Game Engine Architecture

This book covers both the theory and practice of game engine software development, bringing together complete coverage of a wide range of topics. The concepts and techniques described are the actual ones used by real game studios like Electronic Arts and Naughty Dog. The examples are often grounded in specific technologies, but the discussion extends way beyond any particular engine or API. The references and citations make it a great jumping off point for those who wish to dig deeper into any particular aspect of the game development process.
Intended as the text for a college level series in game programming, this book can also be used by amateur software engineers, hobbyists, self-taught game programmers, and existing members of the game industry. Junior game engineers can use it to solidify their understanding of game technology and engine architecture. Even senior engineers who specialize in one particular field of game development can benefit from the bigger picture presented in these pages.

Jason Gregory has worked as a software engineer in the games industry since March 1999, and as a professional software engineer since 1994. He got his start in game programming at Midway Home Entertainment, where he worked on tools, engine technology and game play code for Hydro Thunder 2 (arcade). He also wrote the Playstation 2/Xbox animation system for Freaky Flyers and Crank the Weasel. In 2003, Jason moved to Electronic Arts Los Angeles, where he worked on engine and game play technology for Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault. Jason is currently a Generalist Programmer at Naughty Dog Inc., working on Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Jason also teaches courses in game technology at the University of Southern California.

I Foundations Introduction Structure of a Typical Game Team What Is a Game? What Is a Game Engine? Engine Differences Across Genres Game Engine Survey Runtime Engine Architecture Tools and the Asset Pipeline Tools of the Trade Version Control Microsoft Visual Studio Profiling Tools Memory Leak and Corruption Detection Other Tools Fundamentals of Software Engineering for Games C++ Review and Best Practices Data, Code, and Memory in C/C++ Catching and Handling Errors 3D Math for Games Solving 3D Problems in 2D Points and Vectors Matrices Quaternions Comparison of Rotational Representations Other Useful Mathematical Objects Hardware-Accelerated SIMD Math Random Number Generation II Low-Level Engine Systems Engine Support Systems Subsystem Start-Up and Shut-Down Memory Management Containers Strings Engine Configuration Resources and the File System File System The Resource Manager The Game Loop and Real-Time Simulation The Rendering Loop The Game Loop Game Loop Architectural Styles Abstract Timelines Measuring and Dealing with Time Multiprocessor Game Loops Networked Multiplayer Game Loops Human Interface Devices (HID) Types of Human Interface Devices Interfacing with a HID Types of Inputs Types of Outputs Game Engine HID Systems Human Interface Devices in Practice Tools for Debugging and Development Logging and Tracing Debug Drawing Facilities In-Game Menus In-Game Console Debug Cameras and Pausing the Game Cheats Screen Shots and Movie Capture In-Game Profiling III Graphics and Motion The Rendering Engine Foundations of Depth-Buffered Triangle Rasterization The Rendering Pipeline Advanced Lighting and Global Illumination Visual Effects and Overlays Animation Systems Types of Character Animation Skeletons Poses Clips Skinning and Matrix Palette Generation Animation Blending Post-Processing Compression Techniques Animation System Architecture The Animation Pipeline Action State Machines Animation Controllers Collision and Rigid Body Dynamics Do You Want Physics in Your Game? Collision/Physics Middleware The Collision Detection System Rigid Body Dynamics Integrating a Physics Engine into Your Game A Look Ahead: Advanced Physics Features IV Gameplay Introduction to Gameplay Systems Anatomy of a Game World Implementing Dynamic Elements: Game Objects Data-Driven Game Engines The Game World Editor Runtime Gameplay Foundation Systems Components of the GameplayFoundation System Runtime Object Model Architectures World Chunk Data Formats Loading and Streaming Game Worlds Object References and World Queries Updating Game Objects in Real Time Events and Message-Passing Scripting High-Level Game Flow V Conclusion You Mean There’s More? Some Engine Systems We Didn’t Cover Gameplay Systems