Engine terminology

Salford City CollegeEccles Sixth Form CentreBTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGNUnit 73: Sound For Computer GamesIG2 Task 1

Produce a glossary of terms specific to the methods and principles of Video Game Design and Video Game Terms. Using a provided template, you must research and gather definitions specific to provided glossary terms. Any definitions must be referenced with the URL link of the website you have obtained the definition.

You must also, where possible, provide specific details of how researched definitions relate to your own production practice.

Name: RESEARCHED DEFINITION (provide short internet researched definition and URL link)

DESCRIBE THE RELEVANCE OF THE RESEARCHED TERM TO YOUR OWN PRODUCTION PRACTICE?

IMAGE SUPPORT (Provide an image and/or video link of said term being used in a game)

VIDEO GAMES / VIDEO GAME TESTING

Demo A demonstration of a product or techniquehttp://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/demo

Demos are used to give potential customers a taster for your game. It also allows people to create early reviews to support your game and advertise it for free

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Beta An unfinished version of a game, released before the Alpha version of a gamehttp://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Beta

Beta is used so that developers can discover bugs and glitches in the game before they develop it more.

Alpha Alpha footage comes before the full release of a game; it allows people to see what they are buying before they pay for it.http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=alpha

It allows customers to playtest the game before they buy the complete thing

Pre-Alpha The term for a milestone in a games development to show customers how far along the game is.http://www.whatgamesare.com/pre-alpha.html

It allows customers to follow the progress of a game’s development.

Gold When a game has been fully developed and has made a profit in pre-ordershttp://www.gamespot.com/forums/playstation-discussion-1000002/what-does-it-mean-when-a-game-goes-gold-26614050/

It allows the developers to know if there game has made a profit before it comes out

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Debug Debugging is the routine process of locating and removing computer program bugs, errors or abnormalitieshttp://www.techopedia.com/definition/16373/debugging

It prevents dangerous glitches and errors in a games code from being released

Automation

the technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a system operate automaticallyhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/automation

It allows developers to make sure that all the game mechanics work well.

White-Box Testing

White box testing is a method of testing software that tests internal structures or workings of an application, as opposed to its functionalityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-box_testing

Ensures that the internal structures of a game work.

Bug a defect or imperfection, as in a mechanical device,computer program, or plan; glitchhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bug

They can harm a games development or release.

GAME ENGINES

Vertex Shader

Vertex shaders are run once for each vertex given to the graphics processorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shader#Vertex_shaders

They are used to generate the games graphics

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GAME ENGINES

Pixel Shader

Pixel shaders, also known as fragment shaders, compute color and other attributes of each fragmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shader#Vertex_shaders

They colour the assets in the game

Post Processing

post-processing (or postproc for short) is used in the video/film business for quality-improvement image processinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_post-processing

They improve the image quality of the game

Rendering

Rendering is the process of generating an image from a 2D or 3D modelhttp://modeln.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendering_(computer_graphics)

They generate the models in the game

Normal Map

In 3D computer graphics, normal mapping, or "Dot3 bump mapping", is a technique used for faking the lighting of bumps and denthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_mapping

It is used to generate more realistic textures

Entity entity is a dynamic object such as a non-player character or item.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity_(disambiguation)

It is used to implement items and characters into a game

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UV Map UV mapping is the 3D modelling process of making a 2D image representation of a 3D model's surface.

It is used to give models textures

Procedural Texture

A procedural texture is a computer-generated image created using an algorithm intended to create a realistic representation of natural elements such as wood, marble, granite, metal, stone, and others.

Used to give a realistic texture to objects in a game

Physics Computer animation physics or game physics involves the introduction of the laws of physics into a simulation or game engine, particularly in 3D computer graphics, for the purpose of making the effects appear more real to the observer. Typically, simulation physics is only a close approximation to real physics, and computation is performed using discrete values.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_physics

They are essential to a game because it prevents a player from clipping through objects

Collision Collision detection typically refers to the computational problem of detecting the intersection of two or more objects

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

It prevents a player from walking through an object and also makes sure that the don’t fall through the map

Lighting Lighting is one of the most important and influential elements in environments. It has the power to make or break the visuals, theme and atmosphere.

Without lighting, a player

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http://www.moddb.com/tutorials/lighting-in-game-environments-the-hows-and-whys

wouldn’t be able to see where they are in the game

AA – Anti-Aliasing

Well anti-aliasing detects rough edges and smooths them out using a quick scan of them. https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100420031929AAON6YB

It smoothes out rough edges in games that were missed by the developers. This can make a game look more realistic

LoD – Level of Detail

As you get further away from an object, it takes up less of your vision (and less dots of resolution on your monitor). Therefore, you can drop its level of detail saving memory and computation power

It can drastically improve the speed of a game

Animation

A simulation of movement created by displaying a series of pictures, or frameshttp://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/animation.html

It is used in every aspect of a game to make characters move and the environment realistic

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Sprite a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scenehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(computer_graphics)

They are used to represent assets in games. This can include characters, items and environments

Scene A sequence of continuous action in a play, film, opera, or book

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/scene

They are used to show an area, character or any other aspect of a game

Library A 2D asset storage area used to store assets for a 2D game They are used to store assets for 2D games

UI The way a person interacts with a computer, tablet, smartphone or other electronic device

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/53558/user-interface

They allow a player to interact with the game

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Frames The amount of images shown in a game, usually known as FPS (frames per second)

It affects the quality of animations in a game, the higher the FPS, the better the quality

Concept An idea, plan or Intention It is used to plan every aspect of a game

Event Anything that happens in a game is known as an event They are inputted into a game to cause things to happen

Pathfinding

Pathfinding or pathing is the plotting, by a computer application, of the shortest route between two points

Allows character to move

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Engine terminology

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