A video game developer has to develop a video game according to the market trend, the popularity and many other facts. Among them, the development of computer hardware also have impact upon them. Indeed, the video game development is not an easy job. The effort is usually undertaken by a single video game developer, or sometimes, ranging from a single video game developer to an international team of video game developers dispersed across the globe.
You have to control a car through a steering wheel, lever pedal and brake pedal, etc. And the video game developers also have to create a video game by handling with those computer hardware. And the computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer, such as the case, central processing unit (CPU), monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer data storage, graphics card, sound card, speakers and motherboard.
By contrast, software is the set of instructions that can be stored and run by hardware. Hardware is so-termed because it is “hard” or rigid with respect to changes, whereas software is “soft” because it is easy to change. But, in this current pc world, with a lot of modern changes, the hardware is also easy to change. The rapid changes in hardware make the video game developers difficult to track on creating the most modern video games.
Hardware is typically directed by the software to execute any command or instruction. A combination of hardware and software forms a usable computing system, although other systems exist with only hardware. There are also the different types of computer systems for the video game developer to use in his video game development.
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Personal Computer or PC
The personal computer or PC is the most useful type of computer for a video game developer due to its versatility and relatively low price. Desktop personal computer have a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse and a computer case. The computer case holds the motherboard, fixed or removable disk drives for data storage, the power supply, and may contain other peripheral devices such as modems or network interfaces.
There are even more versatile types of PC for a video game developer to use. Some models of desktop computers integrated the monitor and keyboard into the same case as the processor and power supply. Separating the elements allows the user to arrange the components in a pleasing, comfortable array, at the cost of managing power and data cables between them.
The personal computer or PC is a very useful type of computer system for a video game developer as it is cheaper than the other two computer systems that are going to get mentioned next. Because PC is cheaper than any other type of computer and it is also easy to change its components if you want to modernize those components. But the defection of PC is that it is not easy for a video game developer to carry along with him. So, if the video game developer is working at only one place which may be his home or his office, the PC is the most convenient for him. But, if he has to work both at home or at office or if he wants to work everywhere and so he wants to take his computer along with him, the two coming computer systems work best for him.
Laptop
The other type of computer for a video game developer to use is laptop. The laptops are designed for portability but operate similarly to desktop PCs. Although those laptops are convenient for the video game developers to take them easily everywhere they go, the laptops operate with a lower performance than a similarly priced desktop computer, using a lower-power or reduced size components. The laptops contain the keyboard, display and processor in one case. The monitor in the folding upper case of the case can be closed for transportation, to protect the screen and keyboard. Instead of a mouse, laptops may have a track-pad or a pointing stick. So, the laptops are very convenient for the video game developers to take away his computer to work or to his house. But to modernize his computer according to the rapidly growing technology for a video game developer, it will not be as easy or as cheap as PC.
Tablets
Tablets are portable computer that a video game developer uses a touch screen as the primary input device. Tablets generally weigh less and are smaller than laptops. So, they are even easier to take with them if the video games developers have to work while travelling or have to work both at home and at office, if they take tablet computers. And the tablets are convenient as they contain fold-out keyboards, or offer connections to separate external keyboards. Some models of laptop computers have a detachable keyboard, which allows the system to be figured as a touch-screen tablet. They are sometimes called “2-in-1 detachable laptops” or “tablet-laptop hybrids”.
So, it is very convenient for a video game developer to take those hybrid tablets. He may check his work everywhere where may be on a bus or on a train or even in a park. And adaptable keyboard suit would change those tablets into a laptop if the video game developer wants. But, to upgrade its components, it would cost the video game developer more rather than laptops and PCs.
Computer Case
The computer case encloses most of the components of the system. It provides mechanical support and protection for internal elements such as the motherboard, disk drives, and power supplies, and controls and directs the flow of cooling air over internal components. The case is also part of the system to control electromagnetic interference radiated by the computer and protects internal parts from electrostatic discharge. Large tower cases provide space for multiple disk drives or other peripherals and usually stand on the floor, while desktop cases provide less expansion room.
All-in-one style designs include a video display built into the same case. Portable and laptop computers require cases that provide impact protection for the unit. Hobbyists may decorate the cases with colored lights, paint, or other features, in an activity called case modding.
Cases are usually constructed from steel (often SECC – steel, electrogalvanized, cold-rolled, coil), aluminium and plastic. The video game developers can decorate them with other materials such as glass, wood, acrylic and even Lego bricks that have appeared in video game developers’ home-built cases.
Motherboard
A motherboard (also called mainboard, system board, baseboard, planar board, logic board, and mobo) is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expandable systems. It holds and allows communication between many of the crucial electronic components of a system, such as the central processing unit (CPU) and memory, and provides connectors for other peripherals.
Unlike a backplane, a motherboard usually contains significant sub-systems, such as the central processor, the chipset’s input or output and memory controllers, interface connectors, and other components integrated for general use.
Similarly, the term mainboard describes a device with a single board and no additional expansions or capability, such as controlling boards in laser printers, television sets, washing machines, mobile phones, and other embedded systems with limited expansion abilities.
