What’s Up With That? David Fox VP Technology, iWin

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

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

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

In 20 Minutes!  Yeah, Right.

WHAT METAPHOR?

Cars?

DirectX/SDL

PopCap

Playground SDK

Java

Unreal Engine

Flash

Torque

Found It!

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

HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS

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

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

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

Flash

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

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

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

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/

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/

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

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)

Majority of Hits Are C++

(Director!) But Not All…

*Based on 50 of the best selling games in Real Arcade from Frameworks Vary

ENTER THE MATRIX

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

“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

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

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

THE FRAMEWORKS

 $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

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)

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

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

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

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

THE BOTTOM LINE

(Almost) Framework Doesn’t Matter!

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

 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

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

 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

Take a Picture Now! Casual Games SIG/Whitepaper/Technology Development Platforms for Casual Games By Phil Steinmeyer What About Flash? Can We Really Make Games With It? By Scott Bilas Casual Games Technology Survey By James Smith Technology Face-Off Panel from Last Year’s Summit

G’luck!  Want the Matrix or Links? See Handout! me at Casual Games Whitepaper