1. What’s Up With That? David Fox VP Technology, iWin dfox@iwin.com

2. Why Lil’ Ol’ Me?  iWin As Web Developer Java Applets Flash  iWin As Downloadable Developer Homegrown Framework: SDL/DirectX Flash PC/Mac Multiplayer  iWin As Publisher Popcap BlitzBasic Torque 3D Orbital

3. A Buncha Technologies  Flash  Shockwave  Silverlite  Java  C#  C++  Basic  Delphi

4. A Fistful of Frameworks  BlitzBasic  VirTools  Torque  DarkBASIC  Playground SDK  PopCap Framework  SDL  DirectX

5. In 20 Minutes!  Yeah, Right.

6. WHAT METAPHOR?

7. Cars?

8. DirectX/SDL

9. PopCap

10. Playground SDK

11. Java

12. Unreal Engine

14. Flash

15. Torque

18. Found It!

19.  Formalism == C#  Post-Structuralism == C++  Marxism/Feminism == Flash  New Historicism == BlitzBASIC  Deconstructionism == DirectX  Psychoanalysis == Java Literary Theories!

20. HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS

21. Flash CS3  $700  Vector-Based  Movie clips and timelines (Visual OOP)  MP3 support, embedded markers, etc.  ActionScript (like JavaScript)  Flash 8 improved math/rendering speed  Window, Mac, Linux, Mobile Phones, PDAs, all Browsers  Artist-Friendly  “Real” Programmers Rare/Expensive

22. Flash Gotchas  Great Prototype Tool  Horrible GUI for Coding (use Eclipse)  Painful Debugging  Must write C++ wrapper for EXE Fullscreen Support Right click handling Logs Support for other graphic/audio formats Writing to disk

23. Flash Tricks  Embed flash in C++ using f-in-box

24. Flash

25. Director/Shockwave  $1,200  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

26. Silverlight  Web-focused  Runs atop Visual Studio 2008  AJAX, VB, C#, Python, Ruby  Cross-browser/platform (but Windows focused)  Poor penetration  Unproven

27. Java  Highly portable (Any browser, PC, Mac, Linux, Mobile)  < 90% browser penetration  Version headaches  Desktop use requires large JDK download.  Poor 2D library  Java3D API  Can be work w/ C++ using JNI

28. 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/

29. XNA Game Studio 2.0  Express is Free  For students, hobbyists, indies.  Based on Visual C# Express 2005  Windows (XP SP2 only) and Xbox 360 C#: Install huge.NET Runtime Soon? Static.NET Linker/

30. BASIC/Delphi/Other…  BASIC  Delphi  Phython and PhyGame  PHP  …  Assembly Language

31. 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)

32. Majority of Hits Are C++

33. (Director!) But Not All…

34. *Based on 50 of the best selling games in Real Arcade from 2004-2006 Frameworks Vary

35. ENTER THE MATRIX

36. The Basics  Deal with Mouse/Keyboard Input  Draw Animated Sprites  Write Text With Fonts  Play Music and Sound FX  Resource Loading

37. “Hard” Features Matrix  Price (Upfront + License)  Runtime Performance  Min Sys Reqs  Size  Dev Support and Documentation  Vista Support  Unicode Support  Cross Platform (Mac, XBLA, Mobile)  Localization Tools  Other Tools

38. “Medium” Features Matrix  3D Acceleration  Vector Support  Flash Support  3D Model Support  Scalable Fonts  Multiplayer  Scripting Languages  Particle Systems  Encryption or Obfuscation of Assets

39. “Soft” Features Matrix  Learning Curve  Known Bugs  Custom Coding Required  Different Game Genre Support  Performance of Your Game  Proven?

40. THE FRAMEWORKS

41.  $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

42. Torque Game Builder 1.7  $100  Hardware Accel SceneGraph Driven  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  Windows, Linux, or Mac OSX  Multiplayer with TorqueNet Lite  Script in TorqueScript (TGE)

43. Playground SDK  Free!  DinerDash 2 (& 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

44. Sexy Framework  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

45. Home Grown SDL  Free cross-platform multi-media development API  Graphics / Video Control  Input / Events  Audio / CD-ROM audio  Threads  Timers  Win32/Linux/BeOS/~MacOS

46. Home Grown DirectX  Versions 5.0 to 10.0 Features Vs. Penetration Win98/Me = DX7.0 XP = DX8.0 My Advice? Stick to 7.0 or 8.0  Well-Tested  Code Your Way

47. THE BOTTOM LINE

48. (Almost) Framework Doesn’t Matter!

49.  Prototyping?  Web Only?  Mobile Only?  Full Cross-Platform Play? Know Your Purpose

50.  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

51.  Programmers ain’t bitching.  Artists don’t have to code.  Designers can find fun fast.  Biz team can maximize profits. Good Framework If…

52.  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

53. 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 Last Year’s Summit http://www.casualgamessummit.com/presentations/presentations.html

54. G’luck!  Want the Matrix or Links? See Handout! e-mail me at dfox@iwin.com www.casualgamessummit.com Casual Games Whitepaper