| S3TC |
Texture compression developed by S3. |
| Sakaguchi, Hironobu |
The creator of the Final Fantasy games, Hironobu Sakaguchi is often thought of as the father of console role playing games. And with his induction into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Science's Hall of Fame, Hironobu Sakaguchi is now recognized along with Sid Meier and Shigeru Miyamoto |
| Sales |
The process of getting a product from the factory - the developer, in this case - onto the shelves in a store, and, ultimately, into a plastic bag in some hapless punter's hand. This process is nowhere near as easy as most people think. |
| Scalar |
A value that one can represent with one component. |
| Scaling |
The process of altering the size of an object. |
| Scaling Matrix |
Generally appiled to an entire object or group thereof, a scaling matrix lets you either enlarge or decrease the size of the desired object. |
| Scan Conversion |
Method by which a graphical object (such as a line, circle, ellipse, etc) is converted from its algebraic equation into its approximate representation on a raster display.
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| Scene Graph |
A scene graph is a tree where the nodes are objects in a scene arranged in some sort of hirearchy. These nodes may be actual physical objects, or simply 'abstract' objects. For example a transformation node would apply some form of transformation to any 3D objects that are below the transformation node in the scene graph. A scene graph can be used for many things, depending on the way you order the nodes in the graph. For example you could have an octree containing object to be rendered in a scene, this would be a limited form of scene graph. You could have a scene graph that contains an octree as well as an alternative way or organising the same data, e.g. by render state.
So you could use your scene graph for culling unseen objects as well as ordering objects to be rendered by render state. |
| Screenshot |
An image taken from a game to show what was on the screen. |
| Scripting |
The process of using an interpreted language, from a "script" file which is normally text, rather than a compiled executable which is binary. Scripting allows for higher level functions which can be changed without having to rebuild an executable. |
| SCUMM |
Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion. The first scripting engine based on the "point-and-click" principle, written in 1987 by Ron Gilbert and Aric Wilmunder of LucasArts Entertainment. Still being adapted and enhanced for use in LucasArts' adventure games today.
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| SDK |
Software Development Kit. |
| SDL |
Simple DirectMedia Layer. A cross-platform game programming library. SDL uses the OS's native multimedia support to provide fast graphics, sound, and input processing on several platforms. SDL also provides a portable way to create OpenGL contexts, and can be used as a much more powerful replacement for the GLUT toolkit. SDL currently supports Win32, Linux, FreeBSD, IRIX, MacOS, and BeOS. It is covered by the GNU Library General Public License, and it may be used in commercial projects. SDL's website is http://www.libsdl.org. |
| SDSL |
Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line. This is a high-speed internet connection which, like a cable modem, runs at very high speeds. Unlike conventional ADSL (Assymetric Digital Subscriber Line), however, an SDSL connection is "symmetric" -- it receives data just as fast as it sends data, and in both cases, this is very fast. However, SDSL requires its own special line -- whereas ADSL runs through a normal phone line -- and is very expensive.
See Also:ADSL |
| Sega Genesis |
Sega Genesis (AKA: Mega Drive in many parts of the world): A 16-bit videogame system that was made by Sega. Released in the US on the 1st of September in 1989. A second smaller scaled down version was released in 1993 called the Genesis Mark II; as well a company called Majesco released a third system in 1998 called the Mark III. There was also a couple attachments released for the system as well, including a CD ROM drive called the Sega CD (AKA: Mega CD) and a 32 bit adapter named the 32x. Other variations of the Genesis console include a portable hand-held version with a LCD screen called the Sega Nomad and a combination Sega Genesis/Sega CD system named the Sega CDx (Or Multi Mega). |
| Sell-In |
Units sold to retail stores. See Sell-Through. |
| Sell-Through |
Units sold from retail stores to customers. See Sell-In.
