Throughout my four years in college I read over 150 books on the topics of game development, computer graphics, software, hardware, math, physics, audio, and anything else related to building a game. At one point I was reading about three books a week, and chewing through pretty much all of my budget.
After a short while I started to notice that most of the books I had read all contained great amounts of redundant information. I further noticed that none of these books covered the topic of 3D engine design. Many books may claim to teach the design of an engine, but in reality they simply provide a list of features and techniques used by most 3D engines.
Publishers soon took note of my rampant book purchases and quickly hired me on for a variety of reviewing positions. This certainly fueled my appetite for knowledge, but eventually I developed the desire to write a book of my own.
What I have set out to do with this book is explain, using as simple terms as possible, how to design a 3D engine. My goal is not to teach the basics of programming, math, or graphics. This book is for advanced readers, who are comfortable with C/C++ and linear math, but are struggling with a clear view of how everything fits together to form a living, breathing, game engine.
Unfortunately I have been asked to remove the chapters from my site. The book is under review by a publisher, and should they choose to publish it, they would prefer I not give it away for free :)
| Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Engine Fundamentals
Chapter 3: The HW/System Interface
Chapter 4: The OS Handler
Chapter 5: The Audio Subsystems
Chapter 6: The Video Subsystems
Chapter 7: Engine Input Path
Chapter 8: Network Support
Chapter 9: Memory Management
Chapter 10: The Virtual File System
Chapter 11: The Virtual CPU
Chapter 12: Process and Thread Manager
Chapter 13: System Scheduler
Chapter 14: System Debugging
Chapter 15: The Security Model
Chapter 16: The System/Core Interface
Chapter 17: The Core Spine Design
Chapter 18: The Math Library
Chapter 19: The Physics Library
Chapter 20: Communication System
| Chapter 21: Resource Management
Chapter 22: The Video Renderer
Chapter 23: The Audio Renderer
Chapter 24: Material Management
Chapter 25: The UI System
Chapter 26: Animation
Chapter 27: Scripting Systems
Chapter 28: Event Systems
Chapter 29: Multiplayer Support
Chapter 30: The Core/Game Interface
Chapter 31: Client Server Architecture
Chapter 32: Artificial Intelligence
Chapter 33: Dynamic Gameplay
Chapter 34: Conclusion
Appendix A: Tool Development
Appendix B: Useful Libraries and Tools
Appendix C: Console Considerations
Appendix D: Recommended Reading
Appendix E: Case Studies
Appendix F: References |
After reading this book you should have a solid concept of what a game engine is, and how to build one. This book places particular emphasis on next generation design considerations as a result of multi-proc systems, dedicated physics chips, and recent advances in graphics chip technology. Specifically, the chapters on Scheduling, Thread Management, System Debugging, and the Events System address the implications of efficiently executing game and engine code in a multi-threaded environment.
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