Year 1 - Design Brief for a Game (24/01/17)

Design Brief for a Game

Ideas and Brief:

Objective - Complete the missions that are given along the way, you can choose the missions the want to do and each one can lead to a different path with some being much better than others.
Target Audience - Any gender above the age of 16 because of the acts of violence faced
Style - An Action Shooter game with a photo-realistic art style.
Mechanics - It will me a single player game with the opportunity to play multiplayer online or locally. Achievements will be available to collect for more outside the box actions. There are four different difficulty levels, easy, medium, hard and hardcore. As you go up each difficulty the amount of enemies and how hard they are to defeat.
HUI - The HUI will consist of inventory slots, a chat, weapons and the ammo currently being used, a map, health, your shield, your current mission etc.
Controls - The can be played with a game pad or keyboard and mouse depending on the device or system played on. You'll be able to control the movement of the player, the camera and any other actions needed like jumping, picking up an object, using an object, accessing the inventory etc.
Story line - You can play as either a female or male character (Emily or Alex) and choose certain traits to customise your gaming experience. The date is 15th December 1837 at the beginning of the Victorian era in London, you find yourself in a basement that you must escape from. After escaping and collecting needed supplies, you find out that you have travelled back in time from 2022 and must find a professor who lives in France. You find out from a shopkeeper that your aim is to travel across the country to find a guy called Mr Harris, in Brighton, who can help you get to France via a boat. The shopkeeper asks for you to do some errands in return for a spare train ticket to Brighton. Little do you know that there are many people angry at the Professor for his work from the past and are after you for their revenge. They get on the same train as you and start to surround you however again you manage to escape but you are left in a wasteland. From here you ask for help from multiple people and they all give you different missions leading to different paths. Each path have different outcomes with some being good and others being bad while meeting different characters and having the choice to go back. Eventually you will have completed any missions you need to do to get to Brighton and set sail for France. When you get there you experience a cut scene that shows everything going well until you get a bag over your head in first person and that is where the game abruptly ends.

Survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/JHZ3MT5

Year 1 - P2 - Unit 73: Sound for Computer Games

Level 3 Games Design
Unit 73: Sound for Computer Games
P2/Aims: Understand the methods and principles of sound design and production

Exercise 1:

Sound file formats:

Uncompressed - They are a perfect portrayal of  the original recording, they also use up more space than lossy compression. This method of format is best used on games that are stored on disk because of the memory used up.
Examples include: 

WAV (Waveform/WAVE) - Audio file format created by Microsoft. It has become a standard audio file format for PCs, from system sounds and game sounds to CD quality audio. It also stores information about the file, this includes its number of tracks, sample rate, bit depth and whether its mono or stereo.

AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) - One of the most used audio file formats used in Apple Macintosh operating systems. If used on a PC the file extension is '.aif,' but when used on a Mac it does not even need one. The file contains the raw audio data, channel information, bit depth, sample rate and application-specific data areas. Application-specific data area let different applications add information into the file header that will remain there.

AU (Audio) - A simple sound file format belonging to Sun, NeXT, DEC and used in UNIX. It is also known as Spac-audio or u-law formats. They contain three parts, these are the audio data, text for a header and an annotation block.

SMP (Smart Music Performance) - Used by SmartMusic which is an application for band orchestra and voice; it saves an accompaniment that can be used for practising solos and other musical parts. It also includes the sheet music information and can be used for assessment.

VOC (Creative Labs Audio File) - Used by Creative Labs hardware like SoundBlaster sound cards; may be audio clips, sound effects or instrument sounds which may be referred to as voices.

Lossy compression - Compressed data that loses quality as it discards information, this therefore means it uses less space and is a lot more suitable to be used on devices like ipods and phones.
Examples include:

MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer 3 (AC3) file) - Is a standard technology and format for compressing a sound sequence into a very small file. It provides near CD quality audio and is one of the most common file types for music.

RA (RealMedia streaming audio file) - A streaming audio file used by RealNetworks RealPlayer. It contains audio data encoded in the proprietary RealAudio codec.

VOX (Dialogic audio file coded using ADPCM) - It is used with Voxware software and they contain Metavoice audio data that stimulates human speech that is based on the Dialogic ADPCM codec.

