Casual Engines 2009

The Year in Casual Tech A Teleological View (a.k.a. how to cover modern casual game technologies and offend everyone in 75 slides) David Fox VP Technology, iWin.com [email_address]

Why Lil’ Ol’ Me ?

iWin As Web Developer

Java Applets

Flash / Flex Social World (Hotel iWin)

Flash “Upsell” Games

iWin As Downloadable Developer

Two (!!) Homegrown Frameworks: SDL/DirectX

Flash

Multiplayer Games

iWin As Publisher

Popcap

Playground

BlitzBasic

Torque 3D

Orbital

PC/Mac/XBLA/Mobile/iPhone

Deciding What To Use? The Perfect Framework ® PC XBLA Web DS Mac Mobile iPhone Facebook Wii Time? Budget? Quality? Genres? Multiplayer? 2D? 3D? Talent Pool?

What is a Platform?

Hardware constraints.

Software constraints.

A person .

What is a Programming Language?

The code for communicating with the Platform and controlling its functions.

Religion …

What is a Server?

That which connects platforms.

That which you beseech.

That which grants prayers.

A god .

What is a Framework?

An abstraction of the Platform , via a Language .

A culture .

Framework As Culture?

Both Give Structure to Common Tasks:

What to/not to Eat…

Who to/not to Sleep With…

Relationship Dos and Don’ts

Worthy Vs. Wasteful Tasks

What Art Is and Ain’t

Relationship with the Divine

Load Resources

Deal with Mouse/Key Input

Draw Animated Sprites

Render 3D

Write Text With Fonts

Play Music and Sound FX

Communicate with a Server

What is a Middleware?

Sits atop Frameworks

Highly specialized system to achieve complex tasks.

(Especially in regards to the server or specific needs of the platform )

A cult .

Parade of Platforms

Web Browser

Interconnected

Simple

Limited by LCD

Social Networks

Links People Directly

In Context of Friends

Knows About You

Windows

Everyman

Mac

Hipman who thinks he’s specialman and will one day grow up to be everyman.

Nintendo DS

Short and sweet.

Must pass many tribulations to get there.

XBLA

Fast and connected.

Exclusive access.

(Other than XNA Community Games)

Sony Network

As if.

Wii

Oh so fun and cute.

Knows how to move .

Again, limited access.

Mobile

Everywhere you look.

Always in your pocket.

Pay heavy to get on it.

Seriously limited ability.

iPhone

Relatively easy access.

Always with you.

Knows where you are.

Likes being poked, pinched, and shaken.

Parade of Languages

Assembly

The Basics…

Registers

Loops

Decisions

Jumps

Org 0 mov dptr,#msg mov R0,#30h loop: clr a movc a,@a+dptr jz end mov @R0,a inc R0 inc dptr sjmp loop end: jmp $ msg: db 'Hello World",0

C

First major “high level” language

#include<stdio.h> main() { printf("Hello World"); }

C++

Object oriented C

Many seasoned programmers out there

Need to be a “serious” coder

Fast, flexible, robust

Best IDE: Visual Studio 2008

Many cheap/free frameworks

Won’t work in browser (except ActiveX)

#include <iostream.h> main() { cout << "Hello World!" << endl; return 0; }

Java

Highly portable (Any browser, PC, Mac, Linux, Mobile)

< 90% browser penetration

Version headaches

Desktop use requires large JRE download.

Poor 2D library

Java3D API

Can work w/ C++ using JNI

class HelloWorld { static public void main( String args[] ) { System.out.println( "Hello World!" ); } }

Vest Majority of “Hits” Today? Downloadable PC C++

C#

C++-like Language w/Java Features

Microsoft’s Visual Studio

Huge .NET Runtime Download (19MB)

Vista/XP Focus

C#: Install huge .NET Runtime Soon? Static .NET Linker/ using System; class HelloWorld { public static int Main(String[] args) { Console.WriteLine("Hello, World!"); return 0; } }

Objective C

Reflective

Object-oriented

Smalltalk-style messaging

Mac OS X or iPhone OS

#include <stdio.h> #include <objpak.h> int main(int argc,char **argv) { id set = [Set new]; argv++;while (--argc) [set add:[String str:*argv++]]; [set do:{ :each | printf("hello, %s! ",[each str]); }]; return 0; }

ActionScript MX

From JavaScript to “real” language

Flash / Flex

_root.createTextField("mytext",1,100,100,300,100); mytext.multiline = true; mytext.wordWrap = true; mytext.border = false; myformat = new TextFormat(); myformat.color = 0xff0000; myformat.bullet = false; myformat.underline = true; mytext.text = "Hello World!"; mytext.setTextFormat(myformat);

Other

PHP

VirTools

BASIC / DarkBASIC

Delphi

Python / PyGame

Parade of Frameworks

Home Grown DirectX

Versions 5.0 to 11.0

Features Vs. Penetration

Win98/Me = DX7.0

XP = DX8.0

My Advice? Stick to 7.0 or 8.0

Easy Port to XBLA

Well-Tested

Code Your Way

Home Grown SDL

Simple DirectMedia Layer

Free cross-platform multi-media development API

Graphics / Video Control

Input / Events

Audio / CD-ROM audio

Threads

Timers

Win32/Linux/BeOS/~MacOS

Flash CS4

Artist-Friendly

Great For Prototyping

Vector-Based

Movie clips and timelines (Visual OOP)

Flash CS4

$700

MP3 support, embedded markers, etc.

