Nick Baker on the XBox 360 Architecture

Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) has a half-hour interview with Nick Baker, director of the Xbox 360 hardware team, on the architecture of the XBox 360.

“What is the XBox 360, exactly? How do you go about designing and building a game console that meets the high standards of today’s gamers and handles the computational pressures of today’s highly realistic games (think real time physics computation, incredibly rich graphics, etc)? Did you know the XBox 360 team saw into the multi-core future before most anybody else?”

If you are interested in how computer architecture and systems support games, it’s worth listening to.

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HGE open-source 2D game engine

The game industry today is mostly focused on producing 3D games, but there’s still life in 2D games, especially if they offer something novel and fun. Creating a 2D game is also a good way to to develop your confidence and skills in some universal game aspects and features, like game logic, HCI, scoring, narrative, etc. HGE is an open-source game engine for developing 2D games for Windows.

HGE is an easy to use yet powerful hardware accelerated 2D game engine. It is a full featured middleware for all who want to develop commercial quality 2D games rapidly and easily. It covers all imaginable 2D game genres: you could create everything from a simple puzzle to advanced multilayered platformer or strategy without even thinking of any non game logic code! And you don’t have to know anything about “window messages”, DirectX programming and all that stuff. Instead you can start developing your own game within 15 minutes!
    HGE runs on Microsoft Windows 98, 2000, NT, ME, XP and requires DirectX 8.0. It will run even on low-end video cards, including built in video cards such as Intel Solano (i815 chipset). HGE can be used with virtually any C++ compiler including Visual C++, Borland C++, MinGW and Metrowerks Codewarrior.

HGE 1.7 has just been released (28 May 2007) and includes all required libs, headers, tutorials, authoring tools, documentation and source code.

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OLPC project seeks open-source educational games

One of the best ways to engage young people with computers is through games. With this in mind, the One Laptop Per Child Project is asking software developers for free, open-source educational computer games for the XO-1 laptop. The XO-1 is an inexpensive laptop intended for children in developing countries. It’s being developed by the OLPC trade association, a non-profit organization created by the MIT Media Lab. The XO-1 is designed to be inexpensive, rugged and low-power, using flash memory instead of a hard drive, Linux and MESH networks.

OLPC ia offering a laptop prize for software teams who create new games during a three-day game jam June 8 at Olin College. OLPC hopes the contest will produce templates that will enable kids to build their own games.

By increasing the software available for the XO, OLPC hopes to encourage governments of developing countries to order more laptops, pushing the group to its sales goal of 3 million units by May 30. OLPC had collected 2.5 million orders by late April, but needed to boost sales enough to order bulk computer parts and stick to the manufacturing schedule. The OLPC wiki has pages on relevant games and the XO game development environment.

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National Symphony Orchestra to perform Video Games Live

The National Symphony Orchestra will perform Video Games Live 29-30 June 2007 at the Kennedy Center in DC. VGL is an immersive concert event featuring music from the biggest video games of all time, including such beloved and popular franchises as Mario, Zelda, Halo, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Warcraft, Myst, Sonic, Metal Gear Solid, and many more. The two hour performance is synchronized cutting-edge video screen visuals, state-of-the-art lighting, and special on-stage interactive segments dazzle audiences of all ages–gamers and non-gamers alike. More information on this performance is available online. Tickets range from $25 to $45.

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The New Yorker on Will Wright and Spore

The New Yorker has an article by John Seabrook on Wiil Wright and his new game, Spore.

Game Master

Will Wright changed the concept of video games with the Sims. Can he do it again with Spore?
…
For the past six years, Wright has been working on a new game, which will be released in 2007. It is anticipated with something like the interest with which writers in Paris in the early twenties awaited Joyce’s “Ulysses.” At first, Wright called the project Sim Everything, but a few years ago he settled on the name Spore. The game draws on the theory of natural selection. It seeks to replicate algorithmically the conditions by which evolution works, and render the process as a game. Conceptually, Spore is radical: at a time when most game makers are offering ever more dazzling graphics and scenarios and stories, Wright and his backer, Electronic Arts, are betting that players want to create the environments and stories themselves—that what players really like about games is exploring what Wright calls “possibility space.”
…

In addition to covering Will Wright and Spore, the long article covers this history of computer games, the evolution of game genres, the workings of EA, and life in the game industry.

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Multi-core and cell processors for games

The game industry has a strong need for software engineers that know how to take advantage of the new multi-core and cell processors. An article in CNET (Game developers adapt to multi-core world, explains it this way:

PC game developers appear to finally be getting the message: the free ride is over.

