ZenSRC

A good friend of mine recently pointed me to an excellent article over at Gamasutra : Book Excerpt: Game Engine Architecture. I liked the excerpt so much that I picked Game Engine Architecture up a few weeks ago. I’m slowly making my way through it, and will have a full review once completed.

Here are some initial thoughts:

• The book is well laid out, with a brief introduction on C++ programming for those that are unfamiliar.
• The book acts as a great jumping off point to further reading. Each topic covered has in-line references to much more in depth coverage of said topic.
• The book is a terrific high level overview of the common problems encountered in Game Engines (Soft real time systems).

One other quick note: even if you work mostly in hard real time systems, as I do, I think you’d be surprised at how useful it is to read about other programming domains. As computer scientists and programmers, we all run into the same sorts of underlying problems. Solutions that work in one domain can often be modified to apply to other domains.

Despite all of the controversy and at the great insistence of my best friend, I bought a copy of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2 (MW2) for the PC. Let me start by saying that the game is nigh onto being a masterpiece. Despite several shortcomings, of which I will enumerate several below, it is quite the gaming experience. Having missed out on the first Modern Warfare, I can’t really compare it to that cherished title.

Several other places on the web have listed all of the issues dealing with the PC version of MW2. Most of them center around the fact that the multiplayer experience is essentially gimped on the PC. The root of the problem is that most PC first person shooters created in the last decade have allowed users to set up dedicated servers. That model has been perfected because it works for a number of reasons, most important of which, is that it builds strong communities.

For a modern PC gamer, finding a good server where you like to play is a little like finding the mythic bar from Cheers. When you play on the same server for a long amount of time, you get to know the admins, you see and recognize other players, you may get involved in the local clan, and so on. In other words, you build a micro-community around that server. I can appreciate when a developer tries to innovate gaming experiences. In this particular case, within a couple of clicks, you can easily get into a MW2 multiplayer game. The problem is that those games might as well be against AI opponents. There is rarely any team communication, you can never guarantee your gaming experience because hosts are automatically chosen, and most importantly, you never play with the same people more than a few games in a row. Imagine for a moment an alternate history: in addition to the current implementation being available as a “Quick Game” feature, IW released full dedicated servers to users. Within weeks, there are thousands of servers in the world, many of which host local clans. At each one of those servers, micro-communities are created. The communities encourage organized competitive play, and suddenly, you have a market longevity that far outlives the Quick Game.

So, despite these glaring shortcomings, IW has poured a significant amount of love into this game. The single player experience feels like you’re the hero in an action movie. It’s short, but quite gratifying. Concerning multiplayer, there are a plethora of things to like:

• There are many, many types of game modes – all of which are interesting.
• Significant diversity in weapons and weapon modifications, which unlock as you gain levels and use the weapons.
• Games are fast paced, intense, and fun.
• It is easy to find and get into a multiplayer game.
• Graphics and sound are stunning.

Overall, the game is definitely worth buying. I truly hope that IW takes some of these criticisms to heart and releases dedicated servers; but the lack of which isn’t worth you missing out on this title.

I was a big fan of the first Left 4 Dead. It was sort of the perfect storm consisting of four player co-op, zombies, and addictive gameplay. Although there was a lot of controversy surrounding the announcement of the second game so soon after the first was released, I don’t subscribe to such silly notions. It’s quite ironic that the same gamers who complain that a game is taking forever to get released are upset when a perfectly good follow up is released sooner than expected, but I digress. The heart of the matter is this: Left 4 Dead 2 stands on its own two feet by surpassing the first in every meaningful way. More weapons, more zombies, more campaigns, more game modes, and more fun. Add to this the fact that you and three of your friends can get it as part of a valve 4-pack ($150 / 4 copies); there really isn’t any reason you shouldn’t pick up a copy.

Now, if you will kindly excuse me, I need to move. Everyone knows that if you stay in one spot too long, the zombies will find you.