Unit 67 - Functions of Game Engines

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is used in game engines as how the computer is to react. For instance a security guard would patrol a certain area and react to noise or movement. An example of this would be Splinter Cell and how when you make a noise the guard will begin to hunt you down and look for you. The idea of Artificial intelligence is guessing what the player will do and adapt on that. This may be by taking different paths and doing different reactions in battle In other games such as Skyrim, the AI system is huge. When it gets dark the people in the towns will begin to go home, also when going to a blacksmith or shop the character may not be there because in Skyrim, the AI Have their own lives and will be in different places at certain times. The AI behaviors are to make them more realistic and look and act like humans would. This is simply to make the game more enjoyable and for the realism effect. Things like walking, resting, standing idle and running are part of the AI intelligence under the category of AI behaviors.there is no programming in the robot of what a chair looks like, or what kind of surface the robot is moving on - all the information is gleaned from the input of the robot's sensors. The robot uses that information to react to the changes in its environment. In other words the AI system is very smart, it reacts according to the environment and moves if an object is in the way using a different path to the destination, For instance, sims allows players to click were the character is to go, however objects can be in the way and the sim will still move accordingly just differently each time.

World Navigation 

World navigation is based on allowing players to get to a place in the game when it is not clear, this can be done by the mini-map in which allows players to look across the map and locate objectives and points in which they need to be. Sadly it is possible for players to get lost and so the idea of world navigation is to help players not, waypoints are also a big part in world navigation, it allows players to see where there next objective is, this is normally a icon or arrow in which acts like a compass or a path in which helps players to continue progressing in the game. An example of world navigation in its finest would be the game Skyrim  it has a huge map in which can allow fast travel making players travel straight to a destination as well as a compass at the bottom of a screen in which shows which direction people are going, were enemies are coming from as well as towns and cities that are close. In conclusion, world navigation is a key part of games, Video games would most likely be a lot harder without this part.

Physics

Physics is also imported into an engine, Gravity is a good example of physics and how an item may fall to the floor. Physics engine to drive its physical simulation calculations. Phys X provides the ability to perform accurate collision detection. Another example would be explosions and how they are in the game as well as smoke and how it rises or falls. Car games use a lot of physics to make the game a better experience. When a car hits a barrier at a certain speed it will affect the outcome, for instance when a player hits it at a very high speed the car may bounce or flip in the air where as if it is a slow speed it won’t make as much of an action. Another example would be bullets and guns shooting and how they fire and also the way it affects the environment, (Bullet holes and explosions). Water is a very tricky thing to make, how it flows and moves can be unpredictable, however in game engines physics is already placed so the water can flow right and move.

Sound

Sound plays a huge part in game engines and in games generally, Games are not the same when there is no sound. Sound changes the atmosphere and mood. Sound is included in game engines because of this. In a game engine sound can be measured by distance and how loud it is may come into computer games. An example of this would be in Grand theft auto when a car stereo is on and you get closer to the car you are able to hear it. This is all part of the game engine as some have different ways to make the little things play a big part. The game engine does everything for you, when you put and audio file into it the game engine already knows the proximity of the sound and how much the user can hear it due to the range.

Animation

Animation is an illusion that is created by quickly cycling through a series of images, each slightly different from the last. This is using different frames to cycle and create a moving picture or asset. Animation is included into a game engine and can be used so people can create moving scenery, People and also aspects such as reloading a weapon. Animation is already involved in the game engine and so it saves developers a lot of time. A path based animation uses frames and a fixed background to create the illusion of movement. The main aspect of a path based animation is that the object travels along a set path, which is then calculated how long it takes the object to travel from one point to another and how many frames are need to get there. A path based animation uses frames and a fixed background to create the illusion of movement.

Graphic rendering

Graphic rendering is a huge part in a game engine, It allows people who create the game to export it from the engine, the graphic rendering depends on the engine used. It is the way the game will look. There are many different aspects of graphic rendering in which are all extremely important to make a game look the way it does.Anti aliasing in games is when the jagged edges in a game are made to look smooth. In games using this option lowers the performance and lowers the frame rate. This makes the game look a lot better and it all is part of the game engine. 

In graphic rendering shadowing is used a lot. This makes games look so much more detailed and realistic.In a game if a light source is on some part of the characters body a shadow will appear in the opposite direction, this is already in the game engine and so creators don't have to spend time creating them. The whole point of shadowing is to add a sense of realism to games and environments.

In a game engine the level of detail means how the game looks and how well the graphics are. In a game like Far cry 3 the game looks extremely beautiful. When something is really detailed in a game the game will naturally perform lower that is why graphical rendering is applied. This makes it so the object is not fully detailed when the player is far away from it, but as they get closer the object renders additional detail until the player is close enough to see all of the detail in the object.

