Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

Building Game Worlds
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U L T I M A T E G A M E D E S I G N
FIGURE 3-12
Use of emitters for fire effect
Many types of particle-oriented effects (like lightning, snow, rain, waterfalls, lava
streams, and disease clouds) can be built using particle systems. Getting the right
look for these effects involves tuning the behavior using fields and applying colors
and textures (or sprite maps) per particle.
It should be clear by now that there are many choices and methods of operation
for working with particles to create in-game particle effects. The current generation
Unreal engine, for example, has a powerful built-in system to generate effects using
particles and emitters. Effects generated this way can add visual interest to your environments,
help tell story points, and transfer lots of mood.
E FFECTS
Now that you understand a little of the process involved in creating particle-based effects,
let’s take a quick look at their application. As we’ve seen, particle system effects
are a great way to accomplish many visual details. However, they can easily burn up
system performance, so their use must be planned, refined, and often optimized.
Sometimes an effect can be accomplished by using a simple sprite effect instead. A
sprite is typically just a 2-D graphic asset that can be moved, scaled, or rotated. Some-