D game development: a call to action

[ketmar via Digitalmars-d]

On Sun, 14 Dec 2014 17:45:06 +1000
Manu via Digitalmars-d <digitalmars-d at puremagic.com> wrote:

> >> Hard to describe... just the sort you'd find in a big commercial game.
> >> Perhaps I could say something like, highly optimised and purpose
> >> specific, as opposed to generalised and flexible/object oriented.
> > i've seen such code. it's... ah, it's terrible. unmaintainable. and
> > becomes garbage just when the next 3d-accel or processor is out. sure,
> > nobody cares as it is sold million times already and everyone is
> > working on another pile of shit now. libraries? code reusability?
> > design? architecture? screw that! i moved out of that industry 'cause i
> > couldn't take it anymore. they almost ruined my programming skills.
> >
> > that's why i was so wondered.
> 
> Where did you work? It sounds like you had a bad experience. I've
> worked in a few such environments, I can say we only got the balance
> right once.
ah, that was... "outhouse team", i think. we were not officialy part of
the main firm, but were working on their titles. it doesn't really
matter, i don't know what's going on there now, so let it be "the
nameless one". ;-)

maybe i was just unlucky. i've dreamt of creating videogames from my
childhood and was very excited to work in "real videogaming industry".
that was more than decade ago, though, but i don't believe that things
are changed radically since then. i was talking with some old mates
recently (they are still making videogames) and was really wondered:
they know alot about overhead of memory allocation, processor caches,
videodriver glitches, but failing at basic CS things, such as "why
crc32 isn't good function for hashing?". they know that crc32 should
not be used in hashtables, but for what reason... it's mystery.

> I find a much bigger problem is tendency for some programmers to
> commit over-abstraction, sacrificing heaps of efficiency/performance
> in the process. Most open-source engines are this kind, and will never
> release a AAA game in a competitive market.
ah, that's the other end of the spectrum (and my own problem too ;-).
i'm still searching for good heuristic that will tell me when i should
stop abstracting and just write the damn thing. ;-)
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