System and Equipment

The equipment you will need to create a computer game depends on the type and scope of your project. The right setup can range from a very minimal investment to tens of thousands of dollars for the latest and most powerful computer and peripheral setup. To get started, you need to own a basic computer setup with a few important peripherals.

Computer

A computer is obviously a necessary item for game development. As was previously mentioned, there are many great deals that can be had these days for a minimal investment. Unless the needs of your software indicate you need a high-end system, a general-purpose off-the-shelf system usually will do.

When purchasing your system, you should take into account the work and applications you will run. The operating system is important (Windows 98 or above for the tools in this book, although Windows XP would be recommended), and new systems usually ship with the latest version of the biggest OS on the market at the time. The minimal system today usually has a 17-inch monitor, lots of RAM, and a fairly large hard drive. You should have no problem with an off-the-shelf system or a mail-order system from a reputable company.

Note

There are tips related to the purchasing of equipment at the end of this chapter.

Processor

The processor can often be very difficult to upgrade and, with this in mind, you should try to buy as fast a system as you can afford. There are two main manufacturers of processors on the Windows side of things: AMD with Athlons and Intel with Pentiums. We won’t get into a big discussion or try to decide which processor you should buy; you can simply assume that they are basically comparable.

One of the reasons you should buy the fastest processor you can is because many of the other components can be more easily upgraded as needed. Getting the fastest chip possible makes sense if you are purchasing a system for general work, but as a game developer, you will be pushing your system harder than most other users and will have a need for the speed. But don’t worry if your system is not the latest and greatest; you can still design and develop games with a minimal system, as long as it can run the specific applications you are using.

RAM

Like the processor, you should get as much RAM as possible. RAM stands for random access memory and is measured in megabytes or MB. (A slang term, megs, is often used.) RAM is used by the computer as temporary storage for the applications in use. When the system is turned off or the power goes out, the information that is in RAM is lost. Although it is cheap and very easy to upgrade, the prices are at such a low price that it is often a better decision to purchase a system that has a slightly slower processor and buy more RAM, which results in overall better performance at less cost. RAM is definitely the most important thing you can have.

Graphics (Video) Cards and 3D Cards

Video or graphics cards are becoming more important components of systems. They are the device in the computer that allows images to appear on your monitor. A video card usually controls how big the image is on your screen, how much detail it can have, and how many colors are displayed (in the next chapter, we will discuss the specific elements of an image).

Recently, there has been a trend toward faster, 3D hardware-accelerated video cards. Many applications require only the display of simple pictures, but if you are interested in doing 3D-related games, it will make sense to look at buying one of these cards. Most new systems will have a hardware-accelerated card, but the type and memory that it has will affect your performance. There are two manufacturers that are head and shoulders above the rest: Nvidia with its GeForce line of cards and ATI with the Radeon line. Regardless of the type of card you get, a 3D card is specifically designed to take the tasks of 3D rendering from the computer by handling textures, effects, and geometric calculations.

Other Peripherals

Other peripherals that you will need are standard on most computers: a modem, a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and a sound card. If your system comes with a modem, it will most likely be a 56-k modem, which is the fastest modem available on a standard dial-up connection. A CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive will probably be present on the system—you can simply choose the type that benefits you the most. The sound card is the device that allows output to be sent to a set of speakers. There are many manufacturers of sound cards and options that you will find. Again, you can choose a sound card that meets your requirements. Lastly, there are several other peripherals you will want to consider if you have the extra funds.

A scanner works like a copy machine from the user’s point of view. A scanner converts your flat document or image into a digital image that can be manipulated in the computer, as we describe in the next chapter. This can be very useful for creating game art, Web sites, logos, and simply getting your picture on a Quake guy’s face.

The next item is a digital camera, which works like a camera, but instead of film you get a digital image that is similar to one that you would get from a scanner. The major difference is that a scanner is good for copying flat images that have already been created, while a digital camera is great for real-life image capture. A digital camera can be used to capture an image of your house, whereas a scanner would require the image to be present on paper.

As was previously mentioned, most computers will come with a 56-K modem. This is adequate for many uses, but if you are serious about downloading information or researching on the Web, you should try to get high-speed Internet access. The Internet is such an invaluable resource, especially to game developers, that it is a worthwhile investment. Some of the large downloads you will be making are images, game demos, sound files, development tools, and animation files.

Backup Devices

This item is probably becoming a necessity as the prices of CD burners and media are now very low, and many systems now come with them as a standard item. There are actually two types of drives: a CD-Recordable (CD-R) drive, which can write to a given CD only a single time, and a CD-Rewriteable (CD-RW) drive, which can write, erase, and write to the media again. Once you have started creating content for your games, you will need a way to back them up. A CD-R drive is perfect for this. It is also a perfect way to deliver your materials to potential publishers when you are finished with a project. Instead of putting it on 10 or 15 floppy disks, you can safely distribute it on a CD-R.

Besides CD-R drives, you have several other options for backing up and storing your content. There are drives such as a standard 100-MB ZIP drive and a larger capacity 250-MB ZIP drive. There are also various options for tape backup drives that can hold several gigabytes of data. A standard floppy disk holds 1.44 MB of data, so you can quickly see the advantages of a high-capacity drive.

Another interesting item is a digital art pen and/or digitizer, which is something that an artist will like. These are pen-like devices that allow you to draw more naturally into the computer. This is far from a necessity and very expensive. The less expensive digital pens are good for recording signatures and basic sketching, but they lack the fine control an artist needs.

Network

A network is another item that is very important. It allows your computers to communicate with each other. While this sounds like an expensive proposition and a complex undertaking, it is a very achievable goal. A good SOHO (Small Office Home Office) network system can be had for under $100 and comes in a kit with everything you need, extending your computing capabilities dramatically. A few of the benefits of a home network are shared peripherals and resources. You can have one scanner, printer, or device on the network that other people on the network can use from their computers. This can be useful because most computers (especially older PCs) have a limited number of devices they can have installed. Also, having many devices installed on a system tends to slow down the system’s boot up and response times. You can also back up data on multiple PCs easily. During development of a title, having a network is almost essential because multiple team members are updating code and resources constantly.

Ethernet is the most common home-networking system and the easiest to have friends hook into. A typical system for two computers uses two cards, called Ethernet cards, and a crossover cable, a special cable designed for connecting only two computers. If you have three or more computers, you need what is called a hub, a device you plug all the computers into that routes, or directs, the traffic. The actual software portion of a network can range from simply finding the other computers on the network and accessing the data on their drives to setting up special software that operates peripherals and adds security, chatting, and other advanced functions.

Another type of network is a wireless network, which allows you to share information between computers without physically connecting them. Although there are advantages, wireless networks tend to be more expensive, are susceptible to data corruption, and are limited in distance between computers. Some networks use the phone wires in your house for connections instead of Ethernet or wireless. These are quickly becoming more prevalent for home users but are also susceptible to problems.

The last type of network we’ll look at uses the electrical wiring in your home as the network wires and tends to be slower and prone to interference. It also has a security problem because it uses the transformer (the big thing on the telephone pole outside) as the common link for data traveling through your power lines. The transformer may be shared by 20 or more houses on the street, and it is possible for anyone with the same network system to pry into your computers.

One last thing you should buy is a good chair and desk. You will be sitting for long periods of time, and this will prove to be an invaluable investment.