Game Engine Architecture, 2nd Edition

14Introduction to Gameplay Systems

Up until now, everything we’ve talked about in this book has focused on technology. We’ve learned that a game engine is a complex, layered software system built on top of the hardware, drivers and operating system of the target machine. We’ve seen how low-level engine systems provide services that are required by the rest of the engine; how human interface devices such as joypads, keyboards, mice and other devices can allow a human player to provide inputs to the engine; how the rendering engine produces 3D images on-screen; how the animation system allows characters and objects to move naturally; how the collision system detects and resolves interpenetrations between shapes; how the physics simulation causes ...