Delphi Graphics and Game Programming Exposed! with DirectX For versions 5.0-7.0:The Lure of Game Programming
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New Arrivals
Delphi Graphics and Game Programming Exposed with DirectX 7.0
by John Ayres
Wordware Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 1556226373 Pub Date: 12/01/99
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Unfortunately, this tends to translate into a need for game companies to continually crank out best-selling titles. Extremely large game companies can afford a bad title or two, but smaller companies may be dramatically affected by bad sales of even a single title. This is especially true for startups; if that first title doesn’t at least break even, it may be impossible to even meet employee payroll requirements, let alone to find enough capital or investors to fund further projects. Even companies that have been around for years could suddenly find themselves in financial stress after only a few bad games.
With the exception of only a few large gaming companies, this volatility seems to be the norm rather than the exception. This is all the more obvious by the number of computer gaming businesses that come and go daily. The end result is that gaming companies tend to be unstable, and are not a good place to go if you want a job that you can work at until retirement.
The Light Side of the Game Programming Industry
In stark contrast to its negative aspects, the game programming industry exhibits a number of positive aspects that fuel its continued growth. The game programming industry in general is very exciting, in part due to its dynamic nature, but mostly because of the people you can meet and the technology you will work with.
Fun and Rewarding
What sounds more exciting: creating a client/server application for tracking customer purchases and transactions (complete with reports and custom querying capabilities), or creating a first-person adventure game that lets you run through castles and destroy evil demons? If you chose the client/server application, close this book right now. Perhaps the coolest and most seductive trait of game programming is that you can use your imagination in creative ways not possible with application programming.
As opposed to conforming to Windows user interface guidelines, the game programmer can create highly specialized and flashy user interface elements that are both fun to code and exciting to behold. Creating buildings, cities, continents, and worlds to explore is tremendously entertaining for both the programmer and the user. While creating a tool that allows someone to accomplish a job quickly and efficiently is rewarding, creating a diversion that immerses one into a world of exploration and wonder for hours on end is even more so.
Fame and Fortune
A good gaming engine is the holiest of holy grails in the programming industry. Pretty much anyone could make a client/server database if they wanted to (given the right training and education), but few can create a game the likes of Quake, Tomb Raider, or Wing Commander. Those that do, however, are elevated to the status of rock star, and are worshiped by thousands of adoring fans. It’s always nice to be complimented for your work, perhaps even developing a reputation for quality products and performance amongst your peers. However, actually having groupies and fans takes the meaning of “good job” a bit further.
Another intriguing aspect of game programming is that it is one of the last remaining industries where individuals have the potential to make a lot of money in a short amount of time. With the continued growth of the Internet, it is feasible for a developer to create a game and make tons of money by selling it online. It may also be possible to sell a completed game to a gaming company, netting a nice large chunk or a share of royalties over time, but this practice is in a decline. Success stories of this nature are more the exception than the rule, but the potential does exist for a hard-working, dedicated game programmer to transform his or her labor of love into a cash cow.
Tip: If you’re lucky, your company will agree to give you a cut of the royalties of any game you work on. Unfortunately, this is a rare and vanishing benefit, but could potentially make you a lot of money if the game sells well.
The People
A psychology major could probably write a doctoral thesis on how the personalities of people in their chosen industry seem to be very similar. This at least seems true of those in the programming profession. What this means is that you’ll most likely be working with people of similar interests, usually resulting in friendships and group social activities. Many gaming companies double as sites for late-night Dungeons and Dragons sessions, impromptu multiplayer Quake tournaments, and any number of other fun recreational activities. People in the game programming industry tend to be intelligent and have a good sense of humor, and in general are very enjoyable to work with.
Game Programming, In Delphi?
When most people hear about Delphi, they think of rapid database application development. They think of its uses in the corporate environment as a wonderful tool for making myriad database accessing applications, a task for which it is indeed well suited. They compare it to other RAD tools like Visual Basic and PowerBuilder, contrasting their relative strengths and weaknesses in data access, speed, scalability, etc. This attitude has been prevalent since Delphi 1, and is indeed one of the reasons Delphi has done so well. Unfortunately, most people do not consider Delphi to be a viable choice for any other type of application development. Considering the fact that Delphi is built on a long line of well-used Pascal compilers, has full access to the Windows API, creates actual executable binary code, and shares the same back-end linker with Inprise’s excellent C++ product, Delphi is indeed capable of doing much more than just enterprise-wide database applications.
In the game programming industry, the dominant language in the U.S. is C/C++. Let’s think for a moment why that may be the case. Specifically, let’s consider what could arguably be the most important attributes that a development language must offer in order for it to be considered a viable platform for games development.
1. It must compile fast, natively executable code. C/C++ offers this, and indeed you can find benchmarks that supposedly prove which compiler offers the fastest code. However, Delphi uses the same back-end linker that C++ Builder uses, and its compiled code is as fast as that of C++ Builder. Besides, the most computationally intensive parts of gaming applications are usually written in hand-optimized assembly in order to gain the maximum speed advantage. C/C++ may have a few lexical tricks that allow one to squeeze an extra clock cycle or two out of a few instructions, but you can accomplish the same task in Delphi with creative programming efforts. In the speed department, some C/C++ compilers may create faster compiled code than Delphi, but you can always make up for it where it counts using hand-optimized assembly (just like the C/C++ boys do). Remember, a Pentium 166 with 16 MB of RAM is considered obsolete by today’s standards, so these marginal speed advantages offered by some C/C++ compilers are much less important than they used to be. The bottom line is that Delphi is as fast as most C/C++ compilers when it comes to the natively compiled form of raw code, and when speed is absolutely essential, Delphi can compile hand-optimized assembly language as well as any C/C++ compiler.
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