Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

1

Produce a glossary of terms specific to the methods and principles of Video Game Design and Video Game Terms. Using a provided template, you must research and gather definitions specific to provided glossary terms. Any definitions must be referenced with the URL link of the website you have obtained the definition. You must also, where possible, provide specific details of how researched definitions relate to your own production practice. Name: RESEARCHED DEFINITION (provide

short internet researched definition

and URL link)

DESCRIBE THE RELEVANCE OF THE RESEARCHED TERM

TO YOUR OWN PRODUCTION PRACTICE?

IMAGE SUPPORT (Provide an image and/or video link of said term being used in a game)

VIDEO GAMES / VIDEO GAME TESTING

Demo A game demo is a freely

distributed piece of an upcoming or recently

released video game. Demos are typically released by the

game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the

game before deciding

whether to buy the full version.

Link- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_

demo

A demo is part of a

game which you are able to play, and try

the game out before you buy it.

This is picture showing you the NHL 15 Demo is able to download.

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

2

Beta A beta test refers to the

distribution of pre-release

game software to a select group of people so that they

can test the game in their own homes. The beta version

of a game is as close to

perfect as the company can make it, but any bugs,

glitches or other issues discovered in beta testing will

usually be addressed before the game's official release

Link- http://www.techopedia.com/definition/27136/beta-test-gaming

A beta is where they

launch the game to a

select few people while it is in alpha

stage and they try the game out early

to see how it plays

and what need to be improved.

This is a picture showing that if you pre-order Destiny you get access to the Beta.

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

3

Alpha Alpha software can be

unstable and could cause

crashes or data loss. External availability of alpha software

is uncommon in proprietary software. However, open

source software, in

particular, often have publicly available alpha

versions, often distributed as the raw source code of the

software. The alpha phase usually ends with a feature

freeze, indicating that no

more features will be added to the software. At this time,

the software is said to be feature complete.

Link-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

/Software_release_life_cycle

Alpha is one of the

last phases of

building the game which is what they

use to test in when it is in beta.

This is picture showing you Titanfall been in closed Alpha Stages.

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

4

Pre-Alpha Pre-alpha refers to all

activities performed during

the software project before testing. These

activities can include requirements

analysis, software

design, software development, and unit

testing. In typical open source development, there

are several types of pre-alpha versions. Milestone versions

include specific sets of

functions and are released as soon as the functionality is

complete.

Link-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

/Software_release_life_cycle

Pre-Alpha means a

game is still being

written and coded but it is closer to

being finished.

This is a picture of Lichdom Battlemage In the

Pre-Alpha Stage of the game.

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

5

Gold A game has "Gone Gold" when

the final mastercopy has been

produced at the developer and sent off for replication,

packaging and shipment. The game is not yet released,

but it will typicallybe around

2-3 weeks (sometimes less) before it begins appearing

on store shelves and online pre-orders arriving at

doorsteps. The term itself comes from the old practice

of recordable CDs being

manufactured with gold film. Hence the gold colored CD

actually being the source, with no reference to copies

sold as in the recording industry

Link-

http://www.urbandictionar

y.com/define.php?term=Go

ne%20Gold

Gone Gold is when a

game has been

finally completed and is ready to be

shipped out to the public.

This is a picture of FIFA 15 gone gold.

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

6

Debug In computers, debugging is

the process of locating and

fixing or bypassing bugs

(errors) in computer program

code or the engineering of a

hardware device.

Link-

http://searchsoftwarequality

.techtarget.com/definition/d

ebugging

Debug is finding the

errors and fixing

them or bypassing them which you do in

computer programing.

This is a picture of someone Debugging a game.

Automation The use of methods for

controlling industrial

processes automatically, esp by electronically controlled

systems, often reducing manpower.

Link- http://www.thefreedictionar

y.com/automation

Automation is an

operation system

which is the use of methods for

controlling industrial processes

automatically which

often reduces manpower.

This is a picture of Automation Taking place.

