Task 1- Engine terminology

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

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 RESEARCH

ED TERM TO YOUR OWN PRODUCTI

ON 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 technique http://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



2

Beta An unfinished version of a game, released before

the Alpha version of a game

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Beta

Beta is

used so

that

develope

rs 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

customer

s 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 a l lows customers to fol low the

progress of a game’s

development.

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

It a l lows the developers to know i f

there game has made a

profi t before i t comes out



3

Debug Debugging is the routine process of locating and removing computer

program bugs, errors or abnormalities http://www.techopedia.com/definition/16373/debugging

It prevents

dangerous gl i tches and errors in a games code

from being released

Automati

on

the technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a system

operate automatically http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/automation

It a l lows developers

to make sure that a ll the

game mechanics work well.

White-Box

Testing

White box testing i s a method of testing software that tests internal s tructures or workings of an application, as opposed to its

functionality http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-box_testing

Ensures that the internal

s tructures of a game

work.

Bug a defect or imperfection, as in a mechanical device,computer program,

or plan; glitch http://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 processor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shader#Vertex_shaders

They are used to generate the games graphics



4

GAME ENGINES

Pixel

Shader

Pixel shaders, also known as fragment shaders, compute color and

other attributes of each fragment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shader#Vertex_shaders

They colour

the assets in the game

Post Processing

post-processing (or postproc for short) i s used in the video/film bus iness for quality-improvement image processing http://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 model http://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 dent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_mapping

It i s used to

generate more rea listic textures

Entity enti ty i s a dynamic object such as a non-player character or i tem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity_(disambiguation) It i s used to implement i tems and characters

into a game



5

UV Map UV mapping is the 3D modelling process of making a 2D image

representation of a 3D model's surface.

It i s used to

give models textures

Procedur

al Texture

A procedural texture is a computer-generated image created using an

a lgorithm intended to create a realistic representation of natural elements such as wood, marble, granite, metal, s tone, and others.

Used to give

a rea listic 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 va lues. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_physics

They are essential to

a game because i t

prevents a player from cl ipping through

objects

Collision Col l ision 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 a lso makes

sure that the

don’t fa ll through the

map

Lighting

Lighting i s one of the most important and influential elements in

environments. It has the power to make or break the visuals, theme

and atmosphere.

Without

l ighting, a

player



6

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

rea listic

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 i ts level of detail saving memory and computation power

It can

drastically improve the

speed of a

game

Animatio

n

A s imulation of movement created by displaying a series of pictures, or

frames

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/animation.html

It i s used in

every aspect

of a game to make

characters move and the environment

rea listic



7

Sprite a sprite i s a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into

a larger scene http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(computer_graphics)

They are

used to represent assets in games. This

can include characters,

i tems 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 s tore 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 a l low a

player to

interact with the game



8

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

per second)

It a ffects the

quality of animations in a game, the higher

the FPS, the better the

quality

Concept An idea, plan or Intention It i s 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

Pathfindi

ng

Pathfinding or pathing is the plotting, by a computer application, of the

shortest route between two points

Al lows

character to move

Automotive

Task 1- Engine terminology