Large-Scale Finite State Game Engines

Abstract

This paper presents a new model reduction technique that exploits large-scale, parallel precomputation to create interactive, real-time games with the visual fidelity of offline rendered films.We present an algorithm to automatically discretize a continuous game into a large finite-state machine that can be pre-rendered in the film world. Despite radical differences from existing game engines, our finite-state approach is capable of preserving important characteristics of continuous games including smooth animation, responsiveness to input, triggered effects and passive animation. We demonstrate our technique with a 30-second interactive game set in an award-winning short film