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

7

White-Box

Testing Also known as glass

box, structural, clear

box and open box testing. A software testing technique

whereby explicit knowledge of the internal workings of

the item being tested are

used to select the test data. Unlike black box testing,

white box testing uses specific knowledge of

programming code to examine outputs. The test is accurate

only if the tester knows what

the program is supposed to do. He or she can then see if

the program diverges from its intended goal. White box

testing does not account for errors caused by omission,

and all visible code must also

be readable

Link- http://www.webopedia.com/

TERM/W/White_Box_Testing.html

White-Box Testing is

a way to test a

software, this software will test the

internal structures and to see the

functionality.

This is a picture explain how White-Box Testing

is done.

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

8

Bug An error in a structured

system. It is usually applied

to electrical and computer systems.

The electrical grid has developed a glitch

Link- http://www.urbandictionary.

com/define.php?term=Glitch

Bug is an error which

is in a game that

causes the lots of different problems

from crashing or not to function properly.

This is a picture Showing you a bug in Titanfall where players are not able to find a game.

GAME ENGINES GAME ENGINES

Vertex Shader A programmable function in

display adapters that offers a graphics application

programmer flexibility in

rendering an image. The vertex shader is used to

transform the attributes of vertices (points of a triangle)

such as color, texture,

position and direction from the original color space to the

display space. It allows the original objects to be

distorted or reshaped in any manner.

Link-

Vertex Shader is

important because it makes an image or

even an object look a

lot smoother and a lot more realistic.

This is a picture showing a Vertex Shader been used on this image.

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

9

http://www.pcmag.com/enc

yclopedia/term/53754/vertex

-shader

Pixel Shader The name used to describe the method in which

a GPU applies textures and renders pixels to the display.

Pixel Shaders are used to give a more realistic look to

objects, such as reflections.

Link-

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/Pixel_Shader.html

Pixel Shader is almost the same as

vertex shade but instead the pixel

shader shades the individual pixel

unlike the vertex

shader.

This is a picture showing a Pixel Shader been used on this game.

Post

Processing Manipulation and conditioning

of signals and image data after they emerge from the

scan converter and before they are displayed.

Postprocessing is used to

change the assignment of image brightness versus echo

signal amplitude in memory.

Link- http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.

com/Post-processing

Post Processing

makes a game texture and shaders

look more realistic. It will also make the

game run faster and

the FPS will run quicker

This is a picture showing Post Processing been

used in this game.

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

10

Rendering To convert any coded content

to the required format for

display or printing. Although the term is typically used to

refer to images, it may refer to any data. For example, an

HTML page, which contains

text and graphics, is said to be "rendered" when it is

displayed.

Link- http://www.pcmag.com/enc

yclopedia/term/50431/rende

r

Rendering means

generating a 2D

image in to a 3D model, it also means

how far you can see in a game and how

good the textures

look at a distance.

This is a picture showing a video been rendered

is Sony Vegas.

Normal Map

In 3D computer

graphics, normal mapping, or

"Dot3 bump mapping", is a technique used for faking the

lighting of bumps and dents – an implementation of bump

mapping. It is used to add details without using

more polygons. A common use

of this technique is to greatly enhance the appearance and

details of a low polygon modelby generating a normal

map from a high polygon

model or height map.

Normal Map is an

implemented of

different types of surface in the map

and is also used for faking the lighting of

the surfaces in the game.

This is a picture showing normal mapping been

used to make this character.

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

11

Link-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_mapping

Entity Entity-component-

system (ECS) is a software architecture pattern that

implements concepts from Composition over

inheritance using a database-

like structure. Common ECS approaches are highly

compatible with Data-driven programming techniques, and

the two approaches are often combined.

Link- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

/Entity_component_system

Entity is a

component system and also software

which implements concepts from

composition.

UV Map UV mapping is the 3D modeling process of making a

2D image representation of a 3D model's surface. UV

mapping This process projects a texture map onto a

3D object.

Link-

UV Mapping is a 3D modelling processing

which is created from a 2D image.

Human Head UV Mapping Tutorial in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbolXMyWvE

s

This is a video showing you how UV Map is used.

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

12

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

/UV_mapping

Procedural Texture

An algorithmic way of describing a texture. Unlike a

bitmapped texture, in which the texture is represented as

a bitmap, a procedural texture describes the texture

mathematically. Although not

widely used, this method is resolution independent and

can create more precise textures, especially if there is

great and varying depth to the objects being textured.

Procedural textures may be

2D or 3D.

