How would you define yourself?
A graphics programming geek and wannabe artist. I'm addicted to pretty visuals, be it pre-rendered or real-time.
How did you come to the digital area?
My dad is a programmer and we've had computers at home since I was a child already back in the 70s. The point when I got really hooked though was when I got my first Donkey Kong as a 6-year old, and I decided right there on the spot that I wanted to be a video game programmer. So, I got into the gaming industry as quickly as I could after school, making games for PC and consoles. After a while I ended up doing more and more engine coding for the games which gave me the knowledge to start creating ones of my own. Fast forward a few years and Goo is my latest incarnation of those.
"One code-path, no compilations, no plugins, all devices, what more could you ask for?"
What do you think of WebGL? What does it bring to the end-user?
I've previously worked a lot in Java, much to be able to get as close as I could to running great graphics in the browser (this was pre-Unity), but Java and applets were pretty much left to die by Sun and Oracle, which in a way might have been fortunate for JavaScript. To me, getting this kind of graphics hardware access natively in the browser is the final step on that path. Being able to access all this power without any plugins, and now on so many devices, is a real game changer, both for the developers and the end-users.
One code-path, no compilations, no plugins, all devices, what more could you ask for? :)
How came the idea of Goo?
In 2012 I was working on an open source engine called Ardor3D, written in Java. When WebGL proved to be promising enough we made it possible to compile it to JavaScript through GWT (Google Web Toolkit) to start testing the tech on real projects. Our first commercial project, a "design your own shirt in 3D" app, got great feedback so we decided to bet everything we had on WebGL. The compile-to-JavaScript path was extremely painful though, so I ported everything to pure JavaScript and we gathered everything we had into a new company and IP, which became Goo Technologies.
"Enable people to create awesome interactive experiences without having to be hardcore notch-level coders."
What’s the main objective of Goo?
To enable people to create awesome interactive experiences without having to be hardcore notch-level coders.
To enable people to take a project all the way from idea to pitch to finished product.
What are the hottest features of Goo?
One of the most popular features is our state machine. It allows you to add interactivity without coding, making it very easy and quick to make anything from small prototypes to full experiences, games or ads.
Another thing is our "serve-ad" publishing app, which gives you a ready-made script tag and handles everything needed to serve an ad, from handling fallbacks, creating an iframe, waiting on the containing page to being able to define pixel and third party event trackers.
I know it's an area impossible to be unbiased about, but I'll go ahead and say that we are good at run-time performance. :)
What is your target audience?
Creative people: designers, creative technologists, game makers, pioneers in web creation
How many users do you have?
70k registered and about 1000 active.
Do you think people want to see more 3D content on the web?
I don't think it's about 3D content per se, but the kind of applications that hardware accelerated 3D enables. It allows for smoother and more visually impressive experiences than before. You also have the (oh so hyped) VR/AR space, which is now enabled for pretty much anyone with a phone, and accessible directly in your browser.
"VR enables great experiences, but most day to day applications will still be more practical without it."
Do you think Web-VR will be one day a standard?
It surely will, but it won't replace existing standards, just add to the diversity. VR enables great experiences, but most day to day applications will still be more practical without it.
I actually have a lot higher hopes in AR than VR, as I can see way more applications where that makes a real difference. Being able to augment our world with 2D and 3D information and visuals, which you can use while walking around and not be as contained as with VR is awesome.
Is there a new technology that is particularly exciting for you?
I'm really looking forward to WebGL 2.0 going mainstream of course, making techniques like deferred rendering and other cool things viable. Even more though, being a GPU fetishist, I'm eagerly awaiting WebCL to be supported in the standard browsers so that I can go GPGPU on the entire engine! ;)
What are you working on these days?
What are the next steps for Goo?
I have so many exciting news that I can't share, but will be revealed in the coming weeks!
What I can say is that we as a company will focus a lot more on our product Create and the services around it. We always had an internal studio, which we needed to respond on all project requests we got, but now the market is mature enough to push those projects out to external studios while we focus on making sure our tech serves them perfectly.
Tks a lot for sharing your thoughts!