Intel and Gamasutra -- Visual Computing Archive

	POSTED OCTOBER 2009 Sponsored Feature: Who Moved the Goal Posts? The Rapidly Changing World of CPUs By Ryan Shrout & Leigh Davies In this Sponsored Feature, part of Intel's Visual Computing microsite, Shrout and Davies examine the 'shift in processor architecture and design over the last few years' that has changed once simple rules regarding CPUs and computer chips in general into a 'much more complicated scenario'.

	POSTED OCTOBER 2009 Sponsored Feature: Fluid Simulation for Video Games (Part 1) By Michael Gourlay This sponsored feature, part of Intel's Visual Computing site and written by Dr. Michael J. Gourlay of the University of Central Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, begins a multi-part series that explains fluid dynamics and its simulation techniques.

	POSTED SEPTEMBER 2009 Sponsored Feature: Resident Evil 5 Takes Full Advantage of Intel Core i7 Processors By Garret Romaine In this sponsored feature, part of the Gamasutra Visual Computing microsite, Intel examines the debut of Resident Evil 5 for PC and how it's been adapted to work on the multithreaded Intel Core i7 processor.

	POSTED SEPTEMBER 2009 Sponsored Feature: Scaling Ambient Animations for Improved Game Experience By Mike Yi & Orion Granatir In this Intel-sponsored feature, part of the Visual Computing microsite, an Intel duo introduce Horsepower, a demonstration of enhanced, multi-CPU specific ambient animation -- with full, redistributible source code included.

	POSTED AUGUST 2009 The Boneyard: The Most Important Part of Your Character is Invisible By Steve Theodore In a visual arts-specific article for Intel's Visual Computing microsite and originally published in Game Developer magazine, Bungie's Steve Theodore discusses skeletal construction and animation for game characters, looking at "strategies for taming the skeletal hordes without ending up in the graveyard."

	POSTED JULY 2009 Sponsored Feature: An Interview with Intel's Mike Burrows By Gamasutra In this Intel-sponsored feature, part of the Visual Computing website, the company's Mike Burrows, who is Senior Graphics Software Architect Manager for the Larrabee creator, talks about the upcoming chipset and its relevance for video games.

	POSTED JULY 2009 Sponsored Feature: The All-Important Import Pipeline By Rod Green In this sponsored feature, part of Intel's Visual Computing section, Rod Green discusses the creation of art pipelines for the firm's Project Offset engine/game, explaining why studios "should be aiming to sever the umbilical cord" and implement a 'common format' approach to art pipelines.

	POSTED JULY 2009 Sponsored Feature: Two Brains Are Better Than One -- How to Thread Game AI By Orion Granatir In this Intel-sponsored Gamasutra feature, game programming veteran Orion Granatir presents a practical look about how to use multi-core CPUs to thread game elements, in this case artificial intelligence (AI) for your game.

	POSTED JUNE 2009 Managing Data Relationships By Noel Llopis How does your game data relate to each other? In this practical technical article, game development veteran Noel Llopis looks at how coders should structure and retrieve the intertwined world of game data in memory.

	POSTED JUNE 2009 Sponsored Feature: Multi-Threaded Fluid Simulation for Games By Quentin Froemke In this Intel-sponsored feature, part of Gamasutra's Visual Computing section, Intel engineer Froemke describes a multi-threaded fluid simulation system created to make virtual smoke or water for application into games.

	POSTED JUNE 2009 Sponsored Feature: Ocean Fog Using Direct3D 10 By Jeff Andrews & Chuck Desylva, Alfredo Giminez In a new Intel-sponsored feature from the Visual Computing microsite, a trio of Intel engineers showcase an experiment to create an ocean and complex fog effects using Direct3D 10 and Shader Model 4.0, complete with source code and executable demo.

	POSTED JUNE 2009 Every Picture Tells A Story By Steve Theodore In this bonus art feature, published onto Intel's Visual Computing section, veteran Steve Theodore looks at how, visually, "although game technology seems to be at the height of information age modernity, the basic challenges of the working artist never really change."

	POSTED MAY 2009 Sponsored Feature: Rendering Grass with Instancing in DirectX 10 By Anu Kalra In this Intel-sponsored feature, part of Gamasutra's Visual Computing section, Kalra examines ways to render realistic grass in your game, utilizing DirectX 10 and vertex shaders.

	POSTED MAY 2009 Collaborative Game Editing By Mick West Individual game developers take responsibilities for different parts of game development - sometimes leading to content mixups and bottlenecks where their work overlaps. In this in-depth article, originally published in Game Developer magazine, Mick West discusses how collaborative editing may be the future.

	POSTED MAY 2009 Secrets of Multiplatform Data Baking By Noel Llopis In this technical article, originally printed in Game Developer magazine late last year, veteran game programmer Llopis continues his look at data baking by examining how different console and PC game platforms treat data in memory.

	POSTED APRIL 2009 Sponsored Feature: OMG, Multi-Threading is Easier Than Networking By Orion Granatir In his new Intel sponsored feature, part of the Visual Computing section of Gamasutra, former Insomniac and current Intel staffer Orion Granatir introduces threading by comparing it to networking in games.