Link- http://www.pcmag.com/enc

yclopedia/term/49743/procedural-texture

Procedural texture is a computer

generated image which is used to

create a realistic image of the

environment in

games.

Using Procedural Textures http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4xWwm9Ue

AE

Physics Computer animation

physics or game

physics involves the introduction of the laws

of physics into a simulation or game engine,

Physics is a the

relationship between

the world or level and the characters in

the game and how thing move threw out

Top Ten Physics Games

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g5UvHzZiVY

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

13

particularly in 3D computer

graphics, for the purpose of

making the effects appear more real to the observer.

Typically, simulation physics is only a close approximation

to real physics, and

computation is performed using discrete values.

Link-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_physics

the game.

Collision Collision an instance of two or

more records being assigned the same identifier or location

in memory. an instance of simultaneous transmission by more than

one node of a network.

Link- https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-

instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=define+Collision

Collision is two

moving objects crashing in to each

other and doing

damage to one another.

Java 3D Game Development 16: Collision

Detection http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGh-

Vh_NYO0

Lighting Video games and computer-

generated movies and special

Lighting is an effect

which makes

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

14

effects benefit from this as it

creates more realistic scenes

than with the more simplistic lighting models used

Link-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

/High-dynamic-range_rendering

different parts of the

game suit that level

so if you are playing a horror game

lighting will be dark. Also lighting is use to

make levels stand

out and set the mood of the stage or level.

AA – Anti-

Aliasing Antialiasing is a way of smoothing edges. Computer

monitors display pixels, but real objects have curves and lines. In order to display these

on a computer monitor, the edge is often jagged.

Antialiasing helps reduce the problem by slightly blurring edges to the point where

jagged lines don't show easily or at all.

Link- http://compreviews.about.com/

od/PC-Gaming/a/What-is-antialiasing-in-PC-games.htm

Anti- Aliasing is a programme which,

smoothens the edges

of objects and images in game. This

will make them look more realistic.

What is Anti Aliasing (AA) as Fast as Possible http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqi0114mwt

Y

LoD – Level of Detail Level of Detail, or LOD, is a

technique applied in real-time

Level Of Detail means how much

LOD goes in to

Blender | Game Engine | Tutorial - LOD (Level Of Detail)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp9mA1gK8s

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

15

graphics pipelines to increase

the efficiency at which a

scene can be rendered.

Typically used in gaming, an

LOD algorithm decreases the

visual complexity of objects

that are distant from the point-

of-view camera, leaving a

greater percentage of the

GPU available to render

foreground objects and

characters.

LOD is applied by decreasing

geometric and textural

resolution of faraway objects,

and also reducing the

complexity of that object's

material network. The effect is

applied dynamically in

graduated steps, so that an

object's detail will increase as

textures and models,

the higher the LOD

is, the better the textures look

however, it can sometimes make the

game run slow or the

fps could drop. Also the lower the detail

the worst the game look but it might run

a little bit better than normal.

Q

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

16

the user approaches.

Link-

http://3d.about.com/od/Glossary-L/g/Level-Of-Detail.htm

Animation Animation is the process of

creating motion and shape

change illusion by means of the rapid display of a sequence of static images that

minimally differ from each other. The illusion—as in

motion pictures in general—is thought to rely on the phi phenomenon. Animators are

artists who specialize in the creation of animation.

Animations can be recorded on either

analogue media, such as a flip book, motion picture film, video tape, or on digital

media, including formats such as animated GIF, Flash

animationor digital video. To display it, a digital camera, computer, or projector are

used.

Animation is a technique of

photographing drawings of

characters moving

step by step.

Game Maker Studio: Animation Tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V5CIAmAtR

U

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

17

Animation creation methods include the traditional

animation creation method and those involving stop motion animation of two and

three-dimensional objects, such as paper cutouts,

puppets and clay figures. Images are displayed in a rapid succession, usually 24,

25, 30, or 60 frames per second.

Link- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ani

mation

Sprite A computer graphic which

may be moved on-screen and otherwise manipulated as a

single entity. Link-

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sprite

Sprite is a single

entity which moves

on the screen.