Graphics Card
A video card (also called a graphics card, display card, graphics adapter, or display adapter) is an expansion card which generates a feed of output images to a display device (such as a computer monitor). Frequently, these are advertised as discrete or dedicated graphics cards, emphasizing the distinction between these and integrated graphics. At the core of both is the graphics processing unit (GPU), which is the main part that does the actual computations, but should not be confused with the video card as a whole, although “GPU” is often used as a metonymic shorthand to refer video cards.
Most video cards are not limited for the video game developers to simply display output. Their integrated graphics processor can perform additional processing, removing this task from the central processor of the computer. For example, Nvidia and AMD produced cards render the graphics pipeline OpenGL and DirectX on the hardware level. In the later 2010s, there has also been a tendency to use the computing capabilities of the graphics processor to solve non-graphic tasks, which can be done through the use of OpenCL and CUDA. Video cards can also be used for AI training.
For game development, the video game developer would need a graphics card depending on the type of game. But the rapid development of graphics card would cost a lot for video game developers. So the video game developers should buy the latest generation video card they could afford only if they have to test out newer feature like Hardware Ray Tracing.
A video game developer would need at least a computer that is capable to handling the highest graphics level that he may want to implement. If the video game development is only for a simple 2D game, you might not need a GPU at all.
On the other hand, if a video game developer plan on doing AAA- level photorealistic 3D graphics, he would probably want a pair of the most modern graphics cards so that he can test your game at ultra-settings. It all comes down to the game that the video game developer is making. His graphics card needs to meet his own requirements. But, it is sure that the rapidly developing graphics card would cost a lot for a video game developer. There are a lot of rapid development in graphics card. GTX 1080 has been discontinued and the 20 series will get discontinued this month. And now, only 30 series are left in the market. For a video game developer, he need the most modern graphics cards to accelerate game performance, creative desktop applications, content creation, and workstation-class applications.
So, a video game developer would need a powerful and modern graphics card for his creations to be update and powerful enough to rival in his market. But, the rapid development in graphics card would cost a lot for the video game developers.
CPU
A central processing unit also called central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry within a computer that executes instructions that make up a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions in the program. The computer industry used the term “central processing unit” as early as 1955. Traditionally, the term “CPU” refers to a processor, more specifically to its processing unit and control unit or CU, distinguishing these core elements of a computer form external components such as main memory and I/O circuitry.
The form, design, and implementation of CPUs have changed over the course of their history, but their fundamental operation remains almost unchanged. Principal components of a CPU include the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) that performs arithmetic and logic operations, processor registers that supply operands to the ALU and store the results of ALU operations, and a control unit that orchestrates the fetching and execution of instructions by directing the coordinated operations of the ALU, registers and other components. Also, the CPU is vital for game development so the rapid change in CPU systems would have a huge impact upon the video game developers.
Monitor
A computer monitor is an output device that displays information in pictorial form. A monitor usually comprises the visual display, circuitry, casing, and power supply. The display device in modern monitors is typically a thin film transistor liquid crystal display with LED backlighting having replaced cold-cathode fluorescent lamp backlighting. Older monitors used a cathode ray tube (CRT). Monitors are connected to the computer via VGA, Digital Visual Interface (DVI), HDMI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) or other proprietary connectors and signals.
For game development, the video game developers would need gaming monitors that will have features such as response times that are much faster than regular monitors. Regular monitors are usually between 1ms and the gaming monitors are at 5ms. And they also have higher refresh rates, sometimes as high as 144 Hz, like ASUS PG278Q. And faster response time will reduce the blur of an image on the display and so that would help the best for the video game developer. And as the technology develops, it would make a video game developer to have at least two monitors with two different CPU to help in his development.
Computer Data Storage
Computer data storage is a technology consisting of computer components and recording media that are used to retain digital data of video game developers. It is a core function and fundamental component of computers as they keep the work of a video game developer. The central processing unit (CPU) of a computer is what manipulates data by performing computations. In practice, almost all computers use a storage hierarchy, in storing data of a video game developer, which puts fast but expensive and small storage options close to the CPU and slower but less expensive and larger options further away.
For video game development, a video game developer would need a better computer data storage according to his project. A video game developer will want more storage than depending on how many droves he is using total. But the rapidly growing technology in game development would make a video game developer to have a computer storage of 2-4 TB to store his data.
Others
The most vital hardware for a game developer are mentioned above. And they are expensive and so it would cost a lot to change. But not catching up the technology would make a video game developer disturbed as the gamers want to experience the most modern games. So, the creator of those games or those game developers would need the latest technology that would help the best in his works.
The others are not as important as the above mentioned one for a video game developer. Those thing include sound card, keyboard and mouse, etc. Does a sound card help a video game developer in his video game development? No. Motherboard audio handles the task well enough. And today’s games generally are not bound by processor performance, so they would not run more quickly if a sound card is not installed. And there is also not much difference in latency or the time it takes for audio to reach to the speakers.