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| Semiotics |
Part of the science of communication. Specifically, Semiotics deals with the use of symbols and 'signs' (in a very broad sense) and how well/badly these perform their tasks. Anything from ideograms, gestures, alphabets and even road signs are affected by this science. For computer games, Semiotics comes into its own when dealing with the User Interface design and 'signposting' within a game. |
| shader |
An assembly-like program which replaces part of the rendering pipeline with custom code. Shaders that affect vertices (vertex shaders) replace the normal transformation and lighting stage of the pipeline, while shaders that affect pixels (pixel shaders), work at the rasterization stage, affecting how the final screen color is determined. Shaders are supported in DirectX 8 and later, and in OpenGL through extensions (and as part of the proposed OpenGL 2.0 standard). |
| Shell |
The program that presents an interface to various operating system functions and services. The name of the shell is derived from the fact that it is an outer layer of interface between users and the inner-workings of the operating systems. Shells are generally classified as either graphical, or command line (text based). As an example, the default shell for Microsoft Windows is called explorer, and some of the functionality it includes is the taskbar and system tray, as well as desktop icons. |
| Shelly, Bruce |
Along with Tony Goodman, one of the masterminds behind the Age of Empires series. Currently designer and producer at Ensemble Studios. |
| Sidebands |
In modulation, "phantom frequencies" that are created when the modulator's frequency enters the audible range. |
| Sieve of Eratosthenes |
An algorithm to find all prime numbers up to a certain N. Begin with an (unmarked) array of integers from 2 to N. The first unmarked integer, 2, is the first prime. Mark every multiple of this prime. Repeatedly take the next unmarked integer as the next prime and mark every multiple of the prime. |
| Signal/Noise Ratio |
A measure of how much undesirable noise a signal has in it. |
| Silver |
Another name for the final manufactured CD. See Going Glass.
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| Sim RPG |
A sub Genre of RPGs. Sim RPGs combine the elements of RPGs and Turn based strategy. They have experience, Levels, Story and Various other Roleplaying elements but the gameplay is focus more towards battles and Story than exploration. Infact Sim RPGs usually lack sidequests and secrets. Examples: Final Fantasy Tactics, Ogre Battle, Vandel Hearts. |
| Simcity |
A series of games from Maxis that allowed the player to create a town. Progressive installments in the series added sewage, garbage disposal, and other resource management to the player's plate. Notable for being one of the first games to simulate a complex reality-based system on the relatively underpowered machines of the time. In series: Simcity, Simcity 2000, Simcity 3000, Simcity 4000 (Multiple expansion packs released for each). Computers/Consoles: SNES, Saturn, PlayStation, PC, Mac among others |
| Simulation |
A system of rules that tries to emulate reality. |
| Simulator |
Software that attempts to emulate a real event or action. |
| Sine Wave |
The most fundamental waveform, which contains no harmonics. All other waveforms can be composed out of an infinte number of sine waves. |
| Single-Player |
A game which was made to be played by a single person. |
| Singleton |
As defined by GOF: Creational Pattern "Ensure a class only has one instance, and provide a global point of access to it."
See Also:Singleton |
| Singleton |
A singleton is an object that has and can have no more than one instance.
Often, when a singleton is used in C++, the class consists solely of static members and member functions.class Singleton{private:static int PrivateData;public:static void PublicFunction();};
Another way to ensure that an object is a singleton is to set a static member pointer upon instantiation, and to throw an exception if an instance already exists.//singleton.hclass Singleton{private:static Singleton* InstancePointer;public:Singleton();inline static Singleton* GetInstancePointer(){return(InstancePointer);}};//singleton.cppSingleton* Singleton::InstancePointer=0;Sigleton::Singleton(){if(InstancePointer!=0){//error--throw exception}InstancePointer=this;}
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| Skeletal Animation |
Animation that is based on a model having a skeleton instead of being drawn as a series of different models (same model saved in different positions, key-frame animation). Skeletons are set up with joints or bones to determine how the unit will animate. Hierarchical Skeletons and SkinningSkeletal Deformation Example |
| Skeletal Animation |
The process of animationg by deforming a mesh over a series of contollable "bones" (seen in Half-Life) |
| Skin |
A texture that is used to wrap around an entire model. Normally skins are drawn on a single bitmap, and then the coordinates are mapped onto the vertices of the model. |
| SKU |
Stock Keeping Unit. Any unit recieved by the retailer that they have to keep inventory on. |
| Slerp |
Abbreviation for Spherical Interpolation, based on Lerp for Linear Interpolation. Spherical Interpolation is used in Quaternions. |
| Slip |
When a product is not finished has passed its' date of completion. |
| Smalltalk |
An object-oriented programming language designed in the early days of Xerox PARC. Popular for its powerful English-like syntax and array of features only now coming to other programming languages (such as Java and C#). More information can be found here. It is extremely unpopular in game development, particularly due to the lack of large corporate backing -- it is nonetheless a good environment for learning and playing with the extremely powerful API.
