high performance computing on graphics processing units: hgpu.org

In this paper we present a framework for the rendering of dynamic 3D virtual environments which can be integrated in the development of videogames. It includes methods to manage sounds and particle effects, paged static geometries, the support of a physics engine and various input systems. It has been designed with a modular structure to allow future expansions. We exploited some open-source state-of-the-art components such as OGRE, PhysX, ParticleUniverse, etc.; all of them have been properly integrated to obtain peculiar physical and environmental effects. The stand-alone version of the application is fully compatible with Direct3D and OpenGL APIs and adopts OpenAL APIs to manage audio cards. Concluding, we devised a showcase demo which reproduces a dynamic 3D environment, including some particular effects: the alternation of day and night infuencing the lighting of the scene, the rendering of terrain, water and vegetation, the reproduction of sounds and atmospheric agents.