in the journal!