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Hide Objects Blocking Player View
Published in Game Programming
By Christopher Rolfs - In most isometric-esque RTS-style game views, sometimes pesky walls can pop into view, hindering the player’s connection with the protagonist. This...
Rendering and Simulation in an Off-Road Driving Game
Published in Game Programming
By Pavel Zagrebelnyy - This paper describes some tech details in Spin Tires, a game about a big truck driving through mud/water, crushing trees and everything else on its...
Useless Snippet #1: Transform Vec3f by Matrix4x4f
Published in General Programming
By Jim Drygiannakis - The goal of this snippet is to multiply a batch of Vector3f’s with the same 4×4 matrix
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Hide Objects Blocking Player View UNDER REVIEW
Jun 18 2013 11:58 AM | Posted By Christopher Rolfs
in Game Programming
In most isometric-esque RTS-style game views, sometimes pesky walls can pop into view, hindering the player’s connection with the protagonist. This isn’t good but is easily solvable with many different solutions. One, highlight the player’s outline when it is behind objects. Two, hide the interfering objects. Three, masking shaders to overlay over the screen. There are, of course, many other so...
Tagged With: unity c# programming shader
Rendering and Simulation in an Off-Road Driving Game
Jun 18 2013 09:40 AM | Posted By Pavel Zagrebelnyy
in Game Programming
This paper describes some tech details in Spin Tires, a game about a big truck driving through mud/water, crushing trees and everything else on its path
Tagged With: simulation havok directx offroad rendering
Useless Snippet #1: Transform Vec3f by Matrix4x4f UNDER REVIEW
Jun 17 2013 11:32 AM | Posted By Jim Drygiannakis
in General Programming
The goal of this snippet is to multiply a batch of Vector3f’s with the same 4×4 matrix
Tagged With: transforms vectors math snippet
GDC 2013: Interview with Jakob Schmid UNDER REVIEW
Jun 17 2013 07:19 AM | Posted By deisgn3
in Interviews
design3 talks with Jakob Schmid, audio designer of the hit-game 140, about his game, the tools used to develop it, tips for budding game makers to get the ball rolling, and more
Tagged With: gdc igf indie interview
Lone Wolf Killers
Jun 15 2013 06:27 PM | Posted By Mason McCuskey
in Production and Management
What are some of the reasons development teams most often fail to produce a finished product? Find out so you can work to avoid them
Tagged With: design document play testing team management
Ten Things to Achieve When Starting 3D Programming UNDER REVIEW
Jun 14 2013 11:26 AM | Posted By Vasily Tserekh
in Game Programming
I started 3D programming a few years ago. I was new into this world and I didn’t know what to learn and where to start. Now that I have acquired some knowledge this is the list that I would have given to myself if time travel would be possible and I could return to that time.
Tagged With: opengl directx 3d
GDC 2013 Interview with Justin Ma UNDER REVIEW
Jun 14 2013 07:15 AM | Posted By design3
in Interviews
How long does it take to develop a game? Justin Ma, co-developer of the award winning game, FTL: Faster Than Light, has been there and back. design3 got a chance to chat with Justin at GDC 2013, where he shared the details on his previous work in China, his unbelievable Kickstarter success, the work it took to create FTL, the design tools used, and more.
Tagged With: interview gdc indie igf
“I Don’t Know How” Is Not a Valid Excuse UNDER REVIEW
Jun 13 2013 11:58 AM | Posted By Steve Pavlina
in GameDev.net Soapbox
Personal development author Steve Pavlina talks about how you should step up when it comes to learning a new skill - important in a field like game development where you learn a lot on your own
Tagged With: opinion
Conjuring a Compelling World
Jun 13 2013 09:33 AM | Posted By Mike Lewis
in Game Design
Enrich your game design toolkit with these tricks and guidelines for creating engaging digital experiences.
Tagged With: design
Why Is It Building So Long? UNDER REVIEW
Jun 13 2013 07:15 AM | Posted By Bartłomiej Filipek
in General Programming
How to use the concept of "insulation" to reduce compile times for large software projects
Tagged With: oop encapsulation c++ insulation
Using C# Managed DLL's in UDK UNDER REVIEW
Jun 12 2013 07:10 AM | Posted By Donald May
in Game Programming
Learn how to write Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs) in C# to extend the Unreal Development Kit (UDK) through DLL Bind.
