Game Physics Engine Development

Veteran game programmer/consultant/author Ian Millington brings us a newly revamped and updated edition to a KEY game text that covers the full process of building a physics engine from start to finish--including NEW coverage on casual games and collision detection.

Physics is really important to game programmers who need to know how to add physical realism to their games. They need to take into account the laws of physics when creating a simulation or game engine, particularly in 3D computer graphics, for the purpose of making the effects appear more real to the observer or player. The game engine needs to recognize the physical properties of objects that artists create, and combine them with realistic motion.

The physics ENGINE is a computer program that you work into your game that simulates Newtonian physics and predict effects under different conditions. In video games, the physics engine uses real-time physics to improve realism.

This is the only book in its category to take readers through the process of building a complete game-ready physics engine from scratch. The Cyclone game engine featured in the book was written specifically for this book and has been utilized in iPhone application development and Adobe Flash projects. There is a good deal of master-class level information available, but almost nothing in any format that teaches the basics in a practical way. The second edition includes NEW and/or revised material on collision detection, 2D physics, casual game physics for Flash games, more references, a glossary, and end-of-chapter exercises. The companion website will include the full source code of the Cyclone physics engine, along with example applications that show the physics system in operation.

Introduction. Particle Physics: The Mathematics of Particles. The Laws of Motion. The Particle Physics Engine. Mass Aggregate Physics: Adding General Forces. Springs and Spring-Like Things. Hard Constraints. The Mass Aggregate Physics Engine. Rigid-Body Physics: The Mathematics of Rotations. Laws of Motion for Rigid Bodies. The Rigid-Body Physics Engine. Collision Detection: Collision Detection. Generating Contacts. Contact Physics: Collision Resolution. Resting Contacts and Friction. Stability and Optimization. Putting It All Together. Further Topics in Physics: Physics in Two Dimensions. Other Programming Languages. Other Types of Physics. Appendices: Useful Inertia Tensors. Useful Friction Coefficients. Mathematics Summary