For years, developers were able to take advantage of faster and faster processors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. All they had to do was write their program once, and it would run faster and faster as Intel and AMD cranked up the clock speed.

But overheating forced chip companies to adopt designs with two or more processor cores running at slower speeds, which meant that some applications written to run on a single thread couldn’t take advantage of that extra horsepower. This has required an entirely new way of looking at software development, prompting Intel this week to release another batch of software development tools aimed at helping developers make that transition.uote>

The CSEE department will offer its course on Parallel and Distributed Processing next in the Spring of 2008. In the mean time, if you are interested in exploring how to use these new architectures, you might check out Intel’s Multi-Core webinar series.

Posted in CS, Parallel programming, Programming, UMBC classes | No Comments »

Microsoft seeks a UMBC ’student partner’ for 2007-08

Microsoft seeks applicants from UMBC students for a position as their technology representative at UMBC for the 2007-08 academic year. This is a paid position with a commitment of 6-8 hours a week. See the 2007-08 Microsoft Student Partners Program flyer for more information.

“The Student Partners Program is an elite job opportunity offered to technology-enthusiastic students. Individuals that take part in this Microsoft student representative program understand and are passionate about Microsoft technologies and platforms. Traditionally these representatives major in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, and Information Technology, but all majors are welcome to apply. Participating students share their knowledge and influence others by organizing a number of on-campus activities including technical presentations, and by increasing product awareness on campus. During the one-year commitment students will help plan, organize and execute launch events, tech-talks and other activities. Student Partners will become the voice of Microsoft on campus; they will be expected to interact with their peers as well as faculty and assist students with use of Microsoft technologies. Time commitment ranges from 6-8 hours/week from September 1st through May 31st (school breaks excluded).The program provides the student with all the tools, materials, and support needed to be successful.”

Students must be registered at UMBC but no specific major or degree program is required. Preference will be given to sophomores and juniors, and members of campus or online user groups. Students must have valid identification and be eligible to work in the US for Volt Group Services from 1 September 2007 through 31 May 2008.

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AI in games

The UK paper The Independent has a good article last week on the increasing need by industry for engineers who know AI concepts and techniques.

Artificial intelligence courses meet growing industry demands

Robots are being built to do our chores - and those who are creating them are already debating whether their rights should be recognized. Kate Hilpern reports
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Most people don’t realize the extent to which AI is already used in our everyday lives, believes Browne. “For instance, AI is used in supermarkets to work out what products should be placed with other products, and whether certain products should be stacked vertically or horizontally. Companies invest a huge amount in AI in these kinds of ways to get people to spend a bit more money.” AI is also used to create robot technology to do things like construct our cars, clean our floors and even perform delicate microsurgery. Military and agricultural applications of AI are also on the rise and increasingly, AI is being used to assist disabled and elderly people. …

The game industry is another big application area for AI. The emphasis in the last decade has been on exploiting increased processor and GPU speeds to support more realistic graphics. Many think that using game AI to make game play and and the behavior of non-player characters more sophisticated and intelligent will become a significant discriminator in the next ten years.

The Independent article notes

“One of the fastest growing employers of AI graduates is the computer games industry. In fact, some universities run specific courses for people who want to work in this field. Gareth Bellaby, course leader for the BSc in computer games development at the University of Central Lancashire, says, ‘One of the most important aspects of all computer games is AI because, for instance, characters within the games need to be able to move around a map or landscape without bumping into walls - which is more difficult than it might sound - and make decisions against human opponents. Then there are challenges like ensuring that the camera can move around the landscape in a sensible fashion.’ Bellaby believes the computer games industry is the most fun end of AI. ‘It’s also one of those areas within AI where there are usually jobs available.’”

If you are interested in studying AI at UMBC there are many undergraduate courses to choose from, including principles of AI, machine learning, robotics, multiagent systems, natural language processing, neural networks, and various special topics courses.

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Eurographics announces Game Physics Innovation Competition

Eurographics, the European association for computer graphics, announced a competition for the most innovative use of physics in games. Any individual or group can enter, as long as the entry is not part of a shipping game. Entries are due August 24th, 2007. Grand prize is 1500 Euros to the entry judged to exhibit the best combination of innovation and technical achievement. Details at isg.cs.tcd.ie/eg07.

Posted in CS, Contests, General, research, technology | No Comments »