Y1 gd engine_terminology (1)

Salford City College
Eccles Sixth Form Centre
BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN
Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games
IG2 Task 1
1
Produce a glossary of terms specific to the methods and principles of Video Game Design and Video Game Terms. Using a provided template, you must
research and gather definitions specific to provided glossary terms. Any definitions must be referenced with the URL link of the website you have obtained the
definition.
You must also, where possible, provide specific details of how researched definitions relate to your own production practice.
Name:
Rehana
Whiteley
RESEARCHED DEFINITION (provide short internet
researched definition and URL link)
DESCRIBE THE RELEVANCE OF THE
RESEARCHED TERM TO YOUR OWN
PRODUCTION PRACTICE?
IMAGE
SUPPORT
(Provide an image
and/or video link
of said term being
used in a game)
VIDEO
GAMES /
VIDEO
GAME
TESTING
Demo ‘Preview or trial version of a software which is freely
distributed, either without some of the
critical functions (such as the ability to save or print data)
or is programmed to work only for few (usually
30) days after the first run. Also called demoware.’
Link:
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/demo.html#i
xzz49UM1pK8V
A Demo is something which is short and shows
the potential off an oncoming game. For
example, With the 2D game which I created I
personally think that of that as a demonstration
simply because it is short and only the first
level. For instance, If i wanted to make several
levels of my 2D platform game or make a
franchise then the short, 2 minute, simple
Video game which I have created will do
perfect for a demo to the full game.
https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=
P9MeQHhSswY
Beta ‘A beta test refers to the distribution of pre-release game
software to a select group of people so that they can test
the game in their own homes. The beta version of a game
is as close to perfect as the company can make it, but
any bugs, glitches or other issues discovered in beta
testing will usually be addressed before the game's
official release.’
Link:
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27136/beta-test-
gaming
I personally see Beta as a ‘testing group’ –
they try and play the game and report any
issues to the game owner before the game is
realised. I Can relate to this practise because
with the 2D platform game, I let several of my
college colleges play on the game and tell me
which improvements I could do within the
game. https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=I
n_AH6cAUeo

IG2 Task 1
2
Alpha ‘A working alpha state game is the game itself with all the
basic core concepts in place (and most likely some still
being developed or drawn up) allowing players the base
freedoms that allow the game to resolve gameplay
issues, early exploits, small bugs, major bugs, early
balancing and many other issues that you won’t see in a
fully released game that does not state that it’s an alpha
or beta state game.’
Link:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/255500/discussions/0/63
0800445001699632/
Alpha is basically testing out the game way
before the beta stage. For instance when I was
creating the 3D level design I would ‘blue print’
the house and then Once I have put the walls
up, I would test it and check if it is stable to
have a house there. So for instance If i was in
a games company, I would at this stage invite
other ‘people’ to play in the game at this
section. Close up it won’t be finished but they
will jump and try and destroy the house to
make sure it is stable enough.
https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=
z8nkBEK6YKM
Pre-Alpha
‘Pre-Alpha is a standard term to denote a number of
interim milestones between prototyping and alpha, each
of which includes new functionality and/or game content.
Pre-alphas often mandate incremented improvements on
a number of parallel areas in a project, but rarely expect
any one of those areas to be complete. The exact content
of each pre-alpha is often an ongoing discussion between
producers on the team and those at the publisher.
Pre-alphas are usually followed by alpha, beta, release
candidate and gold master milestones.’
Link:
http://www.whatgamesare.com/pre-alpha.html
Pre- Alpha happens before the alpha stage.
For instance, Using a personal example which
I have used to explain the alpha stage. When
creating a house in the 3D level design I
created a blue print and had a idea of what the
house will be, then build I built on it which will
then be tested and then final stage will be
putting in assets and finishing the house. Pre
alpha is the very first stage. Before anything
happens I am creating the look and feel of the
house. I have an idea on what it is going to be
and where it is going to be then I will test and
see if it is successful in the alpha stage (which
will then lead to the beta stage.)
You can see in my 3D level production (Task
5) that as I get a long in the production, I create
several changes. This is because as I am
testing each stage of the game I know what
needs changing.
https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=
d9AA5YxXWlc

