Game engines

Game Engines

This blog is going to focus on game engines.

What is a game engine?

A game engine is a software system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and desktop operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. The core functionality typically provided by a game engine includes a rendering engine (“renderer”) for 2D or 3D graphics, a physics engine or collision detection (and collision response), sound, scripting, animation, artificial intelligence, networking, streaming, memory management, threading, localization support, and a scene graph. The process of game development is frequently economized by in large part reusing the same game engine to create different games.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_engine

There are several different brands of game engines including the unreal engine, Gamebryo lightspeed, cryENGINE3, unity 3D, blitz tech, and the infernal engine to name just a few.

The world of games, 3D engines and level editing is where you will come across the terms "subtractive environment" and "additive environment". Addictive and Subtractive environments, when talking in terms of game engines are defined as follows.

In an additive environment, the beginning consists of emptiness - usually called the void. The void is endless and empty. When the designer creates something, for example a room, he creates a space within the void by sealing it off - the easiest way to do this is to simply create a hollow cube. Something like a vast landscape with a beautiful sky is created by first designing the terrain, buildings, trees et cetera, and then surrounding it all with a "skybox", a large hollow box, the insides of which show the sky. This box is necessary to keep the void out, since the world and the void must always be kept separate. A hole in the world is called a "leak", since the void is "leaking" in.

http://everything2.com/title/additive+and+subtractive+environments

As is probably obvious, a subtractive environment is the opposite of an additive environment. In a subtractive environment, there is no void. Before there is a world, there is only an infinite solid. To create a world, designers must subtract bits from this infinite solid, creating hollow spaces for the user (player) to exist in. This eliminates the possibility of leaks, but many designers still favour the additive environment because it is easier to manipulate. In fact, a known way of working around the subtractive style editing is by first subtracting a huge cube, creating a void (of sorts) in the middle of the infinite solid - and then working additively in the middle of this (fake) void, expanding it as necessary.

http://everything2.com/title/additive+and+subtractive+environments

Proprietary Technology

Is a type of technology that is the property of a business or an individual and provides some sort of benefit or advantage to the owner. Companies that are able to develop useful proprietary technologies in-house are rewarded with a valuable asset which they can either use exclusively or profit from the sale of licensing of their technology to other parties.

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/proprietarytechnology.asp

Whereas companies buying into proprietary technology may have a quick fix, short term success, but they risk the chance of not furthering development of their own technology for the sake of it which could have adverse long term effects. This could essentially cause a slowdown in growth.