ActionScript (like JavaScript)

Flash 8 improved math/rendering speed

Window, Mac, Linux, Mobile Phones, PDAs

In Browsers, It’s The Bee’s Knees

Flash Programming Gotchas

“Real” Programmers Rare/Expensive

Horrible GUI for Coding

Painful Debugging

But Now…

Flash Tricks

Embed flash in C++ using f-in-box

Must write C++ wrapper for EXE

Fullscreen Support

Right click handling

Logs

Support for other graphic/audio formats

Writing to disk

Or… use AIR

Adobe Flex 3

Rich Internet applications

Based on Flash

ActionScript for interaction

HTML/MXML/CSS for layout

Adobe Flex Builder 3

$249

IDE built on Eclipse

Fast runtime

AIR

Cross-platform runtime environment

For Rich Internet Applications (RIAs)

Using Adobe Flash / Flex, HTML, or Ajax

Deploy as desktop application.

Mac, Windows, Linux

FREE

Director/Shockwave 11

$999

Lingo or JavaScript/ ECMAScript

Good for Downloadable (Windows/Mac)

OK for Web Games – Poor Penetration

Good 2D sprite manipulation

Strong audio support (streaming, panning, embedded markers,etc.)

Real time 3D (Shockwave3D)

Havok physics engine

Flash support

Can expand with C++ XTras

Director/Shockwave 11

Director/Shockwave

Silverlight 3

Web-focused

Runs atop Visual Studio 2008

XAML – UI markup language

AJAX, VB, C#, Python, Ruby

Cross-browser/platform (but Windows focused)

Poor penetration

Still unproven for games

Torque Game Builder 1.74

$250 to $1250

Hardware Accel SceneGraph Driven

Windows, Linux, or Mac OSX, XB 360, Wii, iPhone, or Web

Script in TorqueScript (TGE) C++-like

Torque Game Builder 1.74

Parallax Scrolling / Layers / Camera

Advanced Physics/Collision System

Tools Up the Wazoo

Tile Editor

LinkPoint Editor / Collision Polygon Editor

Particle Editor

GUI Editor

Level Editor

Genre Kits ($40-$100)

(isometric adventure, platform, strategy, side-scrolling shooter...)

Multiplayer with TorqueNet

Unity 2.5

Fully Integrated Graphical Editor

Play as you Develop

MacOS X or PC (new)

Fast 3D (DirectX and OpenGL)

Terrains, Shaders, Particle Systems

Unity 2.5

Pumps out games for Mac, Windows, Wii, iPhone

Or Unity Web Player

Supports major 3D file formats

Networking

Physics

JavaScript, C#, or Boo (Python dialect)

Indie $199

Pro $1,499

iPhone $1,499

Sexy Framework 1.3

Free!

(Just credit Popcap)

Used In: Bejewelled, Zuma, etc.

DirectX 5.0

Windows Only (98 to Vista)

FMOD and BASS sound engines.

Hardware Acceleration Option

Easy Image Manipulation

“ Widget” Metaphor

Memory Leak / Smart Pointers

Performance Profiling Routines

Sample Apps

Playground SDK 4.0

Free!

____ Dash (& Other PlayFirst Games)

Easy-to-use, Developer Friendly API

Hardware Acceleration / 3D / Flash

Particle System

Lua Script Support

Cross-Platform (Mac, Web)

Powerful Localization

Compact Runtime

Documentation / Community Support

XNA Game Studio 3.0

Express is Free

For students, hobbyists, indies.

Based on Visual C# Express 2005

Windows (XP SP2 only), Zune, and Xbox 360

XBLA Community Games = $99/year

$80

Basic/C Hybrid (Arrays, Pointers, OOP)

Windows/Mac/Linux

Modular Design

Own IDE/Debugger

OpenGL Support

Lots of Source Code

Also Blitz3D

Good for Beginners

BlitzMax

3D Frameworks

Ogre

Irrlicht

Blender

Panda3D

Unreal

JMonkey

VirTools

Etc.

Parade of Servers

Unity 2 MDK

Multiuser applications for Flash (via Uclient)

But clients can be Java, C++, any other socket-based platform…

Code in Java

Comes with SimpleChat, MultiRoom Chat, and Tic Tac Toe.

Database connection (mySQL support)

Up to 500-1500 concurrent connections per box.

Clients cannot communite across machines.

Simple administration tools (kick or ban).

