Game Physics Engine Development, 2nd Edition

2 Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 What Is Game Physics?

Physicsisahugediscipline,andacademicphysicshashundredsofsubfields.Each

describes some aspect of the physical world, from the way light works to the nuclear

reactions inside a star.

Lots of these areas of physics might be useful in games. We could use optics,

for example, to simulate the way light travels and bounces, and use to make great-

looking graphics. This is the way ray tracing works, and (although it is still ve ry slow

compared to other approaches) it has been used in several game titles. Although these

areas are part of academic physics, they are not part of what we mean by game physics

and I won’t consider them in this book.

Other bits of physics have a more tenuous connection w ith games ...