Audio Sampling:

How can resolution and bit-depth constrain file size? - The higher the bit-depth means the higher the quality, this is because the bit-depth is the number of bits of information in each sample. The resolution is how many values the sample can take on. The higher the resolution the more accurate the representation of the level of each sample. The higher the bit-depth and resolution the more memory used and needed. This applies vice versa.

Explain what the following words mean:

Sample rate - Number of sample of audio carried per second, it is measured in Hz or kHz.

Mono - Intended to be heard as if it were a single channel of sound coming from one position.

Stereo - Uses two channels to transport the felling of sound coming from the left, right and middle in different places.

Surround - Perceives sound to surround the listener by 360 degrees. They use three or more channels and speakers in front and behind to create an envelope of sound surrounding and directional audio sources.

Exercise 2:

Audio Limitations of Games Platforms

How can the following information limit the recording of sound? -

DSP (Digital Signal Processor - Can process data in real time, this makes it idea for applications that can't tolerate any delays. They take a digital and handle it so as to improve it into a clearer sound.

RAM (Random Access Memory) - it allows information to be stored and retrieved in a system, because of it being randomly accessed the data is quicker to get at and used. The higher the amount of RAM the better performance you can obtain when recording sound. This includes the quality and speed of saving the audio has.

PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) - It's the form of sound that digital sound is decoded into that is then able to be outputted into the speakers. It allows the recording of audio performances which can then be fit into a small space while still being close to the original performance quality.

File format - The format in which a sound file has can change the quality and readability of a file. WAV and AIFF files are much higher quality than that of a MP3 file because they are uncompressed but also, use more memory up. WAV is mainly used on PCs and AIFF on Macintosh. MP3 is more likely used on ipods, phones and tablets.

Audio output - Mono and Stereo sound would be a lot less immersive than that of Surround sound when playing back. The quality of the three can differ entirely and can make audio sound more or less like the original and in person experience.

Audio Recording Systems

In what types of scenario may you use the following audio recording equipment? - 

Multi-track recording - Allows for separate recording of more than one sound source. They can be used and put together to create a single track. Most popular music is made using this method.

MIDI (Multi Instrument Digital Interface) - Allows a single person to have control over multiple instruments at the same time. It enables electronic musical instruments, computers and other electronic equipment to communicate and be in sync with each other. It is used by professionals and amateurs to record and edit multiple tracks of electronic music.

DAT (Digital Audio Tape) - A single recording and playback medium on tape. It is still used regularly in film and television.

Analogue - Used to record analog signals which allow playback later. An example of an analog medium is vinyl.

Software Plug-ins - Adds a specific feature to an existing program with a software component. They can be used to generate,m process or analyse sound. As an example this could add sound synthesis (synthesizer).

Software Sequencer - Class of application software giving a functionality of music sequencer. It can be controlled by either the GUI or a specialised input device like a MIDI controller.

References:

http://whatis.techtarget.com/fileformat/WAV-Waveform-sound-Microsoft-Windows
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/AIFF-Audio-Interchange-File-Format
http://whatis.techtarget.com/fileformat/AU-Sun-NeXT-DEC-UNIX-sound-file
https://fileinfo.com/extension/smp
http://whatis.techtarget.com/fileformat/VOX-Dialogic-audio-file-coded-using-ADPCM
http://whatis.techtarget.com/fileformat/MP3-MPEG-Audio-Layer-3-AC3-file
http://whatis.techtarget.com/fileformat/RA-RealMedia-streaming-audio-file
https://fileinfo.com/extension/voc
http://www.pcguide.com/art/soundSampleResolution-c.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_bit_depth
http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Sample_Rates
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaural
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/surround_sound.html
http://www.futureelectronics.com/en/Microprocessors/digital-signal-processors.aspx
http://sarahsgamesdesign.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/memory-understanding-hardware.html
https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-pcm-1846928
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wml/exhibitions/thebeatgoeson/thebeatgoesonline/technology/studios/multitrack.aspx
https://www.midischool.com/what-is-midi/
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/midi.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Tape
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_recording
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_(computing)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_sequencer#Software_sequencers

Year 1 - Unit 13 - Understanding the games industry Assignment 2 Task 1 - Financial Issues

Unit 13 - Understanding the games industryAssignment 2 Task 1 - Financial Issues

       In this report financial issues that can affect the sales (whether good or bad) as well as, how and why they may will be covered. These issues can cause the game to be successful or a failure to the gaming industry.