Game Maker Studio Tutorial: Basic Sprite Creation &

Movement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATM8HNZ5UCc

Scene

The scene graph is a structure

that arranges the logical and

often (but not necessarily)

Scene is a cut scene

in a game which looks realistic and

the developers use

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

18

spatial representation of a

graphical scene. The

definition of a scene graph is

fuzzy because programmers

who implement scene graphs

in applications — and, in

particular, the games industry

— take the basic principles

and adapt these to suit

particular applications. This

means there is no consensus

as to what a scene graph

should be.

A scene graph is a collection

of nodes in

a graph or tree structure. A

tree node (in the overall tree

structure of the scene graph)

may have many children but

often only a single parent, with

the effect of a parent applied

to all its child nodes; an

operation performed on a

group automatically

propagates its effect to all of

motion capture suits

and equipment to

create these scenes. Real people move in

the motion capture suit and it is

recorded and then it

is used in the game.

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

19

its members. In many

programs, associating a

geometrical transformation

matrix (see

also transformation and matrix

) at each group level and

concatenating such matrices

together is an efficient and

natural way to process such

operations. A common

feature, for instance, is the

ability to group related

shapes/objects into a

compound object that can

then be moved, transformed,

selected, etc. as easily as a

single object.

It also happens that in some

scene graphs, a node can

have a relation to any node

including itself, or at least an

extension that refers to

another node (for

instance Pixar's PhotoRealisti

c Render Man because of its

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

20

usage of Reyes

rendering algorithm, or Adobe

Systems's Acrobat 3D for

advanced interactive

manipulation).

Link-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sc

ene_graph

Library A library is a collection

of non-volatile resources used

by programs on a computer, often to develop software.

Link-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_(computing)

Library is collection

of all the games you

have bought and downloaded, gaming

libraries can hold massive amounts of

games.

UI UI also known as user

interface. The junction between a user and

a computer program.

Link-http://www.webopedia.com/

TERM/U/user_interface.html

UI which stands for

user interface is a computer program

and the user can use

this, you find these on gaming consoles

like the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3

and Wii U.

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

21

Frames Frame rate, also known

as frame frequency and frames per

second (FPS), is

the frequency (rate) at which an imaging device produces

unique consecutive images called frames. The term

applies equally well to film and videocameras, computer graphics, and motion

capture systems. Frame rate is most often expressed in

frames per second (FPS) and is also expressed in progressive scan monitors

as hertz (Hz).

Link- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frame_rate

Frames or FPS means

how smooth your

game is running and how many frames it

is using, the more frames the better

your game will run

and the lower the frames the worst the

game runs, if the frame rate is really

low the game is almost un- playable

and will produce lag.

What does FPS mean and how many FPS do I

need?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLRj27ZMTIk

Concept Game design is

the design of games. It is the

art of elaborating rules and mechanics to facilitate interaction between players

for playful, educational or simulation purposes. Game

design can be applied to different media, such asboard

Concept is normally art work that is

drawn by hand to

design what charters may look like and

what the backgrounds may

look like.

Video Game Concept Art - WD Games http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB8UBR2p_J

E

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

22

games, card games, casino

games, role-playing games, video games, war

games or to itself, an example of metadesign. It is scientifically underpinned

in game theory.

Link- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_design

Event A boss fight in a game

http://www.youtube.com/wa

tch?v=Ox4dT9L_xyU

Event is normally where you will take

on a boss in a boss

battle these can be found in different

stages of the game depending on what

type of game it is.

Pathfinding Pathfinding is a term used

mostly by computer applications to plot the best route from point A to point B. It

is a more realistic variant on solving mazes.

Used in a wide variety of games, it refers to AI finding a path around an obstacle, such

as a wall, door, or bookcase. In recent games, pathfinding

Path Finding is a way

for gamer to progresses through

the levels, the gamer

needs to find a certain path to

progress, however there is becoming

multiple ways for gamers to find a

path.

Game Maker Tutorial - Path Finding Advanced AI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_AurmdOnw4

Salford City College Eccles Sixth Form Centre

BTEC Extended Diploma in GAMES DESIGN Unit 73: Sound For Computer Games IG2 Task 1

23

has become more important

as players demand greater intelligence from their own

units (in the case of real-time strategy games) or their opponents (as in the case

of first-person shooters).

Link- http://pathfinding.askdefinebeta.com/