Game Development Community

The things i deal with

by Paul Ash · in General Discussion · 09/12/2007 (9:23 am) · 12 replies

Well i could'nt find a better place in the forums to post this, but i really had to show this e-mail to someone else before i kill someone. now for you all to feel my pain

this is an e-mail from my boss the day i got back from the GDC meeting in cally this year.

Hi, everyone,

Here is something VERY IMPORTANT that I read relating to a good
practice for all game development. We must use this strategy with all
games we create in the future.

The key component of any game, from a programming standpoint, is THE
GAME LOOP. The game loop allows the game to run smoothly regardless of
a user's input or lack thereof.

Most traditional software programs respond to user input and do
nothing without it. For example, a word processor formats words and
text as a user types. If the user doesn't type anything, the word
processor does nothing. Some functions may take a long time to
complete, but all are initiated by a user telling the program to do
something.

Games, on the other hand, must continue to operate regardless of a
user's input. The game loop allows this. A highly simplified game
loop, in pseudocode, might look something like this:

while( user doesn't exit )
check for user input
run AI
move enemies
resolve collisions
draw graphics
play sounds
end while

Thanks,
BOSS NAME CENCERED

feel my pain!

#1
09/12/2007 (9:28 am)
Ouch...you need to find a good write-up on event driven simulations and respond to the email with it :P
#2
09/12/2007 (9:41 am)
Did your boss just upgrade from a Commodore 64 to the world of modern computers? I bet your boss have a hidden bottle of Scotch in his desk, and is reading old computer magazines from the early 90's....
#3
09/12/2007 (9:43 am)
Another useful loop:

while (pauls boss sends email)
right click
delete
end while
#4
09/12/2007 (9:54 am)
Ouch...you need to find a good write-up on event driven simulations and respond to the email with it :P

i actually did and he responded saying he wanted it explained in small simple words so a 5-year old could understand.
#5
09/12/2007 (10:02 am)
Again, ouch :(
#6
09/12/2007 (10:02 am)
Forward the e-mail to the HR department along with an inquiry about hiring practices w.r.t. reading at > kindergarden level.
#7
09/12/2007 (10:05 am)
Yea this happens to be my boss as well. We both received this email after just attending GDC. It was quite a trip.
#8
09/12/2007 (10:05 am)
The place i work for doesn't see this as a problem, none of them understand, its like being on a deserted island
#9
09/12/2007 (10:20 am)
Is your company hiring? This is like not outrunning the bear, but outrunning the guy next to me. Don't get me wrong--I'm incompetent--but I'm thinking I can look less incompetent than that. Wait, they probably get around this with some coding test where you have to answer multiple choice questions about sorting and levenshtein distance algorithms, quarternions, and why manhole covers are round.
#10
09/12/2007 (10:22 am)
No, luckly anyone i hire will be protected from stupid, which i should point out i did post a request in the job area for a mac programmer just to make it clear if i hire you i will be the one to make sure you can do the job and i will deal directly with you, rather then any of "them"
#11
09/12/2007 (10:42 am)
Also the company im with here "Digital Warlords" is not the company where my boss email me this lol
#12
09/12/2007 (10:52 am)
Oh god, that's too funny.