Re: Gaming Engines

From: "MindShift Design" <teammsd@mindshiftdesign.com>

Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 00:00:00 +0000

"Shawn Kirkeby" <shawn.kirkeby@home.com> wrote in message
news:qarJ5.42175$76.775315@news1.rdc1.ab.home.com...
> A very interesting idea.
>
> Perhaps a scripting engine for the 'unique' aspects of a module
> supplementing the core engine that handles the commonality such as
movement
> etc.
>
> Just a thought.

Actually Shawn, that's the angle we're going for. Here's our thoughts.

The main game engine acts as a middleware layer. All the main core
programming functions are held in that - the communication protocols between
the client programs and the output mediums. All database handling and the
core functions are held inside the engine. Everything routes through it.

Each game world is encapsulated in it's own series of databases for asset
control - description, items, characters, locations etc. Just like Perl and
C there are core global modules that are used by each game world. But then
each game world has it's own custom procedures that use core functions and
global/custom procedures to perform functions.

Probably the best way to describe where we're heading with our thinking is
if you think of object-oriented Perl or as C++.  Modules are nominated at
the beginning and incorporated as scripts are processed. The scripts contain
procedures/functions that call each other as required - just like you can do
in Perl and VBscript for example.

The whole idea behind this is that the scripts are interpreted and processed
real-time. As a command for a player is processed, the script for that
command is built up from the various procedures in the scripts that are
allocated for that game or sub-game. This means that to make a change to a
procedure (like the procedure for picking someone's pocket) doesn't require
recompiling the game itself, but just changing the script. This also allows
for variant games to be run with differing effects. For instance Game A has
bladed  that do normal damage, but Game B has bladed weapons that do double
damage - all handled by the scripting. Or spells that operate differently in
different games. Even effects in a sci-fi game that operates differently
between tw games. Because all the information for the game world is held
outside the engine, and the engine is responsible for the low-level running
of the game through functions(adding, subtracting, reading/writing
databases, writing output) then it allows any game to be written around it.

We're still just theorising about it at the moment. But thoughts are
appreciated.

If nothing else, it fills the void in this NG where the flames normally
reside <g>.

--
Jason Paul McCartan - jasonm@mindshiftdesign.com
CEO/President
MindShift Design LLC
http://www.mindshiftdesign.com

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References

Gaming Engines
MindShift Design <teammsd@mindshiftdesign.com>
Tue, 24 Oct 2000 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Gaming Engines
"Shawn Kirkeby" <shawn.kirkeby@home.com>
Wed, 25 Oct 2000 02:01:58 +0000