	POSTED APRIL 2009 Custom Tools: Environment Artists and Game Editors By Steve Theodore In this art-centric article, originally published in Game Developer magazine, Bungie's Steve Theodore discusses visualizing game environments, and why 'an upgrade to your tool chain is a great opportunity to upgrade the relationship between artists and designers'.

	POSTED APRIL 2009 Sponsored Feature: Implementation of Fast Fourier Transform for Image Processing in DirectX 10 By Raghu Muthyalampalli In this Intel-sponsored feature, part of Gamasutra's Visual Computing section, Muthyalampalli examines how you can use the fast Fourier transform (FFT) for image processing.

	POSTED APRIL 2009 Delicious Data Baking By Noel Llopis In this technical article, originally printed in Game Developer magazine late last year, veteran game programmer Llopis looks at data baking - that is to say, the steps that 'take raw data and transforms it into something that is ready to be consumed by the game'.

	POSTED MARCH 2009 Sponsored Feature: Optimizing Game Architectures with Intel Threading Building Blocks By Brad Werth In this sponsored feature, Intel's Brad Werth explains the company's open-source Threading Building Blocks structure and its potential use within video games.

	POSTED FEBRUARY 2009 Sponsored Feature: Designing the Framework of a Parallel Game Engine By Jeff Andrews In this sponsored Gamasutra feature, part of the Visual Computing Microsite, Intel application engineer Jeff Andrews discusses how single-threaded game engines may increasingly be outclassed by multithreaded solutions that are more sophisticated, but also more complex to create and optimize.

	POSTED FEBRUARY 2009 Sponsored Feature: Light It Up! Quake Wars Gets Ray Traced By Daniel Pohl Ray tracing can offer amazing graphical renderings, but it is often seen as too computationally taxing for real-time use. In this sponsored article, part of the Intel Visual Computing microsite, David Pohl of Intel's ray tracing group discusses how his team brought their past successes with the technique to Splash Damage's multiplayer shooter Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.

	POSTED FEBRUARY 2009 Creating All Humans: A Data-Driven AI Framework for Open Game Worlds By John Krajewski Populating an entire game world with characters that give an impression of life is a challenging task, and it's certainly no simpler in an open world. Senior AI programmer John Krajewski explains how he did it in Destroy All Humans 2.

	POSTED JANUARY 2009 Sponsored Feature: Real-Time Parametric Shallow Wave Simulation By John Van Drasek III Simulating convincing waves is mathematically complex and computationally taxing. In this sponsored article, part of the Intel Visual Computing microsite, John Van Drasek III, David Bookout and Adam Lake tackle the problem with DirectX 10.

	POSTED JANUARY 2009 Sponsored Feature: An Interview with Havok's Jeff Yates By Intel Visual Adrenaline Team Havok, long known for physics, now has a reach that extends into other crucial middleware areas. In this sponsored feature that's part of the Intel Visual Computing section, the company's Jeff Yates speaks about the present and the future.

	POSTED JANUARY 2009 Visualizing Floats By Mick West Despite their ubiquity, few programmers really take the time to study the underlying mechanics of floating point numbers, their limitations, and problems they can bring to games -- programmer West dives in.

	POSTED DECEMBER 2008 Sponsored Feature: How to Start a Multi-Threading Relationship By Tommy Refenes In his own inimitably amusing fashion, Goo! programmer Tommy Refenes tackles the serious subject of creating and managing efficient and effective multi-threaded relationships, in this Gamasutra sponsored feature that's part of the Intel Visual Computing section.

	POSTED DECEMBER 2008 Sponsored Feature: Multi-Core Simulation of Soft-Body Characters Using Cloth By Brad Werth In this Intel-sponsored feature, Intel senior software engineer Brad Werth explains how multicore CPUs can be leveraged for an efficient method of representing soft-body characters by way of cloth simulation.

	POSTED NOVEMBER 2008 Performance Scaling With Cores: Introducing The SMOKE Framework By Orion Granatir In this Intel-sponsored feature, Intel application engineer Orion Granatir and PC Perspective editor-in-chief Ryan Shrout introduce the concept and practical benefits behind Intel's multi-threaded Smoke framework.

	POSTED NOVEMBER 2008 Share Your Experience: YouTube Integration In Games By Claus Höfele Would you like to integrate YouTube video upload into your games? In a detailed technical feature with sample code, Team Bondi programmer Claus Höfele delves into the practical steps for your users to get gameplay footage automagically uploaded online.

	POSTED NOVEMBER 2008 Sponsored Feature: An Interview with Intel's Orion Granatir By Intel Visual Adrenaline Team In this Intel-sponsored feature article, Intel Software and Services Group application engineer and game development veteran Orion Granatir speaks about the importance of multi-threading and visual computing trends.

