Game & Graphics Engines Tyler Hollingsworth

The Difference A game engine is a software system designed for the creation and development of video games. A graphics engine is a software system designed for the creation of graphical environments.

Info about Game Engines There are over 50 open source or freeware game engines available for use. Almost all of these are written in C or C++.

Info about Graphics Engines There are very few open-source graphics engines. (Irrlicht and Genesis3D being two) There are also some commercial engines. However, good news! OpenGL is open-source, and DirectX, although not open-source, is free to use.

Quake Architecture The Quake engine abstracts the communication into a client-server relationship, so that multiplayer gameplay is programmed much the same as single-player gameplay.

Game Engine Components A Game Engine typically needs: Input handling Storage of states Graphics rendering Level rendering Sound Network communication Object storage / affordability Others?

Input Handling Depending on the platform(s) for the game, the input handling is constructed differently. Input devices might include: Network traffic (other players' actions) Keyboard, mouse, joystick (PC) PS3 controller, 360 controller, wiimote (Console) EEG detector (mind control) Camera

Storage of States A game may need to store states – records of how the player has manipulated the game. These are useful for: loading/saving Counting how many monsters to spawn Completion of tasks to trigger an event Items the player has collected

Graphics Rendering A game will need to output the display to the user, here we assume the game is not text-based. The graphics rendering might include: Player/NPC/environment movement Animations (sprites, 3D transformation, cinematic) Lighting (point-based, area-based) And much more

Level Rendering A game will need to load the level from a file, and keep track of a player's change to the level. This might include: Unpacking the level Loading future levels (and waiting for this) User-generated levels (level editing)

Object Storage / Affordability The user interacts with the environment in predetermined ways. The game must keep track of the ways the user can interact with objects – the affordability of those objects. This includes: Opening doors, picking locks, getting ammo, Getting weapons, gear, keys, crates, pets, Using vehicles, control panels, levers, Talking to people, killing people, disarming people, And much more

End of Presentation Place witty comment here. Questions?