IG2 Task 1
3
Gold The current use of the term is to do with the supposedly
final, complete version of the game, which was written to
a CD-R and shipped to distributors to be duplicated. In
the early days of CD-ROM development, pretty much all
writable CDs were gold in colour (and CD writers were
ridiculously expensive).
https://www.quora.com/What-does-it-mean-when-a-
game-goes-gold
Gold is when the game is finished and then
transferred on to a disk. Although CD-ROM
games aren’t as popular as they used to be,
Now more modern games are installed or
shared online as desktop icons. There is no
need to keep a CD-R. For example, With My
2D platform game I exported the game to be a
desktop icon. A desktop icon is a lot more time
and cost efficient when sharing a completed
game than using a CD-R.
Debug A debug menu or debug mode is a user
interface implemented in a computer program that allows
the user to view and/or manipulate the program's internal
state for the purpose of debugging. Debug menus are
used during software development for easy testing and
are usually made inaccessible or otherwise hidden from
the end user.
Link:
http://www.key103.co.uk/mpow/featured/job-listing/
I used the debug Whilst doing 2D game
engine. I did this by using the debug layout
which then opens up the game as if you are
playing it although it also has a debugging
menu which shows a lot of information and
important controls. I do this when I tell the
sprites to get destroyed outside the layout,
Going on the debug menu tells you if the sprite
is still there or if it does actually get destroyed
outside of layouts. Doing this helps avoid
lagging or bugs while playing the game.
Automation ‘The use or introduction of automatic equipment in a
manufacturing or other process or facility.’
Link:
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/automation
I never used Automation within my practise
using 2D and 3D games engines. Although I
know if Android was doing a Automation test it
will be much different than a IOS automation
test because there is different application
developments for each automation.
https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=
WFBfRk-GLRo

IG2 Task 1
4
White-Box
Testing
‘Also known as glass box, structural, clear box and open
box testing. A software testing technique whereby explicit
knowledge of the internal workings of the item being
tested are used to select the test data. Unlike black box
testing, white box testing uses specific knowledge of
programming code to examine outputs. The test is
accurate only if the tester knows what the program is
supposed to do. He or she can then see if the program
diverges from its intended goal. White box testing does
not account for errors caused by omission, and all visible
code must also be readable.’
Link:
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/White_Box_Testing.
html
I have never used white-Box testing within my
practise using 2D and 3D Game engines, This
is because White-Box testing is a lot more
complex by using a pseudo code. Although A
advantage of using a White-box is having more
through testing which means it has more of a
possibility covering most of the paths. However
White-Box testing isn’t necessary in this
practice.
Bug ‘A software bug (or just “bug”) is an error, flaw, mistake,
failure, fault or “undocumented feature” in a computer
program that prevents it from behaving as intended (e.g.,
producing an incorrect result). Most bugs arise from
mistakes and errors made by people in either a program's
source code or its design, and a few are caused by
compilers producing incorrect code. A program that
contains a large number of bugs, and/or bugs that
seriously interfere with its functionality, is said to be
buggy. Reports detailing bugs in a program are
commonly known as bug reports, fault reports, problem
reports, trouble reports, change requests, and so forth.’
Link:
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080622
111127AAsXob5
Bugs usually happen when the programmer or
the design makes a mistake which causes a
flaw. A example of a bug In my 2D game is
when I accidently gave a sprite a wrong
behaviour which I then coded wrong within the
event system. This created a small bug due to
making a mistake in the coding although I
realised and changed before proceeding with
the game. Bugs In the 3d level might be when
meshes/textures are overlapping each other.
While playing the game it will cause texture
over lapping and it is easy to see that there is a
fault.

IG2 Task 1
5
GAME
ENGINES
GAME
ENGINES
Vertex
Shader
‘The job of the shader is to use math to take the vertex
positions of triangle, the position of the light, the material
color values, and figure out what colours the triangle
should appear. A vertex shader does this "shading
computation" once at each vertex and interpolates the
color across the triangle.’
Link:
http://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/45842/diffe
rence-between-material-and-shader
In the 3D Game engine I used a texture and a
normal map to shade in my assets although
You are able to use a vertex shader in unity.
Instead of just texturing the object like A
material does. A Vertex shader changes the X
and Y direction of the shape.
Pixel
Shader
‘Pixel shaders, also known as fragment shaders,
compute color and other attributes of each "fragment" - a
technical term usually meaning a single pixel. The
simplest kinds of pixel shaders output one screen pixel as
a color value; more complex shaders with multiple
inputs/outputs are also possible. Pixel shaders range
from always outputting the same color, to applying a
lighting value, to doing bump
mapping, shadows, specular highlights, translucency and
other phenomena.’
Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shader#Pixel_shaders
I never personally used a pixel shader in
practising on 2D and 3D game engines
because It was never necessary for me to do.
I personally think of a pixel shader of a bunch
of codes which gives the shading texture for
instance the texture could include more slime
or noise.
Post
Processing
‘Unreal Engine provides Post Process Effects to allow
artists and designers to tweak the overall look and feel of
the scene. Examples of elements and effects include
bloom (HDR blooming effect on bright objects), ambient
occlusion, and tone mapping.’
Link:
https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Renderi
ng/PostProcessEffects/
Post Processing basically allows the artist to
change the overall look easier and more
effective for instance In my 2D platform game I
could of used Post processing In my practice to
give the art a different look for instance I could
use the post process ‘fill’ which adjusts the
colour off the object.

