All Questions
56,256
questions
5
votes
1
answer
215
views
What roles are important when staffing up a mobile studio?
For a new studio that will be focusing on social, mobile platform games. What are roles do we need to fill and how many of each role would be ideal?
- 1,362
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
State of art shadowing technique for OpenGL on isometric terrain?
What's the most efficient way of creating shadows for object on a isometric terrain with OpenGL and JOGL? Note that this terrain is not flat and is not heightmap generated. Think it as another model. ...
- 634
15
votes
3
answers
7k
views
How do I handle moving platforms in a platform game?
I don't want to use box2d or anything, I just want simple moving platforms (up-down, left-right, diagonal and circular paths). My question is to handle the update order / control hierarchy so that the ...
- 221
5
votes
2
answers
5k
views
DirectX Overlay
I have been a code in full convertion mods for the source engine, but now im mostly coding C# applications. That provide utilties for games, during this proccess i have often wanted the ability to do ...
CommunityBot
- 1
9
votes
6
answers
2k
views
What type of document for game design? [closed]
What type of support/format do you use to store and diffuse your game design documentation?
Wiki? Doc files? Files in Repository? Shared folder? Google Doc?
Please provide pros and cons for each one.
- 1,635
5
votes
3
answers
447
views
What is the name of the balancing technique that reduces the incremental value of bonuses?
Some games, including Dungeon Crawl (example), use a balancing technique that attempts to prevent certain values (stats, damage, etc.) from being excessively high. The algorithm looks like this:
<...
- 5,689
4
votes
1
answer
271
views
Accurately record and play back game sessions in an MMO - timing issues?
In order to detect and reproduce bugs in an MMO, recording game sessions on the server can help.
How can such recording and replay of the data be implemented to be accurate, i.e. be 100% ...
- 979
21
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Data structures for interpolation and threading?
I've been dealing with some frame-rate jittering issues with my game lately, and it seems that the best solution would be the one suggested by Glenn Fiedler (Gaffer on Games) in the classic Fix Your ...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
5
answers
430
views
Do online colleges give you the same experience needed for programming or is it better to go on campus?
I don't know whether I should go online for my game programming degree or to be on campus. The closest college that offers game programming degree is in a different state 6 hours away. Any advice?
- 1,228
5
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Local to World coordinates in 2D and back
I'm getting back into hobby game programming after a long 4-year hiatus from college and I find that my understanding of coordinate systems is somewhat lacking.
I'm trying my skills at creating a ...
CommunityBot
- 1
5
votes
1
answer
501
views
How can Apple know how an iOS game is made?
As you all know, Apple recently change the terms for app developers using 3rd dev tools.
I'm wondering how could Apple know whether an app is made with a specific technology like Flash or Unity or ...
- 2,709
4
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Mixing sprite drawing with 3D primitive drawing in XNA?
In my game, I have a base Note class, and various subclasses of Note. In addition, I have a NoteCollection class which contains a collection of these Note objects and draws them to the screen. ...
- 812
2
votes
5
answers
920
views
Should I go to a University or Trade school to be a Game artist? [closed]
Im a senior this year and I'm seriously looking at colleges that can help me get into the game in the Game industry. I've been told countless times it's better if I go to a University(Usc, Becker ...
- 2,365
12
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Style/technique to focus on for creating visual art assets efficiently
I'm mostly a programmer, but I'd like to be able to do competent work on other parts of games I make when working on solo projects.
What I'm specifically asking here is what sort of techniques or ...
- 728
7
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Huge slowdown when running Lua as statically linked lib versus stand alone interpreter
I'm developing some algorithms in Lua which are run mostly in Lua (few calls to C++) and I'm noticing a huge slowdown when I'm running them from my app rather than the default Lua interpreter.
The ...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
4
answers
543
views
Interesting and simple missions for text-based game
Can you give me an idea for a simple and interesting mission for online text-based game that doesn't require much reading? Or maybe link to a website with a list with missions?
I love programming, ...
