11/4/2016

GAME
DEVELOPMENT
UNREAL ENGINE FOR MOBILE PLATFORMS

Comparison Analysis | S1313691

Daniel Burns 1313691

Unreal Engine for Mobile Platforms

Analyses And Comparison Of Functionality Differences Regarding Desktop, Android And Windows
Phone Development.

1 CONTENTS
2 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1
3 User Input & Functionality Control ................................................................................................. 2
3.1 Windows ................................................................................................................................. 2
3.2 Desktop ................................................................................................................................... 2
3.3 Android ................................................................................................................................... 2
4 Unreal Engine – Development Abilities & Limitations .................................................................... 2
4.1 Mobile Game Development .................................................................................................... 2
4.2 Desktop Development ............................................................................................................ 3
4.3 Development Process ............................................................................................................. 3
5 Innovative Technologies ................................................................................................................. 4
5.1 Virtual Reality – Advanced 3 Dimensional Simulations .......................................................... 4
5.2 OSSIC X – Intelligent Dimensional Audio Calibration .............................................................. 4
5.3 Sensor Fusion – Application Movement Control .................................................................... 4
5.4 Innovative Technology Comparison / Unreal Engine – Desktop v Mobile Gaming ................ 5
Windows & Android Mobile Phone Technology ............................................................. 5
Desktop PC ...................................................................................................................... 5
6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 5
7 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................... 6

2 INTRODUCTION
An in depth analyses of game development for mobile platform in the unreal engine, this
report identifies key factors throughout the development process in intricate detail while
providing a thorough comparison of each mobile platform.

1
Daniel Burns 1313691

3 USER INPUT & FUNCTIONALITY CONTROL

3.1 WINDOWS
The operating system for windows phones are a closed platform and owned by Microsoft
which means the programming code needed to implement modifications by a developer for a
manufacturer isn’t available. The windows phone interface is intuitive and utilizes touch
screen just like the android, the touch screen adds functionality and ease of use as shortcuts
are able to be programed into the phone that uses the touch screen ability. Windows phones
use sensor fusion technology regarding motion tracking meaning certain game apps can be
played without the need to touch the screen providing gamers with unique types of games
both of casual and competitive nature.

3.2 DESKTOP
Desktop pc is significantly different from any mobile gaming platform, for example, the
majority of mobile supported games create on desktop with the unreal engine utilize mouse
pads or a mouse and a keyboard with a certain button setup. Mobile game functionality on
desktop uses pre-established shortcuts to create actions for the purpose of ease of use. Due
to the amount of buttons on a standard keyboard and gaming accessories that are available
present layouts are present for players as well the ability to create customs button layouts.

3.3 ANDROID
For phone development the android is an open source platform which means the operating
system is available to be modified for a specific purpose to complement a manufacturer’s
needs. Android phones also uses touch screen and motion tracking in the same way as
windows phones but due to the mass amount of gaming applications available for download it
does a better job of utilizing technology and becoming the most popular mobile phone
overtaking windows by a substantial amount. Android has the feature of a rotational screen
giving game developers more possibilities to create creative gaming functionality elements
and designs.

4 UNREAL ENGINE – DEVELOPMENT ABILITIES & LIMITATIONS

4.1 MOBILE GAME DEVELOPMENT

Development of mobile gaming platform on the unreal engine has to development with
consideration and understanding of the processing limitations of mobile gaming. For instance
proper treatment of mobile gaming development would be using methods and techniques
which reduce the processing power required to run the game, failing to cater for limitations
could result in frame rate issues and/or gameplay crashes along with other technical issues.
Mobile game developers must acknowledge and manage the capabilities of mobile specs and
also the compatibility of android or windows phone development as certain functions couldn’t
run, with others verified as compatible or classified as expected meaning only limited testing
(Docs.unrealengine.com - 2016).

2
Daniel Burns 1313691

4.2 DESKTOP DEVELOPMENT

The development of games on desktop compared to mobile platforms exceed its abilities but
consideration is still required for a smooth run of the application, follow guidelines and using
established methods and techniques to achieve potential of the high quality throughout the
games development cycle while restricting content to a limitation. Desktop development in
unreal engine offers more advanced capabilities then mobile gaming to the increased specs
(Docs.unrealengine.com - 2016).

4.3 DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Throughout the development process of creating games in both desktop and mobile platforms
it’s important to consider the specs need to run applications as it’s a necessity for smooth
gameplay and aesthetics of game environments. Useful existing methods for decreasing the
processing power needed include altering render the distance, changing overall quality
including lighting, limiting the atmospheric effects, burning textures and shadows to objects,
and creating level of detail models for assets as well as normal, alpha and other mapping
techniques. Development techniques to create manageable environments may mean reducing
quality of photorealistic textures and transferring into styles that are less stressful for the
processor. Platform agnostic techniques are catering to limitations essentially limiting quality
of what can be achieved for desired, but skilled developers are able to bypass problems and
create high quality games in terms of textures, content and elements with minimal strain on
the CPU.

