Game engines and Different types of graphics

The two types of graphics I will be discussing are vector graphics and pixel graphics they both have advantages and disadvantages; I’ll start by comparing these;

Bitmap graphics are made up of pixels (which are tiny squares) of different colours, these are arranged to make an image; you can see these pixels when you zoom in on an image. When you edit an image made up of pixels, you have more control; you will be able to edit each and every pixel of an image (adding more pixels, changing colour, removing pixels). Programs such as Adobe photoshop, GIMP, paint tool sai, etc. will allow you to edit these pixels.

On the other hand vector graphics are made up of objects instead of pixels and they use mathematical formulas to draw lines and curves which then can be used to make objects which then make up the image, to edit vector graphics you have to change the lines and curves that make up the objects, programs such as adobe illustrator and Corel draw allow you to manipulate these lines and curves.

Vector images are more scalable than pixels, when you scale pixel images you will lose the quality because it scales each of the pixels and you will be able to see the tiny squares of different colours that make up the image this is most noticeable on the edge of an image. There are ways of getting around this problem but then the whole image will get blurry. Vector on the other hand uses formulas instead of pixels so it uses that to redraw the lines resulting in no loss of quality.

Vector images have advantages over pixel because they are smaller in file size this is because pixel images have to store information for each and every pixel such as the colour of the pixel, while vector just stores the formula that makes the image. Disadvantage of using vector is that it isn’t supported on the internet (websites), most popular format used to display images are JPEG which are pixels. There are few ways of getting an vector image on the web, you must rasterize it in Photoshop or you have to use adobe flash to make the format into SWF. 

Vector is good for logo design or images that don’t have colour gradient such as some style of cartoons and animations, while pixel should be used for photos and images with a lot of colour gradient and Varity.

What is a game engine and what is it's purpose?

A game engine is what makes a game function. It’s a tool you will use to make your game, however it is incomplete because it doesn’t contain every cog and gear that will make your game work, however it contains the basics which allow the developers to focus on other things such as the detail that will go into their game instead of making everything from scratch which will make it more time consuming so a game engine basically contains reusable software components. It is the core of the game, and game developers use these to cut down the time spent on developing, because the game engines already contain the basics, such as the graphics, AI functions; If the developer wanted something advance they would have to make that themselves and implement it into the engine.

The game engine controls everything such as rendering, physics, Interface, AI, loading, etc. However it doesn’t make the game, it only brings it to life. The models, textures and how everything interacts with each other in the game environment; is what makes the games and not the game engine. Some examples of game engines are UDK (Unreal development kit), Cryengine and frostbite.  Each game engine is different to each other, some are good at one thing the others are good at something else. Like how some cars are good at accelerating while using a lot of fuel on the other hand some cars are good at using less fuel but taking longer to get to the destination.