IG2 Task 1
6
Rendering ‘Rendering is the process of generating an image from
a 2D or 3D model (or models in what collectively could be
called a scene file) by means of computer programs.
Also, the results of such a model can be called
a rendering. A scene file contains objects in a strictly
defined language or data structure; it would contain
geometry, viewpoint, texture,lighting,
and shading information as a description of the virtual
scene.’
Links-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendering_(computer_graphi
cs)
‘I have used Rendering to create my 3D assets
for the 3D game level. I did this by planning
and sketching the assets for instance belt,
sword, pistol and playing cards. Once I have
generated 2D sketches of the assets from the
front, side and back way off the asset. Once I
was happy with the sketches I used blender to
model it into 3D, Creating a 3D image off my
asset. When finished I 3D asset I rendered and
export it.
Normal Map ‘A normal map is an image that stores a direction at each
pixel. These directions are called normal’s.
The red, green, and blue channels of the image are used
to control the direction of each pixel's normal.
A normal map is commonly used to fake high-resolution
details on a low-resolution model. Each pixel of the map
stores the surface slope of the original high-res mesh at
that point. This creates the illusion of more surface detail
or better curvature. However, the silhouette of the model
doesn't change.’
Links:
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Normal_map
A normal Map Is what I used to give textures
more of a look and a feel. For instance I used a
normal map when I wanted to give the building
more of a rough, brick texture. Using this gives
the level simply more dimension and more of a
interesting, realistic effect.
The main reason I used a normal map is
because I wanted the level to be more realistic
for example in real life if you walk close to a
house wall you can see how rough the texture
of the rock is and how deep the gap in-
between each brick is. Using a normal map
helps me achieve this look in a virtual 3D
house.
Entity ‘Entity-component-system (ECS) is
an architectural pattern that is mostly used in game
development. An ECS follows the Composition over
inheritance principle that allows greater flexibility in
defining entities where every object in a game's scene is
an entity (e.g. enemies, bullets, vehicles, etc.). Every
Entity consists of one or more components which add
additional behavior or functionality. Therefore the
behavior of an entity can be changed at runtime by
In the 2D platform game I created
objects/sprites such as enemies and bullets
which involve using entity. For instance each
object in the game have a behaviour to help
them function the player for instance bullet
behaviour which Makes it have a function like a
bullet.

IG2 Task 1
7
adding or removing components. This eliminates the
ambiguity problems of deep and wide inheritance
hierarchies that are difficult to understand, maintain and
extend. Common ECS approaches are highly compatible
and often combined with Data-oriented
design techniques.’
Link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity_component_system
UV Map ‘This process projects a texture map onto a 3D object.
The letters "U" and "V" denote the axes of the 2D
texture[note 1] because "X", "Y" and "Z" are already used to
denote the axes of the 3D object in model space.’
Link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UV_mapping
I personally think UV mapping is when scripting
and codes is involved to texture a object such
as a cube instead of using a material. I never
used this in my practice because it was to
complicated and wasn’t really necessary. UV
mapping is usually needed when there is
several cubes with several textures such as the
game mine craft. UV Mapping makes it easier.
Procedural
Texture
In computing, procedural generation is a method of
creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually. In
computer graphics it is commonly used for creating
textures. In video games it is used for creating large
amounts of content in a game. Advantages of procedural
generation include smaller file sizes, larger amounts of
content, and randomness for less predictable gameplay.
Llink:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedural_generation
Procedural Texture is exactly the same as a
regular material, the ones I used In the 3D
engine. Although the only massive difference is
that procedural textures can be generated
while being in play mode instead off material
which you have to create and store first. Using
Procedural Texture would only be necessary in
my practise if I have a large amount of content
in my game.
Physics ‘The physics engine is responsible for emulating the laws
of physics realistically within the application.’
Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_engine#Physics_engi
ne
Physics is a behaviour which I could of used
for my 2D sprites. This behaviour basically
gives sprites real-world physics such as
adjusting the gravity of your sprites.
Collision ‘Objects in games interact with the player, the
environment, and each other. Typically, most 3D objects
in games are represented by two separate meshes or
shapes. One of these meshes is the highly complex and
I personally think collision as a mask of the
object, While using the 2D game engine to
create the platform game I came across
collisions. When I inserted sprites or objects, I

