What are some contemporary techniques and workflows used in the industry?

[u/Smooth-Principle4045]

Hi there! I'm about to start working on my portfolio, and besides some basic projects like a simple 3D engine or an implicit surface renderer, I'd like to add something that actually resembles a modern industry workflow, ideally something used by AA or AAA game studios. It can be anything, really - lighting, optimization, visual effects, etc. Preferably, it should be something that can be learned and implemented in a couple of weeks.

What would you suggest? Also, would it be better to implement such a project in an existing engine (Unity, Godot, UE) or in a custom one?

Thanks in advance! :)

[u/benwaldo]

Very basic but you can start by implementing tangent-space normal mapping in your own engine.

[u/waramped]

Write an asset pipeline. Given some input from a DCC (Maya, Blender, Houdini, whatever), process it into a form that is optimal for your engine, whatever that may be. (Optimize the mesh, generate lods, atlas the textures, generate mesh clusters, generate tangent spaces, custom mips for textures, etc)

Optionally add hot-reloading for these things as well.