1. Maths & Technologies for Games Console Development & Middleware
Week 18

2. Today’s Lecture Comparing PC & Console Development
Development Environments
Commercial Dev Kits
Indie Development
Middleware
Note: All material here can be found in the public domain

3. PC & Console Development
Historically, console development has been much closer to the hardware than the PC
Known hardware specification
Tendency to drive hardware with assembly language, direct I/O, interrupts, etc.
To get maximum performance
Early PC games were similar, but gradually moved to higher level programming
Due to wide range of possible hardware
Two layer approach – API <-> Driver

4. PC & Console Development
Lifespan of a console is up to 7-8 years
Between release and eventual fall from use
E.g. PS1: 1994->2002, PS2: 2000->2008, PS3: 2006/7->2014/15
XBox One & PS >2021?
Hardware barely changes during this time
Need to gain maximum performance, especially during latter years
Low level work essential for best performance
PC hardware constantly evolves
Can increase minimum spec slightly every year
Higher level approach more suitable

5. Current Gen: PC vs Console
However, the current generation of consoles are very close in specification to a PC
Multi-core CPU
Powerful GPU (similar to PC variants)
Concurrent programming very important
Shader programming key for graphics
Ability to develop using higher level APIs
Xbox One uses a variant of the Windows 8 APIs
Games of the standard of a moderately powerful PC
Although PC games usually have better graphics now
Latest gen titles, so far, do not seem to be outstripping recent PC titles. This is unusual so early in console lifetime…

6. Current Gen: PC vs Console
Still some differences between PC / console development:
Hardware is known
So little need to query hardware, run performance tests.
Assumptions about available features are OK
More requirements on the operation of software
e.g. being locked into the platform holders UI (e.g. Sony’s XMB)
Closer integration between parts
E.g. CPU / GPU memory have symmetrical performance (shared on 360 / Xbox One), unlike a PC
Low-level development can still be key
Especially for commercial games, and later in the console lifetime
Custom development environments help with this

7. Commercial Development: Dev Kits
Commercial console development requires a Development Kit (Dev Kit)
A special form of console that can be hooked into a PC for programming / debugging etc.
Various types: from a basic console that can just run user code, to machines with additional hardware to assist debugging
Supplied with a custom SDK
Development environment
Compiler and linker
Graphics, Sound, Storage and other libraries
Complete technical and software documentation
Note that console development can emulated on a PC
Testing on a development kit in the later stages

8. Commercial Development
Dev kits must be licensed:
Apply to platform holder
Only experienced & viable developers accepted
Licensing is easier later in console lifecycle
Developer must sign NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)
Dev kit details are a trade secret
Until the current gen, dev kits have been expensive
£10,000+ each at launch, price dropping with time
Fair sized team could expect outlay > £100,000
However, the costs for development on the latest gen have been greatly reduced, or even disappeared
To boost indie development (see later)

9. PS4 Development Kit
Note: limited public domain info on latest gen dev kits
Playstation 4 dev kits cost ~$2,500 each
Although Sony have a dev kit loan program
Initial version looked like a tower PC
There have been several subsequent versions available
GameMaker: Studio and MonoGame (as well as Unity) are made available for free to indie developers

10. Xbox One Development Kit
All retail Xbox One’s can operate as a debug station.
Simplest kind of dev kit, which can run user code
This may possibly be used later to encourage indie development
Fully featured dev kits are available to developers
Again, the initial version looked like a tower PC, but latest iterations look like ordinary consoles
Although current dev kits are more powerful than retail consoles
Indie developers can get two dev kits free.

11. Final Dev Kit is same shape as standard PS3
Prev-Gen: PS3 Dev Kit
Playstation 3 dev kits (called the PS3 Reference Tool) eventually dropped in price to ~£1,000 each:
Final Dev Kit is same shape as standard PS3
Original Dev Kit
Included development tools (SN Systems):
ProDG – development environment
Distributed C++ compiler, linker, build tool
Can compile and link on multiple PCs

12. Prev-Gen: PS3 Dev Kit Two graphics libraries are part of the SDK:
libgcm: low-level – direct access to RSX chip and graphics memory
PSGL: [rarely used] implementation of OpenGL ES (full source code provided)
Also a full game engine – PhyreEngine is available (free for developers)
Use a special debugging station for testing
Standard console that can run user code or discs burned by the developer (effectively no copy protection)

13. Prev-Gen: Xbox 360 Dev Kit
Much like the Xbox one, an Xbox 360 dev kit looks similar to the retail console
Compiles C or C++ using Visual Studio variant
Old Version
New Version
Uses variations of PC libraries:
DX 9+: like DX9 with low level extras (command buffer, predicated tiling)
XAudio2: Successor to DirectSound
Many low level tools provided

14. Indie Development
The cost & licensing of professional development kits used to limit hobbyist, homebrew or indie games
However, in the latest gen, Sony and Microsoft have begun to make indie development easier
Lower price points, loans, or even free kits
Lower barriers to register as a developer
More indie developer support, conferences etc.
Still, the support for indie development may not be as rich as that offered for AAA titles.
Maybe limited tools, generic or simplified libraries
Possible less low-level hardware access
Too early to tell which platform will be better. Microsoft have the “all consoles are dev kits” advantage, but Sony have been very active in supporting indies…

15. Middleware
Middleware traditionally describes software used to connect different components or applications
However, in games development, the term middleware is used differently, describing self-contained software libraries
Performing distinct tasks, e.g. AI, physics or rendering
I.e. Use middleware instead of own technology
Typically this allows the developer to cut costs
Less technology to develop
Rely instead on a pre-built, robust solution
At the expense of flexibility for their own needs

16. Middleware
Middleware ranges from very general engines, to specialist technologies
There are many middleware options, choosing an appropriate one is often a challenge
Here is a random selection of popular middleware:
Unity [free], Unreal [free], Source, etc. (game engines)
Havok, Bullet, Box2D (physics [free])
Euphoria (human animation synthesis)
Speed Tree (Tree rendering)
fmod (audio [free])
ScaleForm, Coherent UI (vector UIs)
[Those noted as free are for non-commercial use only]