Last updated on September 26th, 1999
A technique used to have a game run at the same speed on any computer it encounters (as long as it is at least as fast as a minimum target platform), while having a framerate that is different on every computer. This allows faster computers to have a much better view of the action, while still allowing slower computers to have uncompromised game mechanics and timing at the expense of frame rate.
Application Programming Interface. This is the set of all system-defined routines in a given programming environment. In Windows 95, for instance, the API is called the Win32 API. In the context of UPA games, it is the set of all pre-defined functions of procedures that the user can call from their control program.
A man-made entity which acts independently of human control. This could be as simple as a single cell in the game of Life or as complex as Lt-Cmdr. Data in Star Trek.
(also Bit Blit or just Blit) An abreviation for "Bitwise Block Transfer," pronounced "BIT-blit." It just a fancy term for the process used to copy a rectangular image into the middle of the screen or another bitmap in memory.
This refersto the vital first three or four minutes after a share-/free-ware game is first downloaded and unzipped. If the game isn't easy to grasp, at least in its basic concept, then it will fail right there. Users are fickle. If the program doesn't put out right away then nine times out of ten the user will lose interest. One of the greatest reasons that Doom was one of the more popular games in history is that it was so easy to pick up. Start the program and within thirty seconds you're blowing away zomboid aliens. Cursory Inspection is one of the most important aspects to conquer of game design and implementation.
The viewable output of a program. In most modern games this is rendered on a raster display with 256 or more colors. In general, the more colors and the higher resolution that is required for a program 's display, the less compatible it will be with older computers. The advantage, though, is that it's much easier to create nice effects on a high-resolution display with as many colors as possible.
The way in which the user can execute a program. Traditionally, this is a command line. In the context of though, Execution Interface is the interface that the user emplys to UPA games, begin a game. In C-Robots this is a simple command line command. In a more complex UI, though, it could be a file-selection dialog or menu system.
The precise definition of this term is debateable, and most people seem to have their own ideal for free software. Depending on the tack you take, it is either software that is distributed (or at least is available) free of charge, or it is software that is unencumbered by the tight restrictions on redistribution and re-engineering that copyrights usually imply. One of the biggest proponents of the second definition is Richard Stallman, head of the GNU project and author of the GPL.
These used to be unsulting terms, but modern computer users have adopted them as honorable badges of identification. Opinions are divided about whether "nerd" or "geek" is more or less flattering. (It is also possible to be a geek/nerd in other subjects than computers -- there are art geeks, music nerds, physics geeks, etc. I was recently flattered by someone when they called me an art geek :)
The GNU General Public License. It is an extensive document outlining the rights and restrictions given to people who use GNU software. It guarantees that the source code will always be available free of charge, and that any modifications made to the program, if released to the public, must also be released under the GPL. Many free software advocates believe that the GPL is too restrictive and prefer a licensing scheme that still allows customers to use code from free software in their proprietary, non-free programs.
Integrated Development Environment. This is a program editor from which the programmer can compile, execute and perhaps debug a program without having to exit the program. It is most useful in a single-tasking environment, though it still has advantages in multitasking operating systems. In UPA games an IDE would be able to start a game directly from the editor, using the program that is currently being edited as one of the contestants.
The set of potential customers who will use a product. In the case of free software, those customers will probably not pay anything for the product.
User-Programmed Automaton.
This is any entity in a game or other program which is
implemented by the user. An example of this is the robots in
C-Robots, which are all programmed by the users of the game.
C-Robots and Corewar are the two most well-known games which use
UPAs.
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This page is part of the Jone/Stone Information Repository Last updated on September 26th, 1999 |