ABSTRACT
U p until now, everything we’ve talked about in this book has focused ontechnology. We’ve learned that a game engine is a complex, layered software system built on top of the hardware, drivers and operating system of the target machine. We’ve seen how low-level engine systems provide services that are required by the rest of the engine; how human interface devices such as joypads, keyboards, mice and other devices can allow a human player to provide inputs to the engine; how the rendering engine produces 3D images on-screen; how the animation system allows characters and objects to move naturally; how the collision system detects and resolves interpenetrations between shapes; how the physics simulation causes objects tomove in physically realistic ways; how the 3D audio engine renders a believable and immersive soundscape for our game world. But despite the wide range of powerful features provided by these components, if we were to put them all together, we stillwouldn’t have a game!
