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Preface
The word gem has been coined in the fields of computer graphics and game
development as a term for describing a short article that focuses on a particular
technique, a clever trick, or practical advice that a person working in these fields
would find interesting and useful. Several book series containing the word
“Gems” in their titles have appeared since the early 1990s, and we continued the
tradition by establishing the Game Engine Gems series in 2010.
This book is the second volume of the Game Engine Gems series, and it
comprises a collection of new game engine development techniques. A group of
29 experienced professionals, several of whom also contributed to the first
volume, have written down portions of their knowledge and wisdom in the form
of the 31 chapters that follow.
The topics covered in these pages vary widely within the subject of game
engine development and have been divided into the three broad categories of
graphics and rendering, game engine design, and systems programming. The first
part of the book presents a variety of rendering techniques and dedicates four
entire chapters to the increasingly popular topic of stereoscopic rendering. The
second part contains several chapters that discuss topics relating to the design of
large components of a game engine. The final part of the book presents several
gems concerning topics of a “low-level” nature for those who like to work with
the nitty-gritty of engine internals.
Audience
The intended audience for this book includes professional game developers,
students of computer science programs, and practically anyone possessing an
interest in how the pros tackle specific problems that arise during game engine