Tagged With: udk c# dll bind unmanaged exports marshalling
Finite State Machines and Regular Expressions
Jun 12 2013 04:30 AM | Posted By Eli Bendersky
in General Programming
Explores the basics of Finite State Machines and regular expressions (regexes) then delves deep into their combined application
Tagged With: fsm finite state machine regular expression regex
Notes on GameDev: Maurine Starkey UNDER REVIEW
Jun 10 2013 11:22 AM | Posted By Elizabeth LaPensée
in Interviews
Maurine Starkey is a founding member of Westwood Studios. She has worked as an art instructor, lead artist, art director, creative director, producer and game designer for over 24 years, plus continues to paint, sculpt, storyboard, and illustrate books, paper games, and comic books.
Tagged With: interview design
Configuration And Tweaking
Jun 10 2013 08:50 AM | Posted By AllEightUp
in Game Programming
Setting up a configuration system for both standard game settings and also development builds can often be a messy proposal. Presented in this article is a solution which is fairly non-intrusive and supplies a usable debug UI for modifying game values at runtime.
Tagged With: c++ configuration c++11
Organizing Code Files in C and C++
Jun 07 2013 04:23 PM | Posted By Ben Sizer
in General Programming
Splitting up your code files is a great way to stay organized, but can cause trouble for new programmers that may lead them away from this good practice. Learn the common problems and how to solve them
Tagged With: c lang c++ header file source file organization
Games and the Imagination UNDER REVIEW
Jun 07 2013 03:37 PM | Posted By Richard Dare
in Game Design
Explores the psychology of gaming and looks at some of the new ideas we can derive from exploring the ideas and fantasies that many players attach to games
Tagged With: psychology jungian jung heroic quest heros journey violence fantasy imagination
Cross Platform Test Driven Development Environment Using CMake (Part 5) UNDER REVIEW
Jun 07 2013 11:04 AM | Posted By AllEightUp
in General Programming
CMake 2.8.11 is a game changer. A large portion of the prior 4 articles has just been deprecated and it is time to learn why.
Tagged With: make cmake cross platform makefile c++ c++11
Crafting a 2D RPG UNDER REVIEW
Jun 07 2013 06:48 AM | Posted By Ivan Spasov
in Game Design
In this article we are going to go over a Game Design outline for a turn-based 2D RPG.
Tagged With: game design crafting 2d rpg turn-based turn based old school
Crafting a Platformer Game UNDER REVIEW
Jun 06 2013 11:09 AM | Posted By Ivan Spasov
in Game Design
In this article we will take a closer look on how to create the Game Design for a simple Platformer Game.
Tagged With: crafting platformer jump traps levels
GDC 2013: Interview with Richard Hofmeier UNDER REVIEW
Jun 06 2013 07:25 AM | Posted By design3
in Interviews
Design3 had the pleasure of interviewing Richard Hofmeier at GDC 2013 to discuss Cartlife and his experience as a developer
Tagged With: gdc igf interview video design3 indie
Why You Shouldn't Be Making an MMO
Jun 05 2013 07:45 PM | Posted By Mike Lewis
in GameDev.net Soapbox
Get some unsolicited advice from a guy working on a real-life MMORPG.
Tagged With: mmo game design project size
Pursuing a Career in Game Design UNDER REVIEW
Jun 05 2013 03:14 PM | Posted By Jared Letman
in Breaking Into the Industry
Get started choosing a top-notch school for a degree suited for game design
Tagged With: game design career
Practical Guide to Bezier Curves UNDER REVIEW
Jun 05 2013 07:33 AM | Posted By Tim Bright
in Math and Physics
There's a lot about the basics of Bezier curves around, but how about actually using them? This will show a few new things about Bezier curves, a few techniques in coding up curves, and serve as a primer for Bezier surfaces and B-splines.
Tagged With: math Bezier curves geometry
Smart Pointers Gotchas UNDER REVIEW
Jun 04 2013 02:57 PM | Posted By Bartłomiej Filipek
in General Programming
Answers for questions like - Why is auto_ptr deprecated? Why unique_ptr finally works good? How to use arrays with unique_ptr? Why create shared_ptr with make_shared? How to use arrays with shared_ptr? How to pass smart pointers to functions?
Tagged With: pointers smart pointers c++ c++11
Tools of a Game Designer: What I use and What is out There UNDER REVIEW
Jun 04 2013 11:21 AM | Posted By Slaton White
in Game Design
There are a variety of ways to go about designing a game. Luckily enough I’ve had enough projects to work on and enough freedom to try different ways to design them. Some ways have completely failed me and others have shown real promise. In this post I will discuss both the general design tools and methods that are out there as well as what works for me as a designer.
Tagged With: Iterative design mda flow dda player empathy