Technical lecture topics included gaming on networks and the Internet, virtual reality, 3-D modeling, and emerging audio standards. Also covered were nontechnical industry concerns-- legal problems, content acquisition, gender roles and violence, the industry's relationship with Hollywood, and the like.
Rob Glidden, president of Soft Press, gave his predictions for real-time 3-D on the PC. Far from merely a gaming concern, Glidden stated that over the next three years, real-time 3-D will become an essential PC standard--the "ultimate intuitive interface." He noted that while some people define reality as 10 million polygons-per-second, he believes "reality is a volumetric rendering algorithm." Driving the push toward real-time 3-D is heavy investment in 3-D graphics, including Intel's 3DR API and Microsoft's Reality Labs acquisition, and technology such as the virtual reality markup language (VRML). Developments by graphics- chip and board makers, such as Brooktree, Synema, ATI, and Matrox will further enable real-time 3-D. However, Glidden says, one impediment to real-time 3-D may be patents that could hamper standards.
The Internet as a developer's resource was the topic of a lecture given by Phillip King. Other Net-related talks included Frederic Vincent Bien, of Bien Logic, discussing Intelligent Tutors and the Internet, and an overview of MUDs, by Dr. Cat.
DDJ contributing editor Michael Abrash discussed the 3-D Device Driver Interface (3-D DDI) as a 3-D hardware acceleration standard. 3-D DDI is Microsoft's Windows device driver between 3- D APIs and hardware. Abrash assured programmers that standards conflicts will keep them employed for the next five years.
Any game conference worth its salt has a few DOOM demos for attendees to perfect their shotgun aim. Echo Speech added a new wrinkle to the DOOM experience by providing multiplayer voice communications. Their Simultaneous Voice and Gaming (SVG) technology uses a DSP audio card and EchoSpeech compression to achieve a compression ratio of 18:1. SVG mixes in good-quality speech (8 or 16 bit at 11 KHz) with the game data before sending it over modems and networks. SVG's computational efficiency, which allows it to be used on a 386-class PCs, offers a new level of interaction for networked games and potentially other applications
A major problem with 3-D, stereographic software is the eye and neck strain caused by clumsy display hardware. To that end, Virtual i-O was showing off their solution: Virtual i-glasses, a head-mounted 3-D display with stereo headphones weighing in at just eight ounces. The Virtual i-glasses were endorsed by VRML pioneer Mark Pesce who is quoted in Virtual i-O's promotional brochure as saying, "Their comfort, ease of use, and ergonomic features make them by far the most impressive and safest virtual displays yet developed." The i-glasses could be used in lieu of a monitor with any 2-D application and they can provide a see- through display, allowing the user to see both the screen image and the room beyond. Virtual i-O offers a developers kit that includes head-tracking specifications, software routines and tech support.
Imersion Corporation demonstrated their 3-D modeling digitizer, MicroScribe 3-D. The device resembles a multi-jointed mechanical arm with a pen attached to the end. As the operator traces the pen along the surface of an object, a wire-frame replica appears on a monitor. The end-result could then be exported to a 3-D modeling application using standard formats such as .dxf, .obj, .txt, and others.
Several 3-D rendering APIs were on display, including Argonaut's Brender and Criterion's RenderWare. Microsoft released beta versions of four multimedia APIs: DirectDraw, DirectSound, DirectInput, and DirectPlay, for graphics, sound, input devices and data transmissions, respectively.
At the close of the CGDC, Microsoft hosted a "Ground Zero" party which served as a kickoff for their own seminar, focusing on the Windows 95 game SDK. The day-long session followed on the heels of (some conference goers said "on the toes of") CGDC conference and was free to CGDC attendees.
The CGDC is sponsored by the Computer Game Developer's Association. Membership in CGDA is $75.00 per year. Members receive news and information about the interactive, education, and entertainment software industry. For more information, contact the CGDA, 5339 Prospect Road, Ste. 330, San Jose, CA 95129.