       There are many costs towards creating a game whether it be successful or not, if not then the possibility of making their money back is a lot lower. When creating a game you would need to consider setting a sensible budget as the factors of pre-production help prevent the risk of overspending. For a small company the cost breakdown may include; staff, programmers, artists, QA etc, need paying; advertising and marketing; clearances, like copyrights and age ratings and rent and bills for the locations used like offices. Others could be; the creation of hardware peripherals; supporting different languages and regions; catering to different platforms and IP (Intellectual Property) Licensing costs. One of the most well known financial disasters in the gaming industry was a big part of the video game crash of 1983. It is the game E.T. for the Atari 2600 released in the December of 1982. The cost to develop the game was over $125 million with $20-25 million of that was just for the rights to make the game. The game itself had 4 million copies while only selling a total of 1.5 million however, 3.5 million of all the copies were sent back as returns or unsold stock. This meant that only an eighth of the copies had been sold, meaning a large loss of $536 million for the company leaving it to be divided and sold in 1984. This was not helped by Atari's Pac-Man for the same console in March 1982 which produced 12 million copies, (despite this being more than how many consoles were estimated to have been sold at the time) however, they did sell 7 million copies. The estimated profit was $200 million but that was for selling 9 million. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric was released by Sega for the Wii U on November 11th 2014 in North America and was announced as the lowest-selling game in the franchise by only selling 620,000 copies. It was also stated as the worst game of 2014 by David Jenkins from Game Central and multiple accounts of repetitive level design, dull combat and and serious bugs.
       There are multiple ways a game can get funding, the first is Self Funding. Self funding is pretty much as the name states with you funding the game yourself. The advantages of this are not having to pay back anything and being able to make your own deadline. The disadvantages are that you most likely do not have that kind of money of you are an indie developer and the pressure to not go over budget must be very high. The second are Bank Loans, although they are not the most appealing they are certainly a good option when all else fails. The advantages for this are because you must create such a detailed business report that the chances of things not working out are very slim. Another advantage is that it the amount of funding you could get is very high however the amount of interest of you have to pay back may make the overall payment a lot higher and could unfortunately be very hard to pay back. You also would have to come up with a convincing, detailed and stable business plan that could mean whether or not the loan goes through. The third option is finding an investor, they are keen to find to find ideas that they think may draw up a profit. The advantage to this is like one from the bank loan, in that the funding you get should cover everything needed. However, the disadvantage is that the pressure you have to handle would be very high, as the investors personal money is at high risk and is trusted in you.
      The fourth and final way of obtaining funding is through crowdfunding, it is where you can ask a large group of people for a small amount of money in hopes you can reach your goal on websites like Kickstarter. Some positives for this way is that you would not become in debt and it is a good way of gaining an audience. However, if the game becomes a flop you would have a lot of angry backers. As well as this, there are so many games trying the same thing out there and many people who have put their money in have also had it taken away so, they are very selective with who they entrust their money in (much like the investors).
       There are many issues that are facing small and indie studios with the first one of course being funding. The most common way of gaining funding as an indie developer is crowdfunding, as spoken about above, and this can take a long time even with friends and interns working alongside you. They are also low on resources, offices and equipment. Not only this, but the fight to keep your work as your own and not have it stolen is much more harder. "Copyright can protect artwork in a game, or the specific code behind a game, but game mechanics cannot be protected," said Rodain Joubert who is the developer of a game called Desktop Dungeons. Taking legal action can cost a lot of money which is hard to find for most people. The market is full of so many indie games that flood the market, with most of them being the same thing over and over again, making it hard to get noticed. Small studios find it a lot harder to gain publicity and a following because of their ability to market is restrained by costs and lack of audience.
      In summary if I was to create a game and need to find the funding I would definitely use crowdfunding as, it's the least likely to leave me in debt however long and how much effort and work it may take to get there. After doing this research I learnt a lot about the struggle that goes into creating a video game and especially the issues that face indie and small studios.