Lighting is something a game engine has a few different types of in order to provide light to a scene in a video game, examples of these lights are: Point light, spot light, directional light and ambient light.Lights in video games are incredibly important as they let the player see what’s going on, they can also be used for way points and markers to stand out or to create mood (normally put to use in horror games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent)The examples are Amnesia with its lighting to set mood and Left 4 Dead with its lighting to direct the player through the world. Lighting, is a huge part in gaming, even when players are shot or have took damage lighting may be effected, from turning your screen black and white if you are loosing health, to Turning the screen bright red to resemble blood. Lighting for me is what makes a good game, it also can reflect the genre in which you play. For instance, Splinter Cell is a game in which stealth is used and the idea of sticking to the shadows so AI are unable to see you, this would encourage the games lighting to be very dark with small lights.

Ray tracing is a way of generating an image through tracing the path of light through pixels in an image plane and simulating its effects with encounters with virtual objects. This technique is capable of creating very high realism in game which really tries to reflect the real world in game. 

Depth testing is a process used by the game engine to tell what objects are visible to the player and which are not because they're behind other objects. Games today render a lot more at once and as a result Depth-testing has had to become more advanced. An example of this would be how when you compare Silent Hill for the Playstation to the Playstation 3. You can see the difference to how much is behind what.

Fog in games is much like fog in real life. It hides an object the further away it is from someone. But unlike in real life, fog in games has a purpose. In games fog hides objects the further it is from the player character. In game engines, fogging is already added into the engine and so developers do not need to keep making fog. This is to lessen the stress on the processor so it doesn't have to render unnecessary information as if there was no fogging you could see all the objects at the same time. Some PC games have a view distance slider. This is to help people with not as up to date hardware optimize the game so their computer can play it. The higher the view distance in a game the further you can see in the game world.

Particles within games are basically to make the game look more realistic, the idea of it is adding aspects from real life reactions such as, Water splashes, Sparks, falling leaves, clouds, fog, snow, dust and also spells like in Skyrim it makes a bright light from your hands in which is able to fire sparks out, this uses particles in which are part of this system. Particles in games are simply created using sprite sheets using framed graphics. This is to create a good movement in which gives the illusion of movement. In game engines, programmers are able to create spawns for particles to come from. For instance a water fall would be the birth place in which particles would move accordingly using gravity and physics also in game engines. Phys X is a part of physics in which is an add on to it. This allows better particles in games in which is part of graphic rendering as well.

 Links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG29MX1DKhY 
This video is the cryengine tech demo, which it highlights the 
Networking

Networking is simple, It allows people to share information, and resources from one computer system to another. The whole point of network now a days on gaming is the Multiplayer aspect in which people are able to play with each other and compete online. For instance on the call of duty series, Matchmaking as well as allowing leaderboards and private matches to communicate with each other. Places like Facebook and social networking sites are linked into games now a days, allowing people to share records or pictures onto there profiles through networking.The Network simply allows people to be social on games, able to play games with others, talk to others and be with other people across the globe. Networking is a key in games due to high demand of Multiplayer in this generation.

World Navigation 

World navigation is based on allowing players to get to a place in the game when it is not clear, this can be done by the mini-map in which allows players to look across the map and locate objectives and points in which they need to be. Sadly it is possible for players to get lost and so the idea of world navigation is to help players not, waypoints are also a big part in world navigation, it allows players to see where there next objective is, this is normally a icon or arrow in which acts like a compass or a path in which helps players to continue progressing in the game. An example of world navigation in its finest would be the game Skyrim  it has a huge map in which can allow fast travel making players travel straight to a destination as well as a compass at the bottom of a screen in which shows which direction people are going, were enemies are coming from as well as towns and cities that are close. In conclusion, world navigation is a key part of games, Video games would most likely be a lot harder without this part.

In its most general sense, Middleware is computer software that provides services to software applications beyond those available from the operating system.In other words allows developers to use a different software and then able to add it to the game engines. Middleware can be described as in a way software glue.

Controversial games

Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior
Was a game created by Palace software in which involved allowing players to have two handed swords to run around killing and fighting like a warrior, Now if it was in this time that it was created, there would not be able controversy about it. However created in 1987, this sparked a bit more that we would expect.

The biggest aspect in which people worried about was the front cover, now instead of using digital art created from the game, the developers decided to use real artwork for the cover. This was a bold idea as the game cover consisted of a topless man and a half naked model lying down. This was the same model who had recently done topless pictures for the page 3 section of the sun. People cared more about the cover than the actual game violence that it had. The US especially were outraged by the sexual aspect of it, this however did no good as it made barbarian into a ultimate commercial and selling success.

Barbarian was banned in Germany due to the violence, it also made most of the world make it an 18 game rating and made sure no one bought it under the age. And so they created the censored version of the game to help sales to go up in different countries.

What really struck me however, was simply how the gaming community and also the world has changed when looking at the controversy behind it. Considering people were simply shocked by the cover was something now a days would be seen as laughable as Sexual aspects in games now are huge. It had an effect on the game industry simply by stopping places across the world from buying it and also people were blaming the game industry for a simple sexual picture on a cover. It also effected players as they were given censored versions in Germany and so the game was changed due to a naked picture.  In conclusion this game was a big controversy and it shows just how much society and the gaming world has changed.