Choosing the Game Engine that is Right for You Mark DeLoura October 12, 2009

Introduction

Topics The Evolution of Game Engines Choosing a Game Engine Available Engines

The Evolution of Game Engines Graphics engines to game engines Software 3D to hardware 3D Consoles embrace game engines The Mod generation Shader evolution Costs and complexity

Graphics Engines to Game Engines 1993: Doom (idTech 1)

Graphics Engines to Game Engines 1995: Software-rendered engines – Argonaut’s BRender – Criterion’s Renderware – RenderMorphics’ Reality Lab

Graphics Engines to Game Engines 1996: Quake 1

Software 3D to Hardware 3D 1996: Quake 1

Software 3D to Hardware 3D 1997: Quake 2 (idTech 2)

Software 3D to Hardware 3D 1998: Half-Life (GoldSRC)

Software 3D to Hardware 3D 1998: Unreal (Unreal Engine 1)

Software 3D to Hardware 3D 1999: Quake 3 (idTech 3)

Consoles Embrace Engines 1999: PlayStation2

Consoles Embrace Engines 1999: NDL’s NetImmerse 3D 2000: Intrinsic Graphics’ Alchemy

Consoles Embrace Engines 2001: Grand Theft Auto III uses Criterion’s Renderware

Consoles Embrace Engines 2003: Unreal 2 PC (Unreal Engine 2) 2004: Unreal 2 Xbox; PS2 in dev

Consoles Embrace Engines 2003: Vicarious Visions purchases Intrinsic Graphics (Alchemy) 2004: EA purchases Criterion (Renderware) 2005: Emergent purchases NDL (NetImmerse, Gamebryo)

Engines Embrace Consoles 2007: Unreal Engine 3 – PC, Xbox360, PS3 2009: CryEngine 3 – PC, Xbox360, PS3

The Mod Generation

1993: Doom (idTech 1)

The Mod Generation 1997: Quake 2 (idTech 2)

The Mod Generation 1998: Unreal (Unreal Engine 1)

The Mod Generation 2001: Tribes 2 (Torque)

The Mod Generation 2002: Criterion ships Renderware Studio

The Mod Generation 2004: Doom 3 (idTech 4) 2004: Half-Life 2 (Source) 2004: FarCry (CryEngine)

The Mod Generation 2007: Gears of War (Unreal Engine 3)

The Mod Generation 2007: Crysis (CryEngine 2)

Shader Evolution : “All games on a particular engine look the same.”

Shader Evolution 2000: GeForce3 released

Shader Evolution 2004: Doom 3 (idTech 4)

Shader Evolution 2004: Half-Life 2 (Source)

Shader Evolution 2004: Far Cry (CryEngine)

Shader Evolution 2007: Gears of War (Unreal Engine 3)

Current Engine Trends Game development costs are very high – Amortize development across multiple games and multiple platforms Multi-processor complexity – Encourages use of game engines that make multi-processor development simpler

Choosing a Game Engine The most important decision you will make about game technology

1. Create Your Game Design A draft Game Design Document

2. Create Your Tech Design A draft Technical Design Document

3. Create Your Production Plan A draft Production Plan

4. Now Look at Engines!

Developer Survey February 2009 survey of game developers on game engines – Senior producers – Senior engineers Results published on Gamasutra.com

Game Engine Decisions The most important considerations – Cost: What can you afford? – Relevance to platforms, genre, design – Support – Functionality: Time saved – Tools and Content Pipeline – Integration into Current Technology – Flexibility

Cost: What can you afford? Tiers of game engines roughly match cost – MMO Engines – High-end Engines – Mid-range Engines – Casual / Web Engines – Open source PC Engines

Cost: What can you afford? Deal structures are flexible – Survey: Preferred deal structure?

Cost: What can you afford? Other costs to keep in mind – Training – Integration time – Support and maintenance fees – Add-ons – Potentially unhappy employees

Cost: What can you afford? Potentially unhappy employees? – Survey: If budget and time were no object, which of these would you prefer?

Relevance Platforms – MMO, PC standalone, consoles, handhelds, mobile Genre – Look for similar games which use the engine Design – What is most important? Graphics? Interaction? Physics?

Support Documentation Support team structure Samples and tutorials

Support Survey: Most important engine practices 1.Source code is available 2.Known to easily integrate 3.Resource management is tweakable 4.Ongoing access to current builds 5.Clear development roadmap

Support Get a demo license!

Functionality Survey: Most important engine systems 1.Multi-threading system 2.Rendering pipeline 3.Animation system 4.Collision detection / physics system 5.Streaming system 6.Networking design Varies based on game, team expertise, other middleware

Tools and Pipeline Survey: Most important engine tools 1.Profiling system 2.Live preview on target platform

Tools and Pipeline Most important engine tools 3.Standalone world builder 4.Particle system editor

Tools and Pipeline More important engine tools 5.Scripting system Run-time script debugger 51.3% of projects use Lua

Tools and Pipeline Build Process – Average code change: 3.5 minutes – Average full rebuild: 105 minutes

Integration Existing custom technology Middleware technology

Integration Survey: Most popular middleware libraries – Bink – FMOD – Havok – Scaleform – Kynapse – Wwise

Flexibility What range of games are made on the engine? Talk to people who have used the engine. Work with the code: how brittle is it?

Other important factors Outsourcing Source code escrow

Most Importantly DEMO!

Currently Available Engines MMO Engines High-end Engines Mid-range Engines Casual / Web Engines Open source PC Engines

MMO Engines BigWorld Technology Suite Simutronics’ HeroEngine Sun’s Project Darkstar (server)

High-end Engines Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 Crytek’s CryEngine 3 Digital Extremes’ Evolution Engine id’s idTech 4/5/6 Valve’s Source

Mid-range Engines Emergent’s Gamebryo Terminal Reality’s Infernal Engine Blitz Games’ BlitzTech Trinigy’s Vision Engine Vicious Cycle’s Vicious Engine

Casual / Web Engines Unity Technologies’ Unity Garage Games’ Torque Macromedia Flash – For example, PushButton Engine Sun’s Java – For example, jMonkey Engine

Open source PC Engines Irrlicht OGRE3D Panda3D Many more listed at: – en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_game_ engines en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_game_ engines – zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 游戏引擎列表 zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 游戏引擎列表

Another option: Use middleware Use middleware to supplement your own engine

Online Games BigWorld Technology – Tian Xia 2, Kingdom Heroes 2 Online, Chuang Shi Online

Online Games Simutronics’ HeroEngine – Star Wars: The Old Republic

Online Games Crytek’s CryEngine 3 (2) – AION, Entropia

Online Games Unreal Engine 3 – Alliance of Valiant Arms (A.V.A.), APB, Huxley, The Agency

Online Games Gamebryo – Warhammer Online, Wizard 101, Dark Age of Camelot

Casual Games Unity

Casual Games Torque

Conclusion There are many, MANY engines Plan what you are making BEFORE analyzing game engines Each engine has unique features – analyze games, talk to users, demo the pipeline, examine the code

Closing Mark DeLoura’s blog: – Gamasutra engine articles: – arkDeLoura/124/ arkDeLoura/124/