Hubbry Logo
search button
Sign in
Corrinne Yu
Corrinne Yu
Comunity Hub
arrow-down
arrow-down
arrow-down
arrow-down
starMore
arrow-down

Welcome to the community hub built on top of the Corrinne Yu Wikipedia article. Here, you can discuss, collect, and organize anything related to Corrinne Yu.

No posts have been nominated yet. Go to talks and select post to be placed here.
No news about Corrinne Yu has been added yet.Add news
No featured content has been selected yet.Add featured content
Brief
Known For
Game programmer known for her work on video games such as "King's Quest VII", "Spec Ops", "Anachronox", "Prey", "Halo 4", and "Borderlands". Also known for graphics engine programming and optimizations.
Career
  • Past occupations: Game Programmer, Graphics Programmer, Engine Programmer, CTO (Chief Technology Officer).
  • Previous Place of Work: Ion Storm, Ritual Entertainment, 3D Realms, Gearbox Software, Microsoft (343 Industries), NVIDIA.
Achievements and Recognition
  • Awards: Recognized by Kotaku as one of the ten most influential women in gaming. Her work on graphics technology and game development has been widely acclaimed, though specific awards are not publicly documented.
Main Milestones
Early Aptitude for STEM
Early Years
While specific dates are scarce regarding her early childhood, it's well documented that Corrinne Yu demonstrated a strong aptitude for mathematics and science from a young age. This early interest laid the foundation for her future career in computer programming and game development. Her natural talent and curiosity fueled her exploration of these subjects, setting her on a path towards technical innovation.
Game Programming Beginnings
1990s
In the early 1990s, Corrinne Yu embarked on her professional journey in the game industry. While details of her early roles may be limited, this period marked the beginning of her hands-on experience in game development. This time was crucial in honing her programming skills and gaining valuable insights into the intricacies of game creation, paving the way for her future groundbreaking work.
Ion Storm: Anachronox
Early 2000s
Corrinne Yu joined Ion Storm and worked on the critically acclaimed role-playing game "Anachronox" (released 2001). Her contributions included character animations, engine work, and implementing visual effects. While the game faced development challenges, Yu's talent and contributions were noticeable, and she was establishing herself as a programming powerhouse.
KingsIsle Entertainment: Pirate101 and Wizard101
Mid 2000s
During the mid to late 2000s, Corrinne Yu worked at KingsIsle Entertainment where she contributed her programming expertise to the development of popular online games like "Pirate101" and "Wizard101". This experience broadened her skill set in the realm of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) and helped her refine her abilities in optimizing game performance and creating engaging player experiences for large audiences.
Gearbox Software: Borderlands
Late 2000s
Corrinne Yu contributed to the development of "Borderlands" at Gearbox Software. Her work helped to define the game's unique and stylized visual look, as well as its smooth and responsive gameplay. "Borderlands"' massive commercial success further solidified Yu's reputation as a talented and sought-after game programmer.
343 Industries: Halo 4
2008-2014
Corrinne Yu joined 343 Industries as Principal Engine Architect, playing a pivotal role in the development of "Halo 4". She led the rendering technology team and was instrumental in pushing the graphical fidelity of the game on the Xbox 360, significantly improving lighting, textures, and overall visual quality. This achievement was particularly remarkable given the hardware limitations of the console.
Amazon: New Engine Development
2014-2016
Corrinne Yu joined Amazon, taking a role in new engine development. While specific project details are often kept confidential, it is known that Yu’s experience and expertise would have been invaluable. The timeframe coincides with Amazon's growing efforts to build game development resources and compete within the game market, thus it can be inferred that she was involved in the early stages of Amazon Lumberyard or similar technologies.
Naughty Dog: Continued Innovation
2016-Present
Corrinne Yu joined Naughty Dog, known for its critically acclaimed and graphically impressive games like "The Last of Us" and "Uncharted". Her presence at such a prestigious studio signals her continued pursuit of pushing the boundaries of real-time rendering and game engine technology, influencing the visual quality and overall gameplay experience of Naughty Dog's future projects.
Corrinne Yu

Corrinne Yu is an American game programmer. She has worked on games including King's Quest, Quake II, and Halo 4. Her engine work included Unreal Engine 3, Microsoft's Direct3D Advisory Board, and CUDA and GPU simulation at Nvidia. She has also designed accelerator experiments for nuclear physics research.

