Week 17 – Games Technology – Games Engines

There are many different types of engines, some created for specific tasks. For example the widely used Havok engine, used to simulate realistic physics and 'Speedtree', which was used to generate the realistic trees and vegetation in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. These types of engines are know as middleware and are usually deigned be used in conjunction with other engines.

Companies tend to create their own engines or add to them to make them more powerful. In some cases other companies will use existing or other companies games engines for time and money saving purposes.

In an additive environment, the beginning consists of emptiness usually called the void. The void is endless and empty. When the designer creates something, for example a room, he creates a space within the void by sealing it off - the easiest way to do this is to simply create a hollow cube. Something like a vast landscape with a beautiful sky is created by first designing the terrain, buildings, trees et cetera, and then surrounding it all with a skybox, a large hollow box, the insides of which show the sky. This box is necessary to keep the void out, since the world and the void must always be kept separate. A hole in the world is called a leak, since the void is leaking in.

As is probably obvious, a subtractive environment is the opposite of an additive environment. In a subtractive environment, there is no void. Before there is a world, there is only an infinite solid. To create a world, designers must subtract bits from this infinite solid, creating hollow spaces for the user (player) to exist in. This eliminates the possibility of leaks, but many designers still favour the additive environment because it is easier to manipulate. In fact, a known way of working around the subtractive style editing is by first subtracting a huge cube, creating a void (of sorts) in the middle of the infinite solid - and then working additively in the middle of this (fake) void, expanding it as necessary.

The advantages are in buying new games engines, getting to terms with the new technology, and knowing what is next in the evolution of gaming, gameplay and visuals.