[{"content":"The Beginning The idea behind Plankton isn’t exactly new—it’s over 20 years old.\nIt all started when I got my first job as a developer and received my very first paycheck. My goal was clear: I wanted to buy a car. But not just any car—I was completely obsessed with the Fiat Grande Punto. It was finally being released in Brazil, and I followed everything about it: press coverage, marketing campaigns, tech specs—you name it. I was hooked.\n","date":"2025-07-08T17:36:48Z","image":"/p/from-car-dreams-to-code-therapy-the-story-behind-plankton/cover.jpg","permalink":"/p/from-car-dreams-to-code-therapy-the-story-behind-plankton/","title":"From Car Dreams to Code Therapy: The Story Behind Plankton 🚗💻"},{"content":"This week, Hideo Kojima’s latest game, Death Stranding 2, is finally out.\nThe first game? Kinda strange — but I loved it. There was something oddly compelling about being alone in a desolate world where the living and the dead coexist. Sure, the execution had its flaws, but the concept was bold, weird, and memorable. And judging by early reviews, it looks like Kojima managed to fix most of the issues from the original.\nBut honestly? What really excites me about Death Stranding 2 isn’t just the story or gameplay — it’s the technology behind it.\nDecima Engine: The Underrated Star Like the first game, DS2 is built on Guerrilla’s Decima Engine, an incredibly well-optimized engine for Sony platforms. Kojima Productions is one of the few external studios using it, and the story behind that partnership is well documented — but here’s the TL;DR:\nWhen Kojima went independent, Sony backed his new studio and helped him shop around for the right tech. With Mark Cerny by his side, he toured several internal PlayStation studios. Guerrilla not only offered the Decima Engine, but gave it to him for free.\nIt was a brilliant move. Decima powers Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, both known for their stunning visuals and fluid performance — something that many more generalist or multiplatform engines struggle to balance. Of course, it helps to have top-tier devs and big budgets too.\nKojima’s Custom Touch Kojima doesn’t just use Decima — he customizes the hell out of it.\nIn the first Death Stranding, his team added a bunch of cinematic upgrades: improved depth of field, more detailed foliage rendering, facial and eye animations, and an overhauled lighting system. Some of this was discussed at SIGGRAPH 2017, including the \u0026ldquo;Nubis\u0026rdquo; cloudsimulationsystem, which later got fully implemented in the Forbidden West DLC.\nFor DS2, one of the most interesting updates is the integration of Epic’s MetaHuman tech — a huge deal. MetaHuman was originally exclusive to Unreal Engine 5, but Kojima Productions managed to bring it into Decima. That makes Decima one of the only engines outside Unreal to feature this tech — a testament to just how far Kojima’s team pushes their tools.\nVisual Leap Forbidden West already showcased stunning human models, but Death Stranding 2 pushes things even further — inching closer to the uncanny valley (in a good way). The level of realism is impressive, and it goes well beyond just character models.\nThe environments are far more interactive and dynamic: real-time terrain deformation from earthquakes, rain that forms actual runoff paths, and intense sandstorms that limit your visibility to just a couple of feet. Sam — your playable character — can lose his balance, get knocked around, and end up covered in dirt and grime, all rendered in beautiful, messy detail.\nIt’s a visually rich, immersive world that reacts to you — and that\u0026rsquo;s where the Decima Engine truly shines.\nNo ray tracing yet (no RT shadows, reflections, or global illumination), but honestly, the results speak for themselves. DS2 looks like it will be one of the most visually impressive games on the PS5 — and hopefully soon, for PC gamers too.\nFinal Thought Kojima’s storytelling may not be for everyone, but his commitment to innovation — both narratively and technically — is something I’ll always admire.\nDeath Stranding 2 might just be one of the best showcases of custom engine tech we’ve seen in a while.\nAnd now, the song of the post:\n🎧 \u0026ldquo;Minus Sixty One\u0026rdquo; by Woodkid —\nThis haunting track serves as the opening song for Death Stranding and features a fully interactive version in-game, where instruments are layered dynamically in real time, based on your actions and environment. A beautiful example of how Kojima blends music and gameplay into one fluid experience.\n","date":"2025-06-26T16:01:06Z","image":"/p/death-stranding-2-is-out/cover.jpg","permalink":"/p/death-stranding-2-is-out/","title":"Death Stranding 2 is Out"},{"content":"My name is Glauber, and welcome to my little corner of the internet.\nI’m a Brazilian backend developer living in Canada, with over 20 years of experience in tech — and still just as curious as ever. This blog is where I share whatever grabs my attention: tech investigations, random experiments, personal reflections, and the occasional post about cars (I do love a good engine!) or gaming.\nMost of what you’ll find here revolves around the tech world, but I like to keep things loose, honest, and a bit personal.\nYou might be wondering — why “Lost and Maybe Found”?\nWell, in tech (and life), it’s easy to feel lost. There’s always something new — frameworks, languages, AI breakthroughs. It can feel overwhelming trying to keep up, wondering how to make the most of it all without burning out. So yeah\u0026hellip; getting lost happens. But sometimes, in the middle of that chaos, we find something: a new idea, a breakthrough, or even just a moment of clarity. That’s the “maybe found” part — and that’s what this space is about.\nAnd one fun thing: I usually end each post with a song recommendation. Sometimes it’ll match the topic, other times it’s just whatever was looping in my headphones while I wrote. Either way, you might discover some cool new artists.\nFirst suggestion:\n🎧 Saturday by Couch —\nAs the lyrics say: \u0026ldquo;Sometimes we try, try, try, but I jcan\u0026rsquo;t get it right\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; That’s just life.\n","date":"2025-06-25T19:41:26Z","image":"/p/coming-soon/cover.jpg","permalink":"/p/coming-soon/","title":"Hey!!"}]