Patent Application
20070178968
Media consoles, such as those used for playing video games, have achieved significant market penetration over the last few years. Consequently, game developers are particularly concerned with producing games to bring to market in an expedient manner. Developing games and other media console software requires considerable effort by large teams of artists and programmers. Game development teams composed of artists and programmers often work on discrete portions of a new game without explicit knowledge of concurrent efforts of other artists and programmers within their own or other development groups. In such a game development environment, a game component or game asset developed by an artist may include several component elements that are also included in other components.
A number of components of a game or other software application may share software elements with different components having a dependency relationship with the same element file or data. For example, the shape of a car in a game might be defined by an original “car” mesh, to which several colors and textures are applied. For example, a specific red may be employed for the car body color, and “chrome,” which may comprise both a texture and a color, might be used for highlights on the car. In this example, the color/texture “chrome” will also likely be used for other cars and components of the game. Unfortunately, during game development when an artist changes a color or texture element that is shared by other components, it may not be possible to easily determine which other components are affected by the artist's changes. A game developer may have to navigate through a large file system to find each instance of a component, which may be difficult. Furthermore, multiple dependencies may not become apparent until an application has been compiled and executed, rendering an unintended change apparent only during a quality review cycle. Moreover, it may be difficult to identify the artist that actually caused an undesirable change when modifying a mutually shared component texture or color without reviewing each component of a game that would be affected, prior to the step of compiling.
Changes are often made that result in texture files that were once used being no longer used in a game, but still included in the file set for the game. As a result, many games include surplus content or and/or orphaned files that are no longer used or needed by the game. Because it may not be clear what components would be adversely affected by deleting texture files, game developers are hesitant to delete content during development. Accordingly, there is need within the game development industry for new approaches to be developed that facilitate managing game content and the relationships between components and files used in rendering those components. An approach is needed that is universally applicable at minimal cost, and which address these and other related problems that arise during the development of games.
Several examples are provided below that describe implementations for displaying relationships between game assets in a game development environment. As game assets are created, edited, or referenced by another game asset, an asset relationship management (ARM) file or another data structure is generated that specifies the relationships among the game assets. A corresponding asset relationship graph may be generated that also specifies the relationships among the game assets.
One implementation described in more detail below includes steps such as receiving a selection of a particular game asset. Another step is directed to receiving a selection of a particular type of relationship to display for the selected game asset. The type of relationship may be a child relationship, a parent relationship, a category relationship, etc. Another step is directed to identifying one or more other game assets having the selected relationship with the selected game asset. Another step is directed to displaying the other game assets having the selected relationship with the selected game asset. The displaying step may include displaying the children of the selected game asset, displaying the parents of the selected game asset, displaying other game assets in the same category as the selected game asset, etc.
By displaying the relationships of the game assets, a game developer may easily identify each of the other game assets having a particular type of relationship with a selected game asset, such as before editing or deleting the selected game asset. The game developer can navigate through the game assets logically based on the relationships that the game assets have with one another. The game developer advantageously does not need to navigate through a file system to try to determine the relationships of a particular asset file. The game development process is thus more streamlined to more effectively allow separate game development groups to share game assets.
This Summary has been provided to introduce a few concepts in a simplified form that are further described in detail below in the Detailed Description. However, this Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The same reference number represents the same element on all drawings.
Exemplary Computing System
The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which certain methods discussed below may be implemented. Further, the following discussion illustrates a context for implementing computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, with a computing system. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc, that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The skilled practitioner will recognize that other computing system configurations may be applied, including multiprocessor systems, mainframe computers, personal computers, processor-controlled consumer electronics, personal digital assistants (PDAs) (but likely not when a server functionality is required), and the like. One implementation includes distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
With reference to
A basic input/output system 26 (BIOS), which contains the fundamental routines that enable transfer of information between elements within the PC 20, such as during system start up, is stored in ROM 24. PC 20 further includes a hard disk drive 27 for reading from and writing to a hard disk (not shown), a magnetic disk drive 28 for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk 29, and an optical disk drive 30 for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk 31, such as a compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical media. Hard disk drive 27, magnetic disk drive 28, and optical disk drive 30 are connected to system bus 23 by a hard disk drive interface 32, a magnetic disk drive interface 33, and an optical disk drive interface 34, respectively. The drives and their associated computer readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readable machine instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for PC 20. Although the described exemplary environment employs a hard disk 27, removable magnetic disk 29, and removable optical disk 31, those skilled in the art will recognize that other types of computer readable media, which can store data and machine instructions that are accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks (DVDs), Bernoulli cartridges, RAMs, ROMs, and the like, may also be used.
A number of program modules and/or data may be stored on hard disk 27, magnetic disk 29, optical disk 31, ROM 24, or RAM 25, including an operating system 35, one or more application programs 36, other program modules 37, and program or other data 38. A user may enter commands and information in PC 20 and provide control input through input devices, such as a keyboard 40 and a pointing device 42. Pointing device 42 may include a mouse, stylus, wireless remote control, or other user interactive pointer. As used in the following description, the term “mouse” is intended to encompass any pointing device that is useful for controlling the position of a cursor on the screen. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, haptic joystick, yoke, foot pedals, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. Also, PC 20 may include a Bluetooth radio or other wireless interface for communication with other interface devices, such as printers or a network. These and other input/output (I/O) devices can be connected to processing unit 21 through an I/O interface 46 that is coupled to system bus 23. The phrase “I/O interface” is intended to encompass each interface specifically used for a serial port, a parallel port, a game port, a keyboard port, and/or a universal serial bus (USB). Optionally, a monitor 47 can be connected to system bus 23 via an appropriate interface, such as a video adapter 48. In general, PCs can also be coupled to other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers (through a sound card or other audio interface—not shown) and printers.