References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_commercial_failures_in_video_gaming#Pac-Man_.28Atari_2600.29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial_(video_game)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Boom:_Rise_of_Lyric
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man_(1982_video_game)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/developers/articles/week03sep14/funding-and-opportunities-for-game-developers/
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/KateReichert/20121101/180767/Top_5_Problems_Faced_By_Indie_Game_Developers.php

Year 1 - P1 - Unit 73: Sound for Computer Games

Level 3 Games Design
Unit 73: Sound for Computer Games
P1/Aims: To Understand Sound Design Theory

Gaming Music/FX:

1. Uncharted 4 - For Better or Worse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXxGbcsLhcM

This specific song was chosen as a theme for the main character Nate and his wife Elena. The song was used to show the aftermath of the couples argument and the feeling of how even though they argued they both forgave each other in the end. It also shows how they both felt regret towards what they did. The way it created its mood and atmosphere made it work really well and effectively, also it  is used in a scene that is many peoples favourite, mine included. The choice was a good one and I could not change it.

2. Undertale - Your Best Nightmare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7bgLkdEFAE

The indie developer of the game (Toby Fox) chose this song as to add tension to this part of the game. It is used in possibly the strangest and most unexpected scene of the game which is definitely added to with the piece of music. It sounds like a mix of many different songs showing its variety and randomisation of mood however with its dark undertones we are drawn into the shadows and excitement. The music choice definitely added to the battle making it seem much more hyped up and important than it really was and made losing much harder to deal with. I would not change the music for Undertale as its variety shows its strength.

3. Life is Strange - The Sense Of Me by Mud Flow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqxqC4xrDfQ&index=17&list=PLZlppmGv_GIKfcd4t6odoAB9a7aUBMBZi

Much like the rest of Life is Strange this song has a chilled out vibe which focuses on the bright and smooth artistic style and the calm aesthetic. Although it fits with the calm feeling it definitely adds to the eeriness of the pure undisturbed gameplay. The music fits amazingly and creates the perfect ambience and I feel it was the best track they could've chosen.

4. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle - City Escape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLKVkH8dtWs

Compared to the other games and music its definitely more lighthearted and happy than the others. The track was chosen because this part of the game is very fast pace and needs an engaging but not distracting background sound. The track is a lot of peoples favourite as its very catchy and is the perfect pace to start of the game and level with. I definitely would not change anything about the chosen track as it's such a significant factor in the game.

5. Outlast - Main Menu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEjn63QGL-s&list=PL1caomPZ-YkrT0nIHF2SxTpJ2STZS0uJ0

As this is a horror a game it definitely has the most chilling and eerie soundtrack of them all. Although this track is not used in any specific gameplay it definitely sets the mood for the ride ahead, and not only that but puts you on the edge of your seat within the first few minutes. Its quite a boring track but like any other main menu it doesn't really need that much lyrical content. I would not change anything major about the track apart from making it slightly longer.

Why is music and sound FX so important within games development?

Most people who don't play video games tend to know their classic sounds, this may be anything from the Crash Bandicoot theme tune to the sound of Mario gaining a power up. Having this extra audience creates extra interest in the game therefore, the game and any merch can grow in sales. The music itself can create and destroy an entire game by not setting the right mood or atmosphere. A horror game needs a dark and chilling soundtrack that changes tempo in suspenseful situations whereas, a game like upbeat game like Undertale needs a happy and fast paced soundtrack with some slower and calmer tracks. Something as simple as a gunshot can create a whole other element to a game so you know that you just shot a gun and a sound for a death alert.

What is waveform?

Wavelength - The length at the bottom of a sound wave, its the point from one wave to another.

Amplitude - The amplitude is the maximum interference from its undisturbed position. It's not necessarily the distance from the bottom to the top of the wave.

Frequency - The number of waves produced each second also as the number of waves that pass a certain point each time.

What is pitch?

The highness or lowness of a tone. A high tone has a high pitch and a low tone has a low pitch.

What is Hertz (Hz)?

Is the unit of frequency and is defined as one cycle per second.

What is Decibel level (dB)?

