A Component-Based Environment for Authoring Entertainment Applications

In this paper, an environment for producing entertainment applications is presented, including a basic runtime system, component libraries and a set of dedicated, customizable authoring tools. The architecture of this sys-tem relies on three main concepts. The first is that of components and object-oriented application frameworks. The system provides a skeleton application that is filled with according components. There is a discussion of how component exchange and framework extraction allow the computer game part to be re-used and integrated in different applications (e.g. in training applications). The second concept involves the use of agent technology to describe behavior components in the sense of encapsulated micro simulators. It is shown how they can be incorporated in 3D components. In the third concept, meta components are used in order to encapsulate interaction metaphors and thus adapt the entertainment application, as well as the authoring frame-work, to different types of users. The advantage of this concept is that it allows a cost-efficient production of entertainment applications and enables new groups of authors to produce them, making innovative game ideas and new application domains of computer games possible. In addition to a discussion of the concepts and the production process, an implementation of the environment is presented and experiences with applying it are shared.