$140 express

$739 pro

SmartFox 1.6.5

Multiuser applications for Flash (Flash 6 through 10)

Support for Java, .Net, Unity 3D, etc.

Comes with many examples

P owerful remote administration tool

High performing and scalable (1000s on a single CPU).

SmartFoxBits -- drag and drop UI components to create game logic without code

Built on Java, but can extend server code with Actionscript, JavaScript, Python, or Java

Clusterable

But must use db to share data across servers

Can use Terracotta to scale more efficiently

BlueBox: Deals with firewalls and proxies

RedBox: Integrates full audio/video streaming

200 € to 2000 €

Max users

Add-ons

ElectroServer 4

Multiuser applications for Flash (AS2 or AS3)

Scalable

Distributed workload

Claim 200,000 concurrent players

Players can interact with each other

Good for MMO

Streaming Audio/Video

Java

Can use ActionScript extensions

Rapid Message Aggregator™

Good for Flash idiosyncrasies

Optional Secure Messaging

Buddly List Support

Web-based Administration

$700 for Pro

$4,400 for Enterprise (Distributed, more Connections)

Flash Media Interactive Server 3.5

Multiuser applications for Flash (AS2 or AS3)

Audio/Video focus

Pause and seek

Hugely scalable

CDN support

Live video / webcam recording

Encrypted streaming

Simple interface for streaming audio/video, shared objects, and remote procedure calls

Most functions via XML files

Modified Actionscript 2

Starts at $4,500 per 100 users

Red5 v0.8

Open Source version of FMS

Not prime time yet

With SmartFox?

Project Darkstar 0.9.8

Massively scalable games server in Java

Client agnostic…

Open source!

Highly scalable

Zoneless and Shardless

All users can communicate real-time

Uses servers efficiently

Plus Fail-over

Transactional data storage system

Game state persistent

Deals with failures

Free (GPL)

Few proven projects…

Parade of Middleware

Somatone’s CADI

Interactive music

Beat Sync

Orchestral mixing

PC, MAC, iPhone

Gamebryo

Serious 3D Tools

Flexible geometry pipeline

Support for 3DS Max, Maya, SoftImage

Output to PC (DirectX 9 10), Xbox 360/XBLA, and PS3/PSN

Animation Tool

Shader System

Asset Viewer

Scene Designer

Specify, place and optimize lights and cameras

Terrain Editor

Terrain System

Dynamic LOD

Path-finding, audio variations, foliage types, and more

Large Animal TOGA

Messaging System

Cross Social Networks

Leaderboards

Asynchronous and Synchronous Play

Inventory and Achievements

Affinity Points & Viral Touchpoints

Freespin

Import 3D Models into Flash as MovieClip

Extensive and Dynamic

Friendly

$299

Other Open Source Flash 3D Solutions

Sandy

PPV

Away3D

Re-Enter The Matrix

“Hard” Features Matrix

Price (Upfront + License)

Runtime Performance

Min Sys Reqs

Size

Dev Support and Documentation

Vista Support

Unicode Support

Cross Platform (Mac, XBLA, iPhone, Mobile)

Localization Tools

Other Tools

“Medium” Features Matrix

3D Acceleration

Vector Support

Flash Support

3D Model Support

Scalable Fonts

Multiplayer

Scripting Languages

Particle Systems

Encryption or Obfuscation of Assets

“Soft” Features Matrix

Learning Curve

Known Bugs

Custom Coding Required

Different Game Genre Support

Proven?

This ain’t rocket science.

Polygons? Frames Per Second? Resolutions?

Polymorphic 3D surround sound?

Gesture based vibrating controller?

Publishers (usually) don’t care

Players won’t know (unless they can’t play)

For 2D puzzle game, easy switching cost

Know Your Game

Programmers ain’t bitching.

Artists don’t have to code.

Designers can find fun fast .

Biz team can maximize profits.

You Might Be a Good Framework If…

Survey Says…

2D Downloadable Game? Don’t roll your own!

Bugs are inevitable:

Proven || Strong_Support || Open_Source

Easy to get started.

No special knowledge.

Easy to expand and write tools.

My Recommendation

Take a Picture Now!

Casual Games SIG/Whitepaper/Technology

http://www.igda.org/wiki/Casual_Games_SIG/Whitepaper/Technology

Development Platforms for Casual Games

By Phil Steinmeyer

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20050324/steinmeyer_pfv.htm

What About Flash? Can We Really Make Games With It?

By Scott Bilas

http://www.drizzle.com/~scottb/gdc/flash-paper.htm

Casual Games Technology Survey

By James Smith

http://www.igda.org/casual/quarterly/2_1/index.php?id=8

Technology Face-Off Panel from 2007 Summit

http://www.casualgamessummit.com/presentations/presentations.html

G’luck!

Want the Matrix or Links?

http://davidfox.googlepages.com

http://www.casualgamessummit.com

2009 Casual Games Whitepaper

Casual Engines 2009

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