The importance and necessity of packaging games for mobile platforms or desktop pc is great
due to fact games run smoother and are less problematic to the platform it run on when the
file size is minimal. Reducing file size is achievable through dramatic reconstruction of game
environments and elements if necessary, for instance reusing the same content and removing
unnecessary content and files. Packages should be compressed and extract to bare essentials
for technical spec considerations, this applies to frontend and background programming code.
Performance for mobile games is a tedious subject as multiple system are placed to help deal
with such factors, fortunately the unreal engine is considerate to these matters and provides a
performance guide for mobile content documentation to assist developers with support for
scaling LDR and HDR lighting and more (Gallagher, M - 2015).

3
Daniel Burns 1313691

5 INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES

5.1 VIRTUAL REALITY – ADVANCED 3 DIMENSIONAL SIMULATIONS

Virtual reality is relatively new technology and only recently have developers thoroughly tested the
headset and pushed its abilities, the technology opens new possibilities to give players the most
immersive gaming experience in a form which is a completely new approach (Charara, S - 2016). The
degree of emersion is also dramatically increased with related technologies which support virtual
reality such as the OSSIC X headset. Virtual reality headset technology uses computer technology
assistance to create a three dimensional experience in a simulated world or reality, which reacts to
headset and eye movement through intricately designed motion sensors that corresponds by
adjusting displayed images to correlate accurately to the users perspective. The beneficial aspects to
gaming experiences far exceed great expectations for immersive inferior technology, although
complications do exist in the forms simulation sickness and other factors.

5.2 OSSIC X – INTELLIGENT DIMENSIONAL AUDIO CALIBRATION

OSSIC X is new software currently in the post prototype stage which uses advanced algorithm to
calibrate intelligent three dimensional audio through specialised headpiece equipment designed to
calculate and calibrate an individual’s anatomy for a more immersive 3D experience. With integrated
head tracking and multi-driver array system of eight in total, software including unreal engine 4 can
accurately project 3D sounds to the listener with precision up to a spherical dimensional scale of
about seven feet in 3D space. Gaming experiences benefit from such technology with significantly
stronger immersion due to the intricate complexity of the software opening new areas of game
development exploration for every available relatable platform (X, O. - 2016).

5.3 SENSOR FUSION – APPLICATION MOVEMENT CONTROL

Sensor Fusion utilizes technology to track movement using sensors that work by calculating and
computing motion to photon latency, sensor fusion is used in multiple technologies such as android
and windows phones, virtual reality and more. Sensor fusion in phones; operate through three
different fundamental tracking sensors which consist of gyroscopes, accelerometers and
magnetometers (Institut f•ur Technische Informatik Vienna University of Technology - 2002).
Accelerometers measure the speed or more precisely the acceleration of movement through
calculating the vector values in the display frame. Sensor fusion majorly benefits android and smart
phones and anything else which utilizes the specialised technology. Gyroscopes measure rotational
values through angular rotation vectors based on the phone's reference frame. Magnetometers
measure the magnetic fields that return vectors which correspond to cumulative magnetic fields due
to influencing magnets including earth's magnetic north pole, this works in a similar fashion to a
compass giving an estimate of the phones orientation (Abyarjoo, F., Barreto, A., Cofino, J. and
Ortega, F – 2012).

4
Daniel Burns 1313691

5.4 INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY COMPARISON / UNREAL ENGINE – DESKTOP V MOBILE GAMING

Windows & Android Mobile Phone Technology

Virtual reality, the OSSIC X headset and senor fusion regarding Mobile phone development is
compatible with the unreal engine so therefore available for developers to create complex functions
through advanced programming that’s catered to the particular software. Virtual reality is available
for smartphones, windows and android and is capable of processing advanced game environments
although the limitations are significantly greater than desktop. Intelligent three dimensional audio
calibration headsets in unreal engine are complex but yield great rewards in a gaming environment
for windows and android phones with the exception of few limitations. Sensor fusion is a
tremendous advantage that the android and windows phone have over desktop without the need of
an additional device or piece of equipment, the possibilities for creating gaming apps in unreal
engine for mobile using sensor fusion are theoretically endless with the right amount of creativity.
Specifically games that require players to tilt the phone while having the benefit of touch screen
exceed what can be achieved in desktop regarding tracking movement.

Desktop PC

Sensor Fusion movement tracking technology isn't available for desktop unlike android and windows
phones, but to compromise for this alternative methods for tracking movement exist for the unreal
engine software including additional equipment used in correlation to the pc such as virtual reality.
OSSIC X headset can be fully utilized to its maximum capabilities with the unreal engine on desktop;
this is due to the back processing power and quality of the graphics card. When creating virtual
simulated reality environments the desktop has a significant advantage over mobile gaming with the
mass amount of content and functions it can support on one game. Levels of interaction are limited
with the desktop in terms of user input and influenced movement, this is one of the most important
and significant factors in the sway of popularity rising to the windows and especially the android
phone for gaming purposes.

