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Game Developer Magazine
Published since 1996.
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Let There be Clouds! Fast, Realistic Cloud-Rendering in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight
Abstract: This article describes how clouds (altocumulus, stratus, and cumulonimbus, and cloud coverages ranging from a few sparse clouds to a dense, overcast sky) were rendered in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. Each cloud was modeled as five to 400 alpha-blended textured sprites. The sprites face the camera during rendering and together comprise a three-dimensional volume. With the help of a custom plug-in for 3DS Max, artists were able to highly customize clouds. The article describes the plug-in and provides details on in-game rendering.
Building an Advanced Particle System
Abstract: Smoke, sparks, and blood are routinely created in today's games using particle systems. To realize these effects, you need to build a particle system, and not just a simple one. You need an advanced particle system, one that's fast, flexible, and extensible.
The Blobs Go Marching Two by Two
Abstract: The challenge of accurately modelling organic shapes and the they way they slop, splash, waddle and plop has caused many game artists to crumple under the pressure of recreating such phenomena. Jeff Lander shows how to use meta-goop to create and manipulate organic objects.
Using Bitmaps for Automatic Generation of Large-Scale Terrain Models
Abstract: As game worlds (especially online, persistent ones) get larger, game development teams need efficient ways of creating large expanses of terrain without having to build it manually. Kai Martin introduces a bit-map based technique that helps automatically generates terrain, while still giving artists and world builders control over the details.
Subdivision Surface Theory
Abstract: A relatively new, up-and-coming technique for implementing scalable geometry, subdivision surfaces have emerged as a compelling contender among scalability solutions. Brian Sharp explains different surface schemes and how they can be applied to real-time 3D development.
Implementing Subdivision Surface Theory
Abstract: Sharp expands his introduction to subdivision surfaces with techniques for implementing the modified butterfly scheme in real-time development, complete with a demo.
Read My Lips: Facial Animation Techniques
Abstract: Until recently most facial animation used in games has been limited to cut-scene movies, but now more and more games have begun to include facial animation in real-time 3D. In the first of a two part series, Jeff Lander examines the basic concepts of facial movement.
Flex Your Facial Animation Muscles
Abstract: Given a nice, short list of the 13 visemes needed to represent speech realisitically, how would you adapt them to a character mesh to enable continuous lip-synching? In the second of two part series, Jeff Lander continues his examination of facial animation techniques by investigating how to construct and manipulate meshes.
Advanced Collision Detection Techniques
Abstract: This article will take a top-down approach to collision detection by first looking at the whole picture and then quickly inspecting the core routines. I’ll discuss collision detection for two types of graphics engines: portal-based and BSP-based engines. Because the geometry in each engine is organized very differently from the other, the techniques for world-object collision detection are very different. The object-object collision detection, for the most part, will be the same for both types of engines, depending upon your current implementation. After we cover polygonal collision detection, we’ll examine how to extend what we’ve learned to curved objects.
Devil in the Blue Faceted Dress: Real Time Cloth Animation
Abstract: Cloth animation is tricky, and even in the world of high-end computer graphics, it’s difficult to get right. Jeff Lander wanted to create realistic cloth in his environments and on his characters, so with his hardware accelerated graphics rasterization freeing enough processor power necessary to make it possible, he set set about creating a real-time cloth simulation.
Crashing into the New Year: Collision Detection
Abstract: Collision detection is a huge issue and an active area of research in graphics simulation. Using techniques such as the dot product and cross product, Jeff Lander investigates some common problems that can be important to a variety of game applications.
When Two Hearts Collide: Axis-Aligned Bounding Boxes
Abstract: Most discussions of collision detection for real-time game applications begin with bounding spheres and bounding boxes. While fast, bounding spheres don't generally give the best approximation of an object's extent. Jeff Lander demonstrates the use of axis-aligned bounding boxes for 3D collision detection.
An In-Depth Look at Bicubic Bezier Surfaces
Abstract: In the November 1999 issue of Game Developer, Mark A. DeLoura discussed bicubic Bézier surfaces and their implementation for the Nintendo 64. Here he expands on the mathematics behind those ideas, analyzing three different tessellation algorithms and presenting the mathematical argument in favor of tessellation by central differencing.
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