Networked Graphics Building Networked Games and Virtual Environments

Networked Graphics equips programmers and designers with a thorough grounding in the techniques used to create truly network-enabled computer graphics and games. Written for graphics/game/VE developers and students, it assumes no prior knowledge of networking.The text offers a broad view of what types of different architectural patterns can be found in current systems, and readers will learn the tradeoffs in achieving system requirements on the Internet. It explains the foundations of networked graphics, then explores real systems in depth, and finally considers standards and extensions.Numerous case studies and examples with working code are featured throughout the text, covering groundbreaking academic research and military simulation systems, as well as industry-leading game designs.

PART I GROUNDWORK1. Introduction2. One on One (101)3. Overview of the Internet4. More Than TwoPART II FOUNDATIONS5. Issues in Networking Graphics6. Sockets and Middleware7. Middleware and Message-Based Systems8. Middleware and Object-Sharing Systems9. Other Networking ComponentsPART III REAL SYSTEMS10. Requirements11. Latency and Consistency12. Scalability13. Application Support Issues

Graphics and games programmers and developers, virtual environments developers, academic researchers, upper-level undergrad and graduate students in Computer Graphics and Games programs

Anthony Steed is a Professor at University College London. His research interests are in collaborative virtual environments, immersive virtual reality, interaction, and human animation. He has over 110 refereed conference and journal papers to date. He was program chair of the 2007, 2008, and 2009 IEEE Virtual Reality conferences. For part of the academic year 2006 - 2007 he was on sabbatical to Electronic Arts in Guildford. He is also the director of the Engineering Doctorate Centre in Virtual Environment, Imaging, and Visualization.
Manuel Fradinho Oliveira is the research director of Cyntelix, and is responsible for the business development of seveal successful innovations. His research interests include collaborative virtual environments, immersive virtual reality, networked virtual environments, game design, human factors, and serious games. He has more than 70 refereed conference and journal publications to date. His PhD thesis focused on creating networked virtual environment systems, which yielded a patent addressing subjective network compensation techniques.