Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

� What is the trigger radius? (How far from the trigger will the player be when
the trigger begins to spawn these creatures?)
� What fields affect the spawns? (Are they repelled or attracted by the trigger?
Do they dissipate away from the trigger randomly using a noise pattern? Do
they disperse quickly as if searching for something and then return?)
� What is the spawn’s motion path on birth? (Insects might fly, dart, and hover;
birds could fly and flock together; fish might school together and cruise—
here’s where we might use a command line to point the spawn to a behavior
path or curve that will define their behavior over time. Usually, at its heart,
the motion path is a linear or trigonometric mathematical function.)
ENGINE SOLUTIONS AND
THE UNREAL ENGINE
C H A P T E R 6
The Unreal game engine (www.epicgames.com) is a standout technology solution of
choice for many game developers who build their own content based on Unreal technology.
Choosing this development path has both advantages and disadvantages for
developers. If a game developer uses a robust solution like the Unreal engine, which is
constantly being enhanced and improved, the game developer can limit the amount of
time and expense they would otherwise incur to develop their own game engine. This
allows developers to take on game projects that might otherwise be impossible to complete,
due to resource issues, if they had to create an original game engine from scratch.
Using a licensed engine, like Unreal, works best when the game project you wish to
pursue is compatible content-wise with what the Unreal engine is designed to create. If
you’re building a first-person arena shooter, Unreal is a natural choice and a natural fit.
If, on the other hand, you’re building a combat racing game or a sports combat game,
using the Unreal engine isn’t such an easy choice. Game engines, by definition, are engineered
to handle problems specific to certain genres. This is why having a complete and
robust game engine brings obvious value to a developer. Which is a good reason, resources
permitting, to build your own original engine. Tricky situation, eh?
Developers in it for the long haul want the value and flexibility that comes with creating
their own game engine for their own game projects. Once they have taken the
game engine through to completion on a title, and it has become stable and reliable, engine
enhancements can be made to keep it current, and new titles can be built around it.
In terms of industry conformity, however, game engines are unique entities. As
you move around from developer to developer, in essence, from engine to engine, you
will find sizeable variations in the power, performance, support tools, and robustness
among the game engines you encounter.
This environment helps make using a solid game engine to begin with a solid choice.
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Scripting Action Events