3D Game Development: Overview, Team Structure, and Technologies

1. Introduction 3D Game Development Jernej Vičič

2. Overview (chapters in book: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3) • What is a (computer) game? • The structure of a typical development team; • An overview of 3D Game Development technologies. 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

3. What is a computer game? • game • board game, • card game, • a game in the casino (roullette, black jack), • computer game, • game for children, • ... 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

4. What is a computer game? • game theory: • a group of agents choosing strategies (tactics) to achieve best possible result, • precisely defined rules of the game, • playing chess, backgammon,special situations, • (Nash) equilibrium. 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

5. What is a computer game? definition: “interactive experience that provides the player with an increasingly challenging sequence of patterns which he or she learns and eventually masters” Raph Koster ( A Theory of Fun for Game Design) 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

6. What is a computer game? • 3D virtual world with humanoids, animals and vehicles, • Main character is managed by the player, • for metuzalems (jup, I belong to this group): • 2D clasics: • Pong, Pac-Man, or Donkey Kong. 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

7. The structure of a tipical development team • razvijalec (engineer), • umetnik (artist), • oblikovalec (game designer), • producent (producer), • ostali (other staff), • založnik (publisher). 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

8. The structure of a tipical development team • razvijalec (engineer), • engineers plan and implement the software that enables/drives/makes the game. 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

9. The structure of a tipical development team • umetnik (artist), • content is king, • concept artist, • 3D modeler, • texture artist, • lighting artist, • animator, • motion capture actor, • sound designer, • voice actor, • composer. 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

10. The structure of a tipical development team • oblikovalec (game designer), • interactive part of the players experience: • gameplay • story, • defines the setting on a macro level, • writes some programming code – ussually scripting. 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

11. The structure of a tipical development team • producent (producer), • manages the flow of the development, • human resources, • connects and interfaces the developers and the “sales” business unit. 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

12. The structure of a tipical development team • other support staff, • bosses, • marketing, • administration, • IT support. 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

13. The structure of a tipical development team • publisher: • ussually a big corporation (mucho dinero), •  Electronic Arts, THQ, Vivendi, Sony, Nintendo, etc. • independent studio, • first party developers: • studios closed to one environment. 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

14. Game engine • mid‘1990, • id Software: Doom, • division of SW components: • 3D graphics, • rendering, • collision detection, • audio • from • ”arty” components, • worlds, • game rules, • ... • enables: • components reuse, • creation of new games, • division of developer teams (intra and inter). 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

15. What is a Game Engine? definition: “software that is extensible and can be used as the foundation for many different games without major modification” 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

16. What is a Game Engine? 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

17. Game engine • optimised software, • compromises are based on these presumptions: • how will the software be used, • what are the hardware capabilities, • ... • examples: • indoor engine: binary space partitioning, • oclusion (we do not draw), • outdoor engine: • LOD. 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

18. Game engine: examples • First-Person Shooters (FPS) • Quake, Unreal Tournament,  Half-Life,  Counter-Strike, Battlefield 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

19. Game engine: examples • Platformers and third person games • 2D:  Space Panic,  Donkey Kong,  Pitfall!, Super Mario Brothers, • 3D:  Super Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot,  Rayman 2,  Sonic the Hedgehog, Jak in Daxter, Gears of War, Dead space Razvoj iger, Jernej Vičič

20. Game engine: examples • Fighting games •  Soul Calibur,  Tekken 3, Fight Night Round 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

21. Game engine: examples • dirke •   Gran Turismo,  Need for Speed,  Juiced 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

22. Game engine: examples • Real-Time Strategy (RTS) • Warcraft, Command & Conquer,  Age of Empires, Starcraft Razvoj iger, Jernej Vičič

23. Game engine: examples • Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) • Guild Wars 2,  EverQuest, World of Warcraft, StarWars Galaxies 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

24. Game engine: examples • The content is defined by the player (Player-Authored Content) •  Little Big Planet, Minecraft 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič

25. Game engine: examples • Sports, • Role-Playing Games (RPG); • Impersonating god (Populous); • Environment simulation (SimCity, The Sims); • Puzzle games (Tetris); • Electronisation of classic games (chess, cards, go, …); • Web games, • …? 3D Game Developmentiger, Jernej Vičič