GDESK: Game Discrete Event Simulation Kernel

Inma García
Technical University of Valencia
DSIC – Computer Graphics Section
E-46022 Valencia
Spain

e-mail: ingarcia@dsic.upv.es

http://www.dsic.upv.es/~ingarcia

Abstract

Simulation has been used traditionally to solve other areas problems. Real time applications like videogames use typically a scheme of coupling of simulation phase and rendering phase and they uses a continuous simulation model. That way of operation is inefficient and may produce erroneous simulations. Using a discrete event simulation paradigm, those problems can be avoided. That paradigm can be achieved using a discrete event simulator as a videogame kernel.

This paper proposes the integration of a discrete event simulator into real time applications to control the applications simulation. The use of a discrete methodology avoids disorderly events execution or the execution of cancelled events. This implies to use events in order to model the system dynamics, the objects interaction and the objects behavior.

GDESK is a discrete event simulator prepared to be used as a videogame kernel. It is the adaptation of DESK (discrete event simulation kernel) to videogames kernel. GDESK allows the complete system to work using discrete events. The videogame is a set of objects interchanging events. The events are managed by the GDESK dispatcher. It executes the events ordered in time. The GDESK integration into a videogame produces the change of the videogame simulation paradigm. That produces a more accurate simulation and saves computing power due to the saves of unnecessary renderings.