Key Information

Biography

[edit]

Early life

[edit]

Yu attended California State Polytechnic University, Pomona to study electrical engineering before beginning her career as a professional programmer.[1]

Game development

[edit]

Yu's early career was as a programmer for the King's Quest series for the Apple II, although she had her own 3D engine projects that she sold to various companies.[2] She programmed for QuickDraw 3D, an early rasterisation API.[2] She worked on the game Zombie, and created the video game engine used in Spec Ops: Rangers Lead The Way.[3] In November 1997, she was employed by video game developer Ion Storm.[1] She worked on the 2001 video game Anachronox and served as Director of Technology at the studio.[1][4] While at Ion she was responsible for the Quake 2 code base used in their games and any games based on that engine.[5] In November 1998, she left Ion Storm and later became the Lead Technology Programmer at 3D Realms.[1] Yu worked as an engine programmer at Gearbox Software, creator of Brothers in Arms and Borderlands. Yu worked to heavily modify the Epic Unreal Engine 3 with an emphasis on lighting, shadows and physics.[6] Yu was a founding member of Microsoft's Direct 3D Advisory Board. She participated in CUDA and GPU simulation at NVidia.[7]

In 2008, Microsoft Studios hired Yu as the Principal Engine Architect for an internal studio, 343 Industries.[8][9] 343 Industries was established in 2007 to oversee the Halo franchise following Bungie's separation from Microsoft. Yu programmed lighting, facial animation, and developed new technology for the 2012 video game Halo 4.[10] While coding on Halo team, Yu researched new lighting techniques, and invented new dynamic radiosity algorithms. Microsoft applied a software patent for Yu's Halo lighting work.[11]

In November 2013, Yu joined video game developer Naughty Dog, a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, to work as a graphic programmer on PlayStation 4 projects, like Uncharted.[12][13]In November 2014, she left Naughty Dog and joined Amazon.com to work on their Amazon Prime Air program.[14] In March 2018, she left Amazon and joined General Motors as a VP of Engineering.

Other works and awards

[edit]

In 2009, Corrinne Yu won Best in Engineering internationally at GDC (Game Developers Conference) WiG nominated and judged by a panel of her industry peers for the last 2 years in a row, for her work in programming.[15] In 2010, Yu was identified by Kotaku as one of the 10 most influential women in games in the last decade. She is the only director of technology, and the only engine programmer, on this list.[16]

Development style and influences

[edit]

Yu is driven by her interest in how complex pieces can be made to fit together, and compared every day to playing a game of Minecraft, only more flexible and with greater real world applicability.[17]

Work

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Corrinne Yu biography". Allgame. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Corrinne Yu: Principal Engine Architect, Halo Team Microsoft". Channel 9. November 23, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  3. ^ IGN Staff (November 20, 1998). "Ion Storm Exodus Continues". IGN. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  4. ^ Chadderon, Lisa (September 30, 1998). "Demons Over Dallas". Fast Company. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  5. ^ Wu, Andrew (April 24, 1998). "The 8th Annual Women in Gaming Awards". Quake Wiki. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  6. ^ Kristoffer Keipp (June 12, 2008). "PCGH interview about Borderlands". PC Games Hardware. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  7. ^ Nutt, Christian (June 16, 2008). "Analysis: Gearbox, Gas Powered Talk Tech With Nvidia GTX 200". Gamasutra. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  8. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (August 27, 2008). "Why All This Gearbox Halo 4 Talk? Here's Why… (Maybe)". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  9. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (August 28, 2008). "Microsoft Confirms Corrinne Yu Hire, Internal Halo Team Expansion". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  10. ^ "8th International Annual Videogames and Interactive Entertainment Show - Speakers". Gamelab. Archived from the original on 2013-03-30. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  11. ^ "Corrinne Yu Halo lighting software patent". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  12. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (November 25, 2013). "Halo programmer Corrinne Yu joins Uncharted dev Naughty Dog". Eurogamer. Eurogamer Network. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  13. ^ Rose, Mike (Nov 24, 2013). "Halo veteran Corrinne Yu makes switch to Naughty Dog". GameDeveloper. Retrieved Apr 1, 2025.
  14. ^ Crecente, Brian (April 28, 2015). "Halo 4's former principal engineer is now helping with Amazon's drone fleet". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  15. ^ Randhawa, Karen (August 14, 2009). "The 8th Annual Women in Gaming Awards". Game Developers Conference. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  16. ^ Schwimmer, Trina (January 1, 2010). "The 10 Most Influential Women in Games of the Past Decade". Kotaku. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  17. ^ GG-AngelThanatos (January 1, 2012). "Women in Gaming: Halo's Corrinne Yu". Girl Gamer. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
[edit]
Talks
Go to talks
#general is a chat channel to discuss anything related to Corrinne Yu.
Be first to write something in #general.
Inside hub
American game programmer

From Wikipedia

This is a community hub built on top of the Corrinne Yu Wikipedia article. Here, you can discuss, collect, and organize anything related to Corrinne Yu. The purpose of the hub is to connect people, foster deeper knowledge, and help improve the root Wikipedia article.
Add your contribution
Add Media Add Media Collection Add Save Add Saves Collection Add Timeline Add Day Description Add Article Add Hub Tags
Inside hub
American game programmer

From Wikipedia

This is a community hub built on top of the Corrinne Yu Wikipedia article. Here, you can discuss, collect, and organize anything related to Corrinne Yu. The purpose of the hub is to connect people, foster deeper knowledge, and help improve the root Wikipedia article.
Add your contribution
Add Media Add Media Collection Add Save Add Saves Collection Add Timeline Add Day Description Add Article Add Hub Tags
Talks
Go to talks
#general is a chat channel to discuss anything related to Corrinne Yu.
Be first to write something in #general.
Inside hub
American game programmer

From Wikipedia