Implementing physical simulations for real-time games is a complex task that requires a solid understanding of a wide range of concepts from the fields of mathematics, physics, and software engineering. This book is a gems-like collection of practical articles in the area of game physics. Each provides hands-on detail that can be used in practical applications. The chapters cover topics such as collision detection, particle-based simulations, constraint solving, and soft-body simulation. An introductory section provides the mathematical foundations and offers some background for the problems inherent in successful physics simulation. The contributors write based on their experience in developing tools and runtime libraries either in game companies or middleware houses that produce physics software for games on PCs and consoles.

Dirk Gregorius has extensive experience in the computer game industry. He has worked at Factor 5, where he was responsible for cloth and rigid body physics, and Havok. Currently Dirk lives in Cologne, Germany and works as a contractor for game studios, middleware vendors, and publishers. Gino van den Bergen is an experienced 3D graphics and geometry developer. He has over 15 years of experience programming 3D applications in C++. and 5 years of programming experience in the game industry. His company, DTECTA, offers middleware for collision detection and custom 3D software development. He lives in The Netherlands.