Tianyi Zhao (赵天一)

Software Engineer at Google

Master in Entertainment Technology

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)

My introduction

I'm a professional Softare Engineer and Game Developer, also interested in VR/AR technologies and game design. Please visit my Portfolio page if you are interested in what I do!

My experiences

I'm currently a full-time employee at Google as a Software Engineer in Android XR team.

I previously worked at Niantic as a Software Engineer in Core Infrastructure team. My major job is to develop platform features in C++ to support various games, including the well-known Pokemon Go. I also worked at Visual Concepts (2K) as a Game Engineer, developing famous NBA 2K series. Apart from implementing game features, I also developed and maintained internal tools for designers and producers.

I graduated from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in a Master degree of Entertainment Technology. I worked as a programmer in various projects related to video games, VR/AR and software development. I also took classes in Computing Principles, Computer Graphics and Technical Simulations to enhance my background.

I went to college at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) studying Internet and Multimedia Technology, where I started programming and learned about game development. I also had courses in various areas including AI, Computer Vision and signal processing, which provided me a wide view among nowadays computer technologies.

My hobbies

I started playing the piano from the age of 5. I love how the piano presents me about music, simple and elegant. I love classical music, from where I can obtain immersive and fillful emotional resonance. I love how Rachmaninoff depicts depression and outburst, how Liszt is showing off his energy and confidence, and how Debussy tells me about romance and beauty. I found myself extremely easy to understand music theories and use them in my creations. I also composed several pieces for my game projects based on my understanding of music.

I love games, especially puzzles, management and competitives. I want games to be able to challenge me, intrigue me to think. My favorate game among all is Go, which totally fascinates me for its simplicity in rules but extreme depth in strategies. In terms of video games, I enjoyed myself so much in puzzle games such as Portal, FEZ, Braid, BABA Is You. I also spent much time in building and orgamizing games like Oxygen Not Included, Dyson Sphere Program and Satisfactory. I have played World of Tanks for many years as the only online game I'm still playing. I like it because it's relatively good balance which I believe is the most important factor for competitive games. It also interests me for its moderate pace and realistic physical and visual effects.

I love math and I enjoy solving math problems, especially in Euclidian Geometry and Number Theory. I'd love to take a whole day sitting and solving a math puzzle, studying the mechanics and discovering interesting facts. I think math is the most beautiful thing ever exists in the world because of its pureness and perfectness. I also like to bring my appreciation in math to my design. Like in "Ripple Blossom", the principles behind the puzzles are geometry knowledge such as hyperbolic curves and concyclic points.