Game Development
Defining Scope Creep Scope creep refers to the tendency for the scope of a project to grow beyond what was originally defined and agreed upon. It is a common phenomenon in game development, as new ideas emerge and stakeholders request additional features during the development process. Uncontrolled scope creep can severely impact budgets, schedules, and…
Developing games with a remote team introduces unique challenges for collaboration and coordination. Choosing the right set of platforms and tools is essential to enable team members to effectively work together on game projects, no matter where they are located. The game development workflow relies on constant communication, asset sharing, source code versioning, testing automation,…
The aspect ratio challenge As screen resolutions and aspect ratios proliferate across devices, supporting a diversity of aspect ratios poses increasing challenges for game developers. From widescreen desktop monitors to square mobile screens, catering to different playback geometries is crucial for providing quality experiences. This article explores common aspect ratios, techniques for handling multiple aspect…
Understanding Screen Size Differences There is a wide variety of popular mobile and desktop devices on the market with different display dimensions and resolutions. Smartphones range from compact 5-inch screens to larger phablet and tablet sizes approaching 10 inches diagonal. On desktop, monitor resolutions span from 720p HD to 4K UHD and beyond. Display shapes…
The Resolution Dilemma Game developers today face an increasing variety of screen resolutions and aspect ratios to account for during development. With mobile devices, tablets, laptops, and desktop PCs all running games with different display capabilities, designing games that adapt across all platforms poses challenges. Responsive design techniques that dynamically adapt layouts and assets are…
The Challenges of Large Asset Libraries As game projects grow in scope and complexity, the quantity and size of digital assets can quickly become unmanageable. A major challenge is simply organizing vast libraries of 3D models, textures, animations, audio files, and other binary resources needed to construct detailed virtual worlds. Teams may produce hundreds of…
The Acceleration Challenge In turn-based space strategy games, the acceleration of AI-controlled ships is crucial for allowing them to effectively maneuver around the game map. Higher accelerations allow ships to reach optimal positioning faster and evade threats through rapid course changes. However, continuously calculating accelerations in real-time for multiple AI ships poses significant computational challenges….
Defining Floating Point Numbers Floating point numbers are the workhorse of math operations in computer games. Game engines rely extensively on floats to track positions, calculate physics, handle lighting and more. But floats have limitations that can cause precision issues or scaling problems when pushed too far. How floats are stored in memory A float…
The size of a game world refers to the expansiveness and depth of the virtual environment that players can explore. As game worlds grow larger, with more detailed assets and complex gameplay systems, errors like crashes, bugs, and performance issues become increasingly likely. Defining boundaries for maximum world size during development is crucial to prevent…
Handling Scale in Game World Building Constructing expansive and detailed virtual environments is a monumental feat of engineering and artistry. Game developers utilize various techniques to construct immense worlds while optimizing for precision where it matters most. Leveraging procedural generation to construct environments Procedural generation algorithms construct environments algorithmically based on a random seed and…