	POSTED OCTOBER 2008 Optimizing Asset Processing By Mick West In this in-depth technical article, Neversoft co-founder Mick West discusses performance concerns when optimizing asset processing for games, including the basic nature of the common problems and in-depth solutions for keeping the pipeline efficient.

	POSTED OCTOBER 2008 Space Adventures, Haunted Houses, Intergalactic Gaming: Richard Garriott Lives Large By Lee Purcell Ultima creator Richard Garriott is currently part of a mission to the International Space Station -- and we talk to him about his training, the Tabula Rasa tie-in and inspirations for future titles.

	POSTED OCTOBER 2008 Sponsored Feature: Unlocking Processing Potential: Randi Rost On CPU-Based Graphics Architecture By Chryste Sullivan In this Intel-sponsored feature, Randi Rost, Intel's External Relations Manager, Graphics, talks at length of higher education and new graphics architectures.

	POSTED OCTOBER 2008 Procedural Spooling In Games By Mick West In this in-depth technical article, Neversoft co-founder West examines how procedural generated content and compression can lead to expanding vistas for your open-world games

	POSTED SEPTEMBER 2008 Sponsored Feature: A Landmark in Image Processing: DMIP By Lee Purcell In this Intel-sponsored feature, part of the Gamasutra Visual Computing microsite, Lightspeed Publishing's Lee Purcell lays out deferred mode image processing, which speeds up complex image-processing tasks with up to 3X performance increases.

	POSTED SEPTEMBER 2008 Sponsored Feature: Multi-Threading Goo!: A Programmer’s Diary By Tommy Refenes In this Intel-sponsored feature, part of the Gamasutra Visual Computing microsite, Goo! developer Tommy Refenes of PillowFort matches wits with multi-threading in four gripping acts -- and emerges victorious.

	POSTED SEPTEMBER 2008 The Whimsy Of Domain-Specific Languages By Mick West Neversoft co-founder Mick West explores making your own mini-languages for games by creating Whimsy, a graphical DSL based on the abstract paintings of Parappa creator Rodney Alan Greenblat.

	POSTED AUGUST 2008 Sponsored Feature: Inking the Cube: Edge Detection with Direct3D 10 By Joshua Doss In this Intel-sponsored feature, part of the Gamasutra Visual Computing microsite, Intel senior graphics software engineer Joshua Doss delves practically into techniques for edge detection, crucial for many approaches to non-photorealistic rendering.

	POSTED AUGUST 2008 Sponsored Feature: Havok Talks Simulating Real-World Physics By Lee Purcell In this Intel-sponsored feature, part of the Gamasutra Visual Computing microsite, middleware firm Havok discusses its new products - from Havok Destruction to Havok Cloth - its acquisition by Intel, and plans for the future.

	POSTED AUGUST 2008 Random Scattering: Creating Realistic Landscapes By Mick West Neversoft co-founder Mick West continues his acclaimed Gamasutra technical analyses by showcasing a technique (including source code) for procedurally scattering trees across a game level.

	POSTED JULY 2008 Practical Fluid Dynamics: Part 2 By Mick West Following up his popular recent article, Neversoft co-founder Mick West explains the technical details - including source code - of creating dynamic fluid systems such as smoke for video games.

	POSTED JULY 2008 Sponsored Feature: Looks Aren't Everything: Making Games Act Real By Roger Chandler In this Intel-sponsored thought piece, company veteran Roger Chandler looks at why trudging through the Uncanny Valley to create realistic interactions with virtual creatures may lead to upsides in AI, special effects, physics, and more.

	POSTED JULY 2008 Programming Responsiveness By Mick West If you can't control your actions in a game, might the game be to blame? In a technical article, Neversoft co-founder Mick West examines the problem of - and solutions for - response lag in game code.

	POSTED JUNE 2008 Practical Fluid Dynamics: Part 1 By Mick West In this technical article originally printed in Game Developer magazine, Neversoft co-founder Mick West looks at how to efficiently implement fluid effects - from smoke to water and beyond - in video games, with example code

	POSTED JUNE 2008 Sponsored Feature: Microsoft Flight Simulator X SOARS to New Heights with Multi-Threading By Lee Purcell The seminal Flight Simulator franchise is embracing multithreading with the latest version, Microsoft Flight Simulator X, and in this sponsored feature for Intel's Visual Computing microsite, engineers explain the threading techniques that help enhance the sim's visuals.

	POSTED JUNE 2008 A More Accurate Volumetric Particle Rendering Method Using the Pixel Shader By Mike Krazanowski Many games, even on current "next-gen" hardware, render particles using camera facing quads - veteran coder Krazanowski (Tomb Raider: Anniversary) suggests a neat alternative solution using pixel shaders and a little bit of math.

	POSTED JUNE 2008 Sponsored Feature: Procedural Terrain Generation With Fractional Brownian Motion By Jeffrey Freeman The computer graphics industry has a long history of trying to model the limitless complexities of our real world terrain. In this article kicking off Intel's Visual Computing microsite, Freeman demonstrates several techniques (including the source code) for creating realistic terrain scenes on systems with integrated graphics solutions.