6 CONCLUSION
To conclude the development process for create game suitable for mobile compatibility must
consider limitations and follow a set of heuristics to achieve high quality content at the most
minimal expense of processing power required to run the application. Desktop has a significant
advantage over android and windows phones as it has the ability to utilize more complex functions,
gaming elements, and high Polly textures due to its greater advancement of its specs. Android &
Windows phones also have an advantage over other platforms of gaming due to the use of sensor
fusion for movement tracking and touch screen making software easier and more efficient to use.

5
Daniel Burns 1313691

7 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abyarjoo, F., Barreto, A., Cofino, J. and Ortega, F. (2012). Implementing a Sensor Fusion
Algorithm for 3D Orientation Detection with Inertial/Magnetic Sensors. [online]
researchgate. Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264707640_Implementing_a_Sensor_Fusion_Al
gorithm_for_3D_Orientation_Detection_with_InertialMagnetic_Sensors [Accessed 3 Nov.
2016].

Charara, S. (2016). Explained: How does VR actually work?. [online] Wareable. Available at:
https://www.wareable.com/vr/how-does-vr-work-explained [Accessed 3 Nov. 2016].

Cofino, J., Barreto, A., Abyarjoo, F. and Ortega, F. (2013). Sonifying HTML Tables for Audio-
Spatially Enhanced Non-visual Navigation. In: Sonifying HTML Tables for Audio-Spatially
Enhanced Non-visual Navigation. [online] Miami, FL 33174 USA: Digital Signal Processing
Laboratory – Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, p.6. Available at:
http://file:///C:/Users/Burnzy/Downloads/SoutheastCon2013_formatted_cofino.pdf
[Accessed 3 Nov. 2016].

Gallagher, M. (2015). ESA - Essential Facts About The Computer And Video Game Industry.
1st ed. [ebook] Entertainment Software Association, p.20. Available at:
http://www.theESA.com [Accessed 3 Nov. 2016].

Docs.unrealengine.com. (2016). Unreal Engine 4 Documentation. [online] Available at:

http://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT [Accessed 4 Nov. 2016].

Institut f•ur Technische Informatik Vienna University of Technology, (2002). An Introduction

to Sensor Fusion. [online] Vienna, Austria: Institut f•ur Technische Informatik Vienna
University of Technology, p.28. Available at:
http://file:///C:/Users/s1313691/Downloads/An%20Introduction%20to%20Sensor%20Fusio
n%20-%20Wilfried%20Elmenreich%202001%20(1).pdf [Accessed 2 Nov. 2016].

Qualcomm Developer Network, (2014). Pushing the Limits of Mobile Graphics with Unreal
Engine. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_QIuzvLoX8 [Accessed 2
Nov. 2016].

Skotcher, (2016). Desktop background blue blueprint cell phone iphone iphone 5 phone.
[image] Available at:
https://www.skotcher.com/blue_iphone_phone_blueprint_cell_phone_iphone_5-
wallpaper-10243.html [Accessed 3 Nov. 2016].

Smus, B. (2016). Sensor fusion and motion prediction. [online] Smus.com. Available at:
http://smus.com/sensor-fusion-prediction-webvr/ [Accessed 3 Nov. 2016].

Strickland, J. (2016). How Virtual Reality Works. [online] HowStuffWorks. Available at:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/other-gadgets/virtual-reality.htm [Accessed
3 Nov. 2016].

6
Daniel Burns 1313691

Technavio.com. (n.d.). Top 31 Mobile Gaming Companies | Technavio - Discover Market

Opportunities. [online] Available at: http://www.technavio.com/blog/top-31-mobile-
gaming-companies [Accessed 3 Nov. 2016].

Whyte, H. (2016). Introduction to Sensor Data Fusion. 1st ed. [ebook] Sydney: Australian
Centre for Field Robotics - The University of Sydney, p.271. Available at:
http://www.acfr.usyd.edu.au/teaching/graduate/Fusion/index.html [Accessed 2 Nov. 2016].

X, O. (2016). OSSIC X 3D Audio Headphones. [online] OSSIC. Available at:

https://www.ossic.com/?utm_expid=105046475-
4.gnm0wwUyRfmTMgefGVK2Gg.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2F
[Accessed 2 Nov. 2016].

X, O. (2016). OSSIC X: The first 3D audio headphones calibrated to you. [online] Kickstarter.
Available at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/248983394/ossic-x-the-first-3d-audio-
headphones-calibrated-t [Accessed 2 Nov. 2016].

Xsens 3D motion tracking. (2016). Xsens Announces Integration with Unreal Engine 4 at GDC
- Xsens 3D motion tracking. [online] Available at: https://www.xsens.com/press-
releases/xsens-announces-integration-with-unreal-engine-4-at-gdc/ [Accessed 2 Nov. 2016].