See Also:C#, Object Oriented Designing |
| SMP |
Symmetric MultiProcessing. A feature of many modern operating systems, SMP utilizes multiple processors in order to increase system performance. With SMP, processes can be running simultaneously. This is a distinction from multi-tasking single processor systems that run processes "concurrently," giving the illusion of simultaneous execution.
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| SNES |
Super Nintendo. (NES, Nintendo Entertainment System). Successor to the NES, this system was 16-bit and the reigning champion for its time period in consoles. |
| Soft Clipping |
The effect on a signal typical of an overdriven valve. As opposed to hard clipping, which creates high frequency harmonics, it tends to eliminate these harsh, higher frequencies. |
| Software Synthesizers |
Computer programs that produce sound. They are usually less expensive than their hardware counterparts, though, due to the limitation of computing power, they are seldom realtime. |
| Solid Shading |
Rendering a polygon a certain color without regards to the possible effects of lighting. |
| Solid State Amplifier |
A type of amplifier that uses solid-state circuitry, or transistors, rather than valves. This form of amplification has a higher degree of linearity and is more reliable than vacuum tube amplification, though produces harsher tones when overdriven. |
| source code |
In compiled languages, such as C++ and Java, this is the set of instructions which the programmer types and edits. Source code is not understood by computers. One of the advantages of source code is that it is easy for a person to read and understand. A computer needs its information in the form of numbers. But 0068 3A6C doesn't make much sense to most people! So when creating a program, the programmer uses instructions such as "currentHitPoints -= damageAmount;". This is much easier to understand than 06FF 3D4A! A compiler later converts these instructions into a form which a computer can understand. |
| Spatial-partioning |
Recursively using n cutting plane(s) to subdivide space, where n typically ranges from: 1 = BSP 2 = Quadtree 3 = Octree See also: Binary Space-Partitioning Tree (BSP), Quadtree, and Octree. Reference: Foley & van Dam, Computer Graphics 2nd ed., pg 548 |
| Spector, Warren |
One of the premier producers/designers in the game industry. After a start in board games and traditional role-playing games at Steve Jackson Games and TSR, Inc., he joined Origin Systems, where he was involved with Ultima VI and VII: Serpent Isle, Ultima Underworld 1 & 2, System Shock, Wing Commander, and others. From there, he moved on to Looking Class Studios, where he was the producer of Thief: The Dark Project, and then he founded ION Storm Austin, where he created the Deus-Ex line of games and continued the Thief legacy.
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| Specular Highlighting |
A graphics technique which creates the illusion of light reflected on a surface. A specular highlight is the brightest point on an object. |
| spline |
"Spacial line" is a linear pattern that has a tri-coordinate system (x,y,z) rather than the planar system which forms a line(x,y). |
| Sprite |
A small bitmap image, often used in animated games but also sometimes used as a synonym for icon. |
| SPX |
Sequenced Packet Exchange. A reliable network protocol introduced by Novell Netware. Complimentary protocol would be IPX. |
| Square Wave |
A fundamental waveform whose shape is the same as a wave. Spectrum-wise, it's the same as a sawtooth, sans the even even harmonics. |
| SSS |
Refers to sub-surface scattering |
| Standard Template Library |
The STL is a set of template classes included as part of the C++ standard library. They provide support for standard containers (such as linked lists, hash tables, and dynamic arrays) and algorithms (such as sorting and searching). |
| Starcraft |
A Real Time Strategy game created by Blizzard and the Science Fiction successor to the Warcraft series. |
| StarFox |
Highly popular space combat game by Nintendo for their SNES platform. Recently converted into an RPG for the GameCube platform by Rare. |
| Steed, Paul |
Known primarily for his models and animations for Quake2 and QuakeIII:Arena while at id Software, Paul Steed has been in the game development industry since the end of 1991. He has written 13 articles for Game Developer magazine. He is author of the book Modeling a Character in Max and is currently wrapping up his second book entitled Animating Real-Time Game Characters. He has been a regular speaker at the Game Developer Conference since 1997. |
| Stencil Buffer |
A buffer that holds information about what pixels should be drawn or not. Often used for creating shadows and reflections. |
| STL |
See Also:Standard Template Library |
| Storyline |
Provides a rationale for the gameplay. Game storylines vary from the very simplistic (e.g. rescue the princess) to exceptionally complex and involved storylines (as found in RPGs such as the Final Fantasy series). |
| Strategy |
A systematic plan of action, often used with military plans.