IG2 Task 1
8
detailed shape visible to the player in the game, such as
a vase with elegant curved and looping handles.’
Links-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics_engine#Collision_de
tection
had to adjust their collisions. A collision is a
‘mask’ on the object which acts as a ‘solid’ For
instance while doing a bullet the collision will
automatically be a square although the bullets
aren’t in a shape of a square. So by adjusting
the collisions I shaped it so it is the same
shape as the bullet and not a shape. Doing this
means the player would only be hurt when hit
by the bullet shape and not a ‘box’.
Lighting ‘Lighting refers to any technique for lighting an image or
scene that calculates illumination for each pixel on a
rendered image. This is in contrast to other popular
methods of lighting such as vertex lighting, which
calculates illumination at each vertex of a 3D model and
then interpolates the resulting values over the model's
faces to calculate the final per-pixel color values.’
Link-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per-pixel_lighting
While doing my 3D level I used a natural
source light Aka the sun to adjust the lightening
in the game. The sun casts shadows just like a
realistic sun would do in real life. Although In
the game I also used a texture to give the sky
more of a realistic look and feel which just by
using the sun as lighting wouldn’t do. I also
used a spot light with a torch object to put on
the walls within the houses and castles. Just to
make the houses a bit more bright and
detailed.
AA – Anti-
Aliasing
‘So, what is Aliasing ? It's the "jaggies" or the
"stairstepping" on (unsmooth) edges/contrasts in
computer graphics. In more scientific terms from the
Information Theory, Aliasings are artifacts caused by
samplingrates that are less than twice as high as the
frequency’
Link:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/1rb964/antiali
asing_modes_explained/
I could have used Anti-Aliasing in this practise
while making my 2D sprites although I don’t
think it was necessary enough to make the
player more ‘smooth’ and ‘straight’. However
on other course work I have used anti-aliasing
so when someone zooms into my image it is
smooth and there is no rough Lines.
LoD – Level
of Detail
‘Level of detail means you reduse the amount of details
when increasing the distance to the camera.’
Link:
http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?193081-
LOD-system-on-game-engine
Level of detail is basically when the camera is
further away from the object and the detail is
massively reduced although when rendered it
still calculates all the faces/triangles which the
object has- Even when most of the faces and
triangles isn’t even noticeable. Level of detail
basically adjusts the triangles so it is equal to

IG2 Task 1
9
the detail of the object making it much more
effective when rendering. I never used level of
detail within my project because most of my
assets for instance don’t need adjusting.
Animation ‘A simulation of movement created by displaying a series
of pictures, or frames. Cartoons on television is one
example of animation.’
Links-
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/animation.html
I used animation on several of my sprites while
doing the 2D platform game. I did this by using
Photoshop and using several frames, each
frame having a slight change. For instance on
my player sprite the animation is flashing lights
and moving right and left. I did this by using
several frames with a slight movement in each
frame, when put together it acts as a smooth
animation of a flashing moving player.
Sprite ‘A sprite is a two-dimensional bitmap that is integrated
into a larger scene.’
Links-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(computer_graphics)
I used several sprites in my practise while
creating the 2D platform game. For instance
the player, enemies and so on are created by
using a sprite.
Scene ‘A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game
cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video
game that is not interactive, breaking up the gameplay.
Such scenes could be used to show conversations
between characters, bring exposition to the player, set
the mood, reward the player, introduce new gameplay
elements, show the effects of a player's actions, create
emotional connections, improve pacing or foreshadow
future events.’
Links-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutscene
A scene is something which happens in a
game, this could a be a cut scene which shows
a bit of the game and the player is un able to
move or a triggered scene is when a player
goes somewhere and a character in the game
moves or talks. For example, A small example
of a triggered event scene could be when the
player moves closer to the boss, the boss is
then triggered to move in by itself. Although in
Another practice. We created a cut scene by
creating a small story with a back story and
creating a small setting which then I created a
cut scene by recording and using voice
recordings to give a cut scene effect.