It is used to measure sound level. It is a way of describing a ratio, this may be power, sound pressure, intensity, voltage etc. The louder the sound the higher the decibel measurement.

What is a sound generator ?

A vibrating object which produces a sound, in gaming its a computer or console that generate it. After it is generated the sound is then produced by a speaker.

What is Foley?

Reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to a game or media which enhance the quality of audio.

What is Timbre?

Distinguished by pitch, loudness and quality. It describes these characteristics which allow the ear to differentiate sounds that have the same pitch and loudness.

References:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/aqa_pre_2011/radiation/anintroductiontowavesrev2.shtml
http://monkeyhammergamingsound.weebly.com/sound-generator-loudspeaker.html
http://www.animations.physics.unsw.edu.au/jw/dB.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hertz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foley_(filmmaking)
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Sound/timbre.html

Year 1 - Unit 20 – Computer Game Platforms & Technology – Software Technology

Unit 20 – Computer Game Platforms & Technology – Software Technology

Task 1 - Operating System (OS):

What is an operating system?
Software that supports a computers basic functions, these include managing peripherals and plan tasks. They perform basic tasks including acknowledging keyboard and mouse input, sending outputted information to the monitor, taking note of files on the disk and controlling peripherals like printers. 

Platform dependency and independency:

Platform Dependency	Platform Independency
Software needs a certain type of hardware and/or operating system to work.	Software that can run on most hardware and/or operating system to work.
	Nothing is perfectly plat form independent as everything still need some sort of hardware.

Functions:
                 Microphone - Sends an input of sound which can be recognised and written as text or used                                         as a voice command etc. It can also be recorded and fed back later on.
                 Motion Control/Detect - Allows the user to interact with the system through body                                                                        movement. Its usually through real world gestures. A good                                                                      example is the Nintendo Wii and Playstation Move, they both                                                                require a device a handheld controller for motion control, they do                                                          however work very differently. The Playstation Camera and                                                                    Kinect work by using a camera to sense movement.
              VR support - Use of Computer Technology to create a simulated environment, you are                                               immersed into a different world and can interact with it.
              Controller - Used to input information (usually to control object or characters in a game.                                         They can be classed as keyboards, mouses, gamepads and joysticks etc.
              Touchscreen/pad - An area that allows the user to interact with a device by touching areas on                                             a screen.
              Remote play - Allows the PS3 and PS4 to transmit audio and visuals to a PSP or PSV.

Latest operating systems:

	PC	Apple Mac	IPhone/IPad	Samsung Galaxy S7	PS4	Xbox One
What is the operating System	Windows 10	macOS 10.12 Sierra	iOS 10.2.1 Beta 2	Android 7.0 (Nougat)	Orbis OS	Hyper-V and Windows 10 based on Xbox OS
What can each operating system do?	Browse the internet, open applications	Browse the internet, open applications	Browse the internet, open applications, text message and answer a call	Browse the internet, open applications, text message and answer a call	Browse the internet, open applications	Browse the internet, open applications
Does the operating system have any special functions for games?	Stream between Xbox One and PC, plug in controller	Plug in controller (steam, PS and Xbox)	Motion control, microphone	Motion control, microphone	VR support, vibrating controller, touchpad, motion detect, Playstation camera and remote play	Voice commands, Kinect 2, streaming
How do we play games on the operating system?	Through keyboard and mouse or plug in controller	Through keyboard and mouse or plug in controller	Touchscreen	Touchscreen	Controller	Controller
Can and how do we download more games on the operating system?	Through providers like Steam and Origin etc. and disk	Through providers like Steam, App Store and Origin etc. and disk	Through the App Store	Through the Play Store and downloaded from the internet	Playstation Store and disk	Xbox Store and disk

Task 2

What is a device driver?

A program that controls a particular device attached to the computer, they are for displays, printers and CD-ROM readers etc. When you buy an OS many device drivers are built in however, if later on you decide to buy a new device that the OS did not see coming then you would have to install a new driver. They convert general input/output instructions of the OS to a message that the device can actually understand. 