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| Strategy Guide |
A book designed to aid the player in learning basic and advanced strategies for a particular game. These strategies can range from simplistic (such as a moves list) to complex (such as a walk-through for an RPG). There are both official (approved by the publisher of the game) and un-official (have not obtained permission from the game publisher) strategy guides. |
| Street Fighter |
Thought by many to be the greatest fighting game series on the planet, and is most likely the longest running. Street Fighter II set off the 2D fighting craze that has slightly died down in recent months. The Street Fighter series has an ever growing number of titles which include Street Fighter, Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II Turbo, Super Street Fighter III, Street Fighter Alpha (Zero), Street Fighter Alpha (Zero) II, Street Fighter Alpha (Zero) III, Street Fighter EX, and many more.
Street Fighter characters are also used in many games such as Pocket Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom I and II, and SNK vs. Capcom. Street Fighter also spawned a cartoon series and several animation movies, as well as a live action movie. |
| String |
The name for a group of more than one characters stored as a single unit. Often stored in classes or as an array of characters in memory ending with a "null terminating" character. |
| Submission Agreement |
A document you'll have to sign to get a publisher to look at your game. Publishers have a lot of ideas they are considering and they don't want to risk someone suing them for an game they were already considering or working on. |
| Sub-Surface Scattering |
A rendering technique used on objects to determine how much light is allowed through the object. This is a very demanding technique since it calculates the amount of the material is it going through and the denisty of the material. This is most commonly used on skin, plant material, and cloth materials.
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| Subtractive Synthesis |
A form of synthesis that is popular with analog synthesizers. It takes a complex waveform rich in harmonics (such as the sawtooth) and strips away parts, resulting in a simpler wave. |
| Suit |
(AKA: 'Corporate Suit') Derogatory term used by front-line development staff for anyone who _has_ to wear a suit to work. Usually applies to managers, producers, accountants, company directors and anyone else who generally has little to do with either programming, graphics, audio or game design. Also applied to anyone in the company who has little or know knowledge of how computer game design and development is done. ["Joe' Heck no, he don't know jack 'bout programming; he's just a Suit! We gotta kowtow to him, 'cuz he's the guy who pays us."] |
| Super Mario Bros |
Mario and his brother Luigi were invented by Shigeru Miyamoto in the late 80's. Known as the trademark of Nintendo he has become the star of many games. Probably the greatest Mario game ever would be Super Mario 64 on the N64 which invented the 3D platformer genre. |
| Sustain |
The duration a note is held before it decays away. |
| Sustain |
As the third part of an ADSR envelope, the volume at which a note is held after the attack and decay until the key is released. |
| Suzuki, Yu |
Creator of many of the most successful SEGA games, such as the "Sonic the Hedgehog" series, the Virtua Fighter series and the most expensive video game ever made: "Shenmue" |
| Sweeney, Tim |
Tim Sweeney is one of the founders of Epic Megagames, now merely Epic Games. His early work included the masterpiece - and still well-played - game creation kit ZZT, and Jill of the Jungle. Newer work includes Unreal and Unreal Tournament. |
| Swept Sphere |
A swept sphere is a 3D object that can be created by pulling, or sweeping, a sphere along a path, leaving a trace that kind of resembles the shape of toothpaste when it comes out of the tube. While sweeping, the radius of the sphere may be changed, and the path does not need to be a straight line. Quite often, though, swept spheres are used in collision detection as an alternative to bounding boxes.
In these cases, most of the time the path is a straight line and the radius stays fixed. The object that is created by sweeping a sphere like that is a cylinder with hemispheres, which have the same radius as the cylinder, attached to both ends. Detecting if a point is within this object is computationally quite simple, often easier than doing this with a bounding box. |
| Switch |
A switch acts like a hub in that it connects multiple network connections, but is "smarter" in that it knows where to send them, it cuts down on broadcasting.
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