- 148
8
votes
3
answers
7k
views
How to smoothly let an object move along a curved line
I'm wondering how to move objects, with rotation taken into account, to follow a curved line
see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPpO24FeAX4 for an example
In particular I wonder:
how to store the ...
- 1,724
2
votes
2
answers
2k
views
2D Real-Time shadows on level on a level made from a Dynamic Bitmap
The Bitmap has transparency, and only non-transparent pixels are solid and used for hit detection for the physics engine and gameplay.
I have seen some versions done with convex hulls, but for ...
CommunityBot
- 1
5
votes
2
answers
277
views
How to "repeat" a sprite in the gameworld in a random fashion?
I have a platform flash game which includes a level with just two backgrounds which are flipped side by side so that a looping background effect is created. In this I have to include Obstacles. ...
- 7,081
4
votes
1
answer
504
views
Taking Physics into account for AI Planning
What I've seen in most Game Engines and game engine design is that the Physics Engine is the be all end all system.
Basically, AI for example may want to travel to some position, but it simply ...
- 24.3k
2
votes
2
answers
169
views
Are there any good tools or suites out there that help with building AI/Robots for browser based games?
I've found some HTML/Canvas/Javascript browser based games that I don't particularly enjoy playing, but which I think would be fun to write robots for. Are there any tools out there which help remove ...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
1
answer
170
views
When should design give way to marketing and vice versa?
When should a Designer draw the line in design decisions when marketing does step in?
Where should the bounds be set?
(For most part I know this is might mostly be situational. Gut feel like thing. ...
- 2,196
10
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Realistic slow-falling snow algorithm?
Is there a good algorithm that simulates falling snow? I'm particularly interested in snow that falls slowly, so it doesn't quite fall in a straight line but deviates a bit. Maybe even including ...
- 3,310
5
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Thread runs faster on a faster processor... how to control Thread speed
I have a thread that uses TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.sleep(5);
Problem is when I load my app on a faster phone say with a snapdragon, it runs at lightning speed.
Is there a way to control this speed so ...
- 7,081
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
3DS Max equivalent to vertex weight painting
I'm working in 3ds max on models for an Iphone game project and finding that using the Physique modifier is to general for rigging. When working with so few vertices I want to be able to directly tell ...
- 5,757
1
vote
3
answers
464
views
Game platform for .NET [closed]
I near completion of implementing mymultiplayer game (in WPF/.NET). I want to exploit the game commercially. To do so, I compiled a list of requirements:
.NET/WPF
Game server (multiplayer)
Data ...
- 1,635
1
vote
1
answer
6k
views
Turning layout items invisible in Android layout
I am trying to turn some items visibility off when submitting a high score.
I have the following code but it does not appear to work. Any suggestions?
mSignText = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.sign);...
- 3,626
5
votes
1
answer
665
views
Tile coordinates
Simple question I have here.
Say my tile map is based on 32x32 tiles for an 800x600 image so let's say 25 tiles across and 19 down.
So now I have that cell 0 of any row contains the first 0-31 ...
- 2,294
4
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Protobuf vs Lua for custom file format
I'm defining a custom/simple file format for loading textures in my game. I narrowed my choice of file formats to two options:
Lua
protobuf
I chose Lua, because my game is already using Lua, I ...
CommunityBot
- 1
7
votes
3
answers
409
views
What do you do when you are at an impasse in the design phase?
I own a small web dev shop, and in our down time, I plan on having my guys work on a game (I will be paying them anyway, right?). A few buddies and I started talking about this game, and have been ...
- 12k
5
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Where can I see example sell-sheets for a game?
So my long term one-man indie project is turning into a two-man indie project, and I feel I need to take a step back and at least have a "sell-sheet" as a basis for the game design.
Does anyone have ...
- 5,757
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Writing a custom model file format
I am using Ogre for my rendering engine, and I planned on just using the .mesh format that is setup by default with Ogre. However, I recently purchased a large number of 3d assets from a company, only ...
- 121
10
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Making a character move along a curved slope in a World with gravity
I have seen this game
Fancy Pants 2 . And the thing I noticed apart from the physics and beautiful animations is that the character is moving along slopes , even curved slopes. I have little ...
