Yo! Just dropped one of the realest convos I've ever recorded. Freya Holmér (the Swedish powerhouse behind Shader Forge, Shapes, and Budget Cuts VR) gets brutally honest about her way into game dev, burnout, and why she's building Half Edge to flip off Autodesk. We also go DEEP on ADHD, why sleep isn't negotiable, and how capitalism feeds on crunch culture.

Links:

Freya Holmér's website: https://acegikmo.com/

Her burnout recovery notes: https://publish.obsidian.md/acegikmo/...

Freya Holmér's BSKY https://bsky.app/profile/freya.bsky.s...

Freya Holmér on Twitch / acegikmo

Freya Holmér on Patreon / acegikmo

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro

02:13 - Mapping and level design journey

10:21 - Collaboration with Valve and career reflection

14:10 - External Validation as Motivation?

19:29 - Lerp smoothing deep dive and challenges

32:12 - Perfectionism and handling criticism

41:14 - Challenges of streaming

42:52 - Interest in Maths and Shaders

48:17 - Shader Forge

53:21 - Burnout experience and recovery

01:13:04 - Mindfulness and presence

01:17:13 - ADHD diagnosis and coping mechanisms

01:24:18 - Burnout & depression

01:37:02 - Neat Corp

01:46:07 - VR design challenges and motion sickness

01:53:42 - Leaving Neat Corp and personal growth

01:54:21 - Half-Edge

02:00:01 - Half-Edge goals

02:04:52 - Industry software critiqued

02:10:24 - Closing