Application software:

Interpreted Languages -
Does not need to be compiled first so its not needed to be turned into machine code runs and it runs on the fly. Runs more slowly than compiled as it has to actively perform the step of  changing the code into the device can handle on the fly. You can change the program when you open it and its ready to go.
Examples:
                Java - Was designed to look and feel like C++ but is much simpler to use. It can be used to                              create complete applications that can run on a single computer or be assigned among                            servers and clients in a network. It is a popular choice for applications on Android                                smartphones. Games created in Java: Roboforge by Liquid Edge Games, Runescape                            by Jagex and Tom Clancy's Politika by Red Storm Entertainment.
                Python - It has a design philosophy which emphasizes the readability of code and a syntax                                 which allows any programmers to show concepts in much less code than what is                                   possible in C++ or Java. Games created in Python: EVE Online by CCP Games,                                   Frets on Fire by Unreal Voodoo and the original Galcon by Imitation Pickles.
               C# - A programming language from Microsoft that aims to merge the computing power of                          C++ with the ease of programming in Visual Basic. It's features are similar to those in                          Java. Games created in C#: ?

Compiled Languages -
It must be compiled before it is run so it is worked out on the fly. However it runs faster than Interpreted code. While it is being compiled it is checked for errors, these are then reported and can be fixed before re-compiling. The compiling converts the code into machine code/binary. A C program that was compiled on a Windows computer cannot then be run on a Linux computer. You would have to compile the program using a C compiler on a Linux computer.

               C - It is ideal for developing filmware or portable applications. It was first intended for                             writing system software and was developed for the Unix Operating System in the early                         1970's at Bell Labs by Dennie Ritchie. Games created in C: ?
               C++ - Developed by Bjarne Stroustrup, it is an OOP (Object Orientated Programming)                                  language and in an expanded C language. It is therefore possible to code C++ in a C                            style. It is an effective example of a hybrid language as it can be coded in either.                                  Games created in C++: Doom III by id Software, Counter Strike by Valve L.L.C. and                          World of Warcraft by Blizzard Entertainment.
Game Engines -
A Game Engine is a type software that creates source code and makes elements that begin another process, letting real-time maintenance of software requirements. Its made for the creation and development of video games, this includes consoles, smartphones and PCs.

              GameMaker - It has a built in language called GML (Game Maker Language). Games                                                created in Game Maker: ORBIT by 4Bit Games, Hyper Light Drifter by Heart                                      Machine and Defenders of Ekron by Vitro Games.
              Unreal - It uses the programming language of C++. Games created in Game Maker: Gears of                             War 4 by The Coalition, Tekken 7 by Bandai Namco Studios and We Happy Few by                             Compulsion Games.
              Unity - It is programmed in C# and the development is done with your choice of C#, Boo or                           a dialect of JavaScript. Games created in Unity: Kerbal Space Program by Squad,                                 Firewatch by Campo Santo and SUPERHOT by Superhot Team.

Graphical API:

DirectX - 

It is designed by Microsoft (only available on Microsoft products e.g Windows and Xbox) to allow straight access to hardware and it contains a range of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for multimedia and video applications along with video games. It allows access to the advanced features of high-performance hardware like 3-D graphics acceleration chips and sound cards. This also includes 2-D graphics acceleration, support for input devices and control of sound mixing and input.

Open GL -

Open Graphics Library is a cross-language, cross-platform API and is used to render 2D and 3D vector graphics. It interacts with the GPU to get hardware-accelerated rendering. Very similar to DirectX but allowed on Microsoft platforms like Playstation, Apple Mac and Linux. There are modified versions on Android and IOS machines.

References: 
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/O/operating_system.html
http://searchenterprisedesktop.techtarget.com/definition/device-driver
http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/definition/Java
https://coderanch.com/t/200961/java/List-Game-developed-Java
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/26184/c-programming-language
https://jabroo.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/c-plus-plus-applications-list.html
http://searchwindevelopment.techtarget.com/definition/C
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24068/c-programming-language-c

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/24155/engine
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Game_Maker_Programming
http://www.yoyogames.com/showcase
https://forums.unrealengine.com/showthread.php?2574-Why-C-for-Unreal-4
https://www.unrealengine.com/blog/the-best-unreal-engine-games-of-e3-2016-selected-by-gamesbeat
http://www.marxentlabs.com/what-is-virtual-reality-definition-and-examples/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_controller