CommunityBot
- 1
5
votes
1
answer
632
views
Where can I find a opengl pixel shader example for smooth SpotLight?
I am using Ardor3D, and find the spotlight is quite bumpy. Anybody has a good pixel shader can smooth the edges of the spot light?
thanks,
- 683
1
vote
1
answer
714
views
Game Programming [closed]
Are there any major/fundamental concepts that one should know about game programming versus control driven programming?
Game Programming is event based? with a timer? An outer-infinite loop?
I come ...
- 14.8k
17
votes
2
answers
9k
views
How do I query available video memory using DirectX?
How do you query the amount of VRAM available when using DirectX?
CommunityBot
- 1
9
votes
1
answer
508
views
How can I copy or back-calculate definitions for an entire b2World?
I'm working on a platformer where I'd like to be able to move or copy bodies between multiple Box2D b2Worlds. The desire has cropped up three times now - moving objects between documents in my editor, ...
CommunityBot
- 1
10
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How do I make NPC pathfinding look believable?
Is there an "academic" way to have NPC walking randomly on a map, but having a believable comportment ?
The obvious scenario is a armed guard who is walking around a basement to secure it. It's quite ...
- 5,757
3
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Dump texture from memory to the original format?
How can you dump GPU memory (images and such that are loaded on it) to the standard format ?
- 1,635
7
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Programatically loading fonts, textures, and media in XNA
So far, in my rhythm game, I've been using XNA's Content Pipeline for loading static resources in my app (videos, sound effects, etc). However, down the road I'd want to allow users to create their ...
CommunityBot
- 1
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Motion blur is blurring static stuff
I made a motion blur using OpenGL immediate mode, basically it involves saving screen to texture, then rendering blended texture back (let's skip the details) with something like this:
...
- 2,939
4
votes
1
answer
4k
views
How can I get OnMouseEnter to trigger on a 3D Text in Unity3D?
I've just started to learn Unity3D.
I want to create a simple 3D menu with just two 3D Text instances.
I've created and named them, then dropped this script:
...
- 634
3
votes
1
answer
509
views
How to prepare a sprite for a game?
For example, I created my character drawing on Paint.NET using the Pencil tool and now it's a sprite like asset.
If I want him to move do I need to create many different poses for him and render them ...
- 916
12
votes
2
answers
525
views
Clear reference implementations of MLAA?
Does anyone know of a clearly written reference implementation of morphological antialiasing (MLAA)?
Intel provide a paper and reference implementation at the following address, but I find the code ...
- 101
19
votes
6
answers
1k
views
What are the biggest pitfalls to consider when developing a new game?
I actually just started tracing (thanks David Young for the nomenclature correction) a couple of new web-based games for Facebook a few weeks ago and I have just been inundated with mental blocks and ...
- 4,412
5
votes
2
answers
886
views
Tiles and a walkable path
My game a sidescrolling platformer. I've created my own Tile app which in the end export an xml file detailing what each 32x32 space (in the entire image) contains (environment, platform, etc.). I get ...
- 504
7
votes
1
answer
592
views
Need help choosing the right networking approach/platform for an RTS
I have been thinking for a while about making an online 2D RTS-like game. (2-6 players in a match, up to 50-60 units, no AI). The key thing here is that I want the game to be playable in a browser, so ...
- 426
6
votes
3
answers
4k
views
What are the big advantages of shaders ? What is doable with them, and what can't be done without them?
I don't really know when vertex and/or pixel shaders became available for consoles and computers, but what could we do without them ? I don't really understand what is achievable with shaders and what ...
- 22.6k
1
vote
1
answer
345
views
Ipad - actionsheet not showing all buttons in landscape mode when keyboard is present
I am developing an Ipad application. It supports both landscape and portrait mode. The app has keyboard.It also shows an action sheet with 4 buttons when required. In portrait mode it works perfectly. ...
- 916
14
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Managing a complex game storyline or quests system
What kind of methods are best used managing complex story lines in a game? A simple story is basically linear line with stops, so that would not be that difficult, but a more complex one is basically ...
- 1,300