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Game Physics Engine Development

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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.

552 pages, Paperback

First published March 7, 2007

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Ian Millington

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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Profile Image for Alb85.
348 reviews11 followers
July 1, 2021
Interessante manuale su come implementare un simulatore fisico (Physics Engine).

La parte di matematica e fisica è spiegata in modo chiaro e completo. Si parla di vettori, di matrici, di integrali, delle leggi di Newton, ecc.

Prima l'autore spiega come gestire un sistema di particelle, cioè oggetti senza massa e senza direzionalità. Parla di forze (tra cui la forza di gravità e le forze elastiche) che agiscono sull'accelerazione, e di impulsi (quando ad esempio avviene una collisione tra oggetti) che agiscono sulla velocità.
Poi introduce il complesso argomento dell'identificazione delle collisioni e di come risolverle.
Parla poi di rotazione introducendo il centro di massa e le operazioni con le matrici e con i quaternioni.

Il tutto si complica quando si introducono i corpi rigidi che si portano dietro l'aspetto della rotazione e del momento.

In fine gran parte del libro parla delle tecniche di identificazione delle collisioni e di generazione dei contatti.
Ammetto di aver saltato la parte di risoluzione delle collisioni, decisamente troppo complicata.
7 reviews
January 22, 2022
I learned more about 3D math from this book than any other resource. The section on quaternions is particularly excellent and the only explanation on the subject that made sense to me.

As another review pointed out, this book is really a giant tutorial. Following along and developing my own codebase was enjoyable and rewarding in and of itself. While I did end up replacing the physics engine with Bullet, the whole process taught me more about game physics than I imagine any other resource could.

Profile Image for Gashtasb Mozaffarian.
18 reviews7 followers
April 18, 2022
این کتاب رو به همه اون‌هایی که به شبیه سازی فیزیک (چه در بازی‌ها چه برای شبیه سازی‌های واقعی) علاقه دارند، پیشنهاد میکنم.
همراه با مطالعه چند منبع دیگر و چند پیپر بروز، سطح اطلاعاتتون رو تا زیادی بالا میبره!
5 reviews
December 21, 2019
Basically a giant, thorough tutorial on the concepts and algorithms behind physicsengines. Well written and exactly what I was looking for.
Profile Image for Bruno Gallego.
24 reviews
December 23, 2019
The Physic Game Developer book is better, altghouth it requires better math background. Game Physics engine is better for programmers.
5 reviews
August 11, 2022
Very nice book to start with the physics engine programming. It explains everything you need to know about physics and how they are considered in videogames.
Profile Image for Danien.
44 reviews
February 22, 2011
Good beginners' approach to what goes into a physics engine. Covers the mathematics behind the physics in a way that is very easy to comprehend as well as the basic architecture of a physics engine as it relates to a real time game engine.

By the end of the book, you get a basic kinematic physics engine (with rigid body, springs, collisions, but no advanced topics like cloth).

Even if you don't intend to write your own physics engine, this book is a good introduction for understanding what goes on behind the scenes and how to structure your physics interface.
Profile Image for Andre.
66 reviews24 followers
December 1, 2011
Kinda sped along some of the mathematics but the point is that in practice, different tradeoffs need to be made based on the physics and the degree of realism your game requires. Some sections seemed very vague (for example, the section on contact generation seemed extremely hand wavey but made sense), others felt extremely intuitive.

I suppose I should have read the source code while reading the book, but, oh well. //
4 reviews
July 27, 2010
A good introductory book on physics engine architecture. Most of the techniques presented apply to small-scale engines for simulating specific scenarios (for example, there is a section on creating a Loco Roco-like game).
Profile Image for Ahmed Gamal.
14 reviews2 followers
August 4, 2012
it's great but many times I couldn't find enough details to fully understand some topic. some would like this for fast and easy doing but consider using a more detailed book as a reference.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

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