
Chapter
9
Physics
O
ne of the most popular components in a game these days is the physics engine.
This component encapsulates both collision detection and collision response.
I talked about the details of a dynamic collision detection system in Chapter 8, but I
have not talked much at all about collision response—the mechanism by which you
translate, rotate, and possibly deform objects immediately after they have collided
with other objects.
Physics itself is a very large topic, and the theory and implementation of physics
is nontrivial. My goal in this book is to cover a wide range of topics regarding en-
gines, so this chapter provides only a brief