So basically game engines are needed to test out 3D assets made in programs such as 3DS Max and Maya etc. UDK is the main one we’re using currently; some of the disadvantages to using this program can be that you may not have the right hardware to use it on. For example Unreal has a minimum requirement of Windows XP and DirectX 9.0c and graphics card of 3.0 as a shader model, if you don’t at least have this, then you immediately have problems. Another disadvantage can be that you may not have a 3D program such as Max or Maya that supports the engine and you may not know that the engine cannot read .max files in which you maybe come stuck figuring out how to get them into your game level and make them work.
Another thing is that you may be looking to create a game level, you may have a basic knowledge of making models however when it comes to texturing them things may become too complex and you’ll need to figure out advanced techniques such as unwrapping assets and making an applying light maps to them to game them work in your level. So as you can see you need to quite skilled in handling a game engine because you’ll need to be skilled in handling not just one program but up to about 3 or more to get everything right, if you include Photoshop and Crazy Bump for making normal and specular maps, plus the price of these programs doesn’t come cheap!
Some more disadvantages would be installing drivers if need be and an internet connection to download the latest ones to also some engines run slightly different on 64bit PC’s. Some may require animations as well as coding skills to make things how you want to properly, However going onto advantages, bearing in mind you have all these programs and you’re set to make a game level you’ll find that the possibilities are almost limitless to what you can design. Gaming is a creative thing thus why it comes under IT/Art, so combining the two allows you create Art digitally and then the engine allows you to test your assets out and animate them if need be. Another advantage is that because basically the engine is used to test out 3D models you can keep testing all along the way to finished product, so basically you can test for bugs in the game that need to be fixed, by making prototypes you can determine almost instantly weather your ideas work or not, so you can scrap altogether or edit them so they work correctly.
It’s like what we’re doing right now, we’re looking at ideas, making them, testing them, either get rid of them because they don’t work or tweaking them or changing them altogether into something else. You’ll notice as you go along a lot of things can and mostly will be changed due to the fact you’re testing them, so to sum up, they are a major help to game development, in fact they are mandatory.
Another thing is that they help you understand platforms, when building a game, a game engine such as unreal can help you work out what you need to put together in a documentation of a game itself or just a level, but also when building any game you have to establish what platform it is for. For example Xbox, Wii, PS3 exclusively or is it going to be an all format title, and obviously the settings to run the level on these different platforms is going to alter between each one as the hardware of them is different. So it helps you understand the relationships between different hardware the consoles use and the software they require for them to play the games they are designed to run.
Engine can help in the way that you can play the level itself you’re developing. Unreal 3 supports ISO games on:
- iPhone 4
- iPhone 4s
- iPhone 3GS
- iPad
- iPad2
- iPod touch 4th generation
- iPod touch 3rd generation (except for 8 GB 3rd generation devices.)
Now as you can see Unreal is good for handheld portable devices as it supports them. So a target audience you would be aiming I believe is the gamer on the go. In which I mean these devices are as I’ve just explained handhelds in which you can take them anywhere with you, they all have touch screens to so you’d be looking at developing a game in this case uses the screen itself as a controller, so immediately establishing what platform your going for kicks off the generation of ideas of how it’s going to be played and what audience are you going for.
Typically games for iPhones sell for cheap on the app store and since apps are cheap you don’t want something too expensive and along I don’t think you’d want to game the game too complex or long as handhelds are more limited than consoles themselves. So in this case you can determine what kinds of gameplay elements will be involved, obviously having a touch screen, you want to have touch screen gameplay and mini games to play throughout.
The graphics are limited on handhelds typically, so again you start to know the direction which you’re taking in terms of Art assets you’re producing on the game engines and knowing what the iPhone’s capabilities are and what it can do, if a iPhone can’t handle something that’s maybe too advanced for its technology, you obviously can’t put it in the game.
Last thing is the audience, I say gamers on the go because, and typically an iPhone or an iPad is used by business people (I would say) since it is capable of handling many things through different apps, it’s used as a smart phone for many different things, in which you want to be creating something that’s short, simple to play, possibly easy all round, cheap enough to buy an download fast, because that’s what games are like on that format.
Links:
No comments:
Post a Comment