IG2 Task 1
10
Library ‘Now let me explain the answers. A game engine is made
up of class libraries. They do not stop being class
libraries simply because they are within a game engine. A
library is a useful framework to tackle a specific need
within a game engine. A framework that entails the needs
for a complete game is a game engine.’
Links-
http://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/10770/wha
ts-the-difference-between-a-library-and-an-engine
I personally think a library is something which
involves having a collection of codes to help
you play audio or put different graphics on the
screen. Although I haven’t exactly used a
professional library. I some-what have done
whilst using the 2D platform engine for
instance whilst putting in audio and doing
coding I have paid attention to the library to
complete the game.
UI ‘The user interface is one of the most important parts of
any program because it determines how easily you can
make the program do what you want. A powerful program
with a poorly designed user interface has little value.
Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that use windows, icons,
and pop-up menus have become standard on personal
computers.’
Link:
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/U/user_interface.html
The user interface is basically what information
is on the screen. For instance You could say
that on the 2D platform game which I created
the UI will be the player screen which shows th
player, health and so on. This helps show the
player information as well as help with the
narrative of the game.
https://www.youtu
be.com/watch?v=
P9MeQHhSswY
Frames ‘Frame rate is linked to monitor refresh rates, Bithell
explains, which traditionally are 30Hz and 60Hz.’
‘The biggest concern is when a game starts dropping
frames. When the eye has been trained to see something
in a specific way, be it 30 FPS or 60 FPS, the occasional
dip in frame rate stands out much more. One of the
reasons developers lock a game at 30 FPS is due to such
dips - it's better to have a solid game running at 30 FPS
than one that can run at 60 FPS but doesn't always.’
Link:
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/11/05/understanding-
frame-rate-and-its-importance
Frame rate is basically frames per second.
This basically shows the speed of the game
and its performance for instance it could be 30
Fps or 40, 50, 60 and so on. But just because
the performance on a pc is good doesn’t mean
that it will be on a mobile or tablet device so it
is important to check the frames per second. I
personally cannot remember what fps my 2D
game was but I know I put all my assets and so
on to match the frames per second for instance
doing this stops the sprites being too fast or to
slow for the game.

IG2 Task 1
11
Concept ‘A concept is a generalization or abstraction from
experience or the result of a transformation of existing
ideas.’
Links-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept
I used concept art in both the 2D game engine
and the 3D game engine. Simply because
using concept art – No matter how simple it
may be. It makes creating the level, sprite,
objects a lot simpler. For instance before
creating the sprites I created a quick sketch off
the sprites even though it is a quick sketch and
I didn’t intentionally use it, It helped me
generate ideas and have a feel/look on what
the sprite would look like.
Event ‘In computing, an event is an action or occurrence
recognised by software that may be handled by the
software. Computer events can be generated or triggered
by the system, by the user or in other ways. Typically,
events are handled synchronously with the program flow,
that is, the software may have one or more dedicated
places where events are handled, frequently an event
loop. A source of events includes the user, who may
interact with the software by way of, for example,
keystrokes on the keyboard. Another source is a
hardware device such as a timer. Software can also
trigger its own set of events into the event loop, e.g. to
communicate the completion of a task. Software that
changes its behavior in response to events is said to
be event-driven, often with the goal of being interactive.’
Links-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Event_(computing)
In the 2D game engine (Task 4) You can tell
that I have used the event sheet several times.
In the event sheet You are able to set events
and conditions. These events basically tell the
game engine what to do. For instance a even
might be to tell the system to create an object
on a certain layout. Then the condition will be
what object and what it should do.
Pathfinding Path finding or pathing is the plotting, by a computer
application, of the shortest route between two points. It is
a more practical variant on solving mazes. This field of
research is based heavily on Dijkstra's algorithm for
finding a shortest path on a weighted graph.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathfinding
Just like physics, Path finding is a behaviour In
the 2D game engine. Path finding basically
gives the sprite a line of sight instead of the
sprite wondering around it basically tells them
to go from A to B. I could of used this in my
practice but i didn’t think it was necessary to
do so because The sprites such as the
enemies don’t have a exact location to go to
and knew to aim for the player.

IG2 Task 1
12

Y1 gd engine_terminology (1)

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