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Leveraging Middleware

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Leveraging Middleware Jeff Wofford Deep Red Games jeffwofford_at_yahoo.com We ll talk about What is middleware? Problems middleware tackles The case for/against ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Leveraging Middleware


1
Leveraging Middleware
  • Jeff Wofford
  • Deep Red Games
  • jeffwofford_at_yahoo.com

2
Well talk about
  • What is middleware?
  • Problems middleware tackles
  • The case for/against middleware
  • Choosing your middleware
  • Adapting to middleware
  • Questions

3
Middleware As Evolution
4
Middleware As Evolution
?

5
What Is Middleware?
  • Software
  • Licensed
  • Provide game functionality
  • Game-independent
  • Usually API and libraries (.lib, .dll, or source)
  • Occasionally complete .exe (e.g. UT mutated via
    mods)

6
Problems Middleware Tackles
  • Rendering
  • Physics
  • Sound
  • Networking/Distributed Simulations
  • Scripting
  • AI/Behaviors
  • One-Stop-Shops

7
The Case Against Middleware
  • Programmers hate it
  • Slower?
  • Not a silver bullet

8
Programmers Hate It
  • Programmers dont like their problems solved for
    them.
  • Middleware brings foreign code into the game.
  • Learning someone elses code feels slower and
    harder than just writing it yourself.

9
Slower?
  • Argument Game-specific code is faster and better
    than generic, game-independent code.
  • Often true, but to what degree?
  • On systems capable of 25M tris/sec, is a 10
    difference in engine performance going to be
    noticeable?
  • Data is the bottleneck, not code.

10
Not a silver bullet
  • Middleware doesnt solve all your problems.
  • It takes anywhere from 10-60 as much knowledge
    to use a library as to write it.
  • Middleware is sometimes significantly buggy.
  • Middleware may not turn out to do what you
    thought it would do.

11
The Case For Middleware
  • There are lots of success stories
  • More mentons available for the game
  • Tackles your riskiest problems

12
Lots of Success Stories
  • Already instrumental in many major successes.
  • Major contribution to FPS development.
  • Half-Life
  • Deus Ex
  • Alice
  • Munchs Oddysee

13
Mentons




14
More Mentons for the Game
  • Team has limited menton capacity.
  • Middleware allows importation of thought-work,
    allowing conservation of mentons.
  • Less time spent worrying about technical issues,
    more time for gameplay, visuals, user experience.

15
Reduces Risk
  • Why are game developers infamous for lateness?
    Technology RD.
  • Technology is the riskiest portion of schedule.
  • Technology is really difficult to schedule.
    Complete solutions really reduce risk, in
    proportion to completeness.

16
Moving to Middleware
  • The decision to use middleware has a deep impact
    on project, people, and overall organization.
  • Issues
  • Marrying project and technology
  • Evaluating technology
  • Choosing your provider
  • Negotiating the license agreement
  • Adapting the organization

17
Marrying Project and Technology
  • Technology impacts game design, and vice versa.
  • Identify middleware during preproduction, when
    game design is coming together.

18
Evaluating Technology
  • Spend plenty of time on evaluation
  • At least a week per candidate for a focused API
    like physics.
  • At least a month per candidate for a broad API
    like rendering.
  • Read between the lines of technology demos. Take
    feature claims with a grain of salt.
  • Dont rely on programmers naïve to the concepts
    to evaluate accurately.

19
Choosing Your Provider
  • Middleware involves a long-term relationship
    between licensor and licensee.
  • Evaluating middleware involves evaluating the
    provider as well as the technology.
  • Evaluate stability and support.

20
Stability
  • You need your middleware provider to outlive the
    project.
  • Middleware is a young industry with great
    instability.
  • Ask about
  • Company history
  • People
  • Funding
  • Plan for the future

21
Support
  • Good support is indispensable with any
    middleware.
  • You need it most when approaching a deadline.
  • Middleware should be providers primary business.
  • Dedicated support team.
  • Test support during evaluation period.

22
Negotiation
  • Ask for the price you want to pay.
  • Exchange royalties for price, or vice versa.
  • The only way to go Staggered payment plan.
  • Multi-project deals.
  • Pitch your project.
  • Agree on what will happen if things go south.

23
Adapting Your Organization
  • Technology vs. Content development.
  • Impacts
  • Project plans
  • Who you hire
  • Major impact on programmers.

24
Impact on Programmers
  • Content programmers vs. Technology programmers
  • Content Programmer
  • Passionate about games
  • Relates well with artists, others
  • Happy mucking with foreign code
  • Creative
  • Diverse skills
  • Consistent productivity

25
Impact on Programmers (2)
  • Technology Programmer
  • Calculus-level maths
  • Modify generic engine for needs of specific game.
  • Create specialized visual/audio effects, AI,
    physics, algorithmic animation.
  • Its not just about rendering anymore. Stop
    trying to beat Carmack at his own game.

26
Middleware and Maturity
  • Middleware is the industry maturing.
  • Middleware adds creative power to projects

Time Mentons Focus Reliability
Better Games
More fun, more respected, more profitable
27
The Future?
If

then
?

28
Links
  • My web site
  • www.jeffwofford.com
  • Licensing QA with Glen Dahlgren
  • http//www.unrealengine.com/features/qa-glen1.html
  • 3D Engines List
  • http//cg.cs.tu-berlin.de/ki/engines.html
  • Evaluating Physics Engines
  • http//www.gamasutra.com/features/
  • 20000913/lander_01.htm
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