Certain processes described in detail below, can be practiced on a single machine, although PC 20 can also operate in a networking environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 49. Remote computer 49 can be another PC, a server (which can be configured much like PC 20), a router, a network PC, a peer device, or a satellite or other common network node, (none of which are shown), and a remote computer will typically include many or all of the elements described above in connection with PC 20, although only an external memory storage device 50 for the remote computer 49 has been illustrated in
When used in a LAN networking environment, PC 20 is connected to LAN 51 through a network interface or adapter 53. When used in a WAN networking environment, PC 20 typically includes a modem 54, or other means such as a cable modem, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) interface, or an Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) interface for establishing communications over WAN 52, such as the Internet. Modem 54, which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus 23 or coupled to the bus via I/O device interface 46, i.e., through a serial port. In a networking environment, program modules, or portions thereof, used by PC 20 may be stored in the remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used, such as wireless communication and wide band network links.
Exemplary Operating Environment
Server 200 can be any computing device, such as the exemplary computing device and/or computer server discussed with reference to
Client 220 can be any computing device or system such as the exemplary computing device and/or computer server discussed with reference to
ARM file 235 can include any exportable information about a specific digital asset, including a relationship reference 236 and an annotation 237. Relationship reference 236 is a logical statement and/or an indicator that defines a dependency or referential relationship that the specific digital asset has with any other digital asset. For example, if the specific digital asset is a mesh file, relationship reference 236 can be a logical statement that the mesh references a specific color file. However, if the specific digital asset is instead the specific color file, the relationship reference 236 can be a logical statement that the mesh depends on the specific color file. Annotation 237 can include other information that may be useful to export. For example, the annotation can include an asset version indicator, an asset approval indicator (e.g., indicating sign off by an artist), an asset description, an asset type indicator, a rule associated with an asset, and an attribute associated with the asset. The annotation can also provide specific information, such as a color depth indicator, compression algorithm information associated with the asset, or a specific date such as for indicating the last edit of the asset or a final sign off date for example. In one implementation, ARM file 235 is a data structure embodied in an XML document according to an asset relationship management schema. In this implementation, the schema defines a format for objects representing data written out from an asset file by the ARM_data_provider API, such as asset identification, relationship references associated with the asset and various annotations. Although XML is a widely accepted and application neutral document format, it should be noted that the ARM file can be embodied in any appropriate document format and is not limited to an XML format.
Data store 210 provides storage for and includes a plurality of data structures such as ARM file 211, asset file 212, and asset relationship graph 215. ARM file 211 can be any asset relationship management file as described in relation to ARM file 235. Asset file 212 is generally a digital content file, such as a mesh file, a color file, a sound file, or another digital game component file. Asset relationship graph 215 can include a plurality of nodes as illustrated in
By way of illustration and clarity, server 200 is shown as including a relationship manager 201, which is depicted in
Object model 202 is configured to provide an interface to asset relationship graph 215. In one implementation, object model 202 is configured to respond to a call from an ARM_graph API requesting asset information by navigating the nodes of the asset relationship graph and returning dependency information to a calling application. In this instance, the calling application can be any application enabled for communication with object model 202 (e.g., through the ARM_graph API), such as a third-party tool, various custom tools, a game build system, or even a game itself. Relationship engine 203 is generally configured to aggregate the ARM files (e.g., ARM file 211) contained in data store 210 and to generate a multi-graph representation of all of the different relationships, dependencies, and content annotations described by the ARM files.
In one exemplary implementation, relationship engine 203 is configured to monitor data store 210 in real-time to identify new or modified ARM files as they are created. In this implementation, the relationship engine can be configured to parse the ARM file and generate a node in the asset relationship graph that contains relationship information and annotations for an asset identified by the ARM file. In another implementation, which is not shown in
By way of further illustration,
As was discussed above, it is intended that ARM_graph API 250 can be configured to retrofit a broad range of existing applications and/or operating systems, to enable access to asset relationship data in the asset relationship graph 215 from a process executing on client 220. In one example, application 300 is a reporting tool that can be used to generate asset dependency reports, which can be utilized during game development to identify orphaned assets or to trace unwanted changes to asset files. In another implementation, application 300 may be a component application of a game build pipeline, which can call the asset relationship graph 215 through the ARM_graph API 250 in order to, for example, optimize the building or rebuilding of a game executable, test functionality, implement quality assurance tasks, and implement a certification approval process.
Method 400 begins at a step 410, where a data provider API is provided for communicating between a client process and a server process in the distributed processing system. In one implementation, the data provider API can be configured for use with a game content editing application or tool. Generally, the data provider API can be provided as a plug-in, or add-on component for use with an existing application or software module. The data provider API is enabled when it is installed and configured for operation with an application, such as an art editor for mesh or sound editing.
In a step 420, an asset relationship management file is generated with the data provider API. In some implementations, an asset relationship management file can include a digital asset identification that uniquely identifies a specific digital asset file, a relationship reference that describes linking and/or dependency relationships with other digital asset files and an annotation which can include information related to or about the asset file. Generally, the asset relationship management file is written out by the data provider API from a digital asset that is being edited by a client content editing process, such as editing a mesh file or a sound file.
In a step 430, the asset relationship management file is stored in a data store, e.g., on a hard drive. The asset relationship management file can be stored at any time after it is generated. In some implementations, the ARM file is first cached and then stored. In another implementation the ARM file is queued by a relationship engine prior to being stored, in order to allow immediate processing of the file. Some implementations of the ARM file can include an asset relationship management schema that defines an annotation object and a relationship reference object. In one example, the asset relationship management file is embodied in an XML document according to the asset relationship management schema. In another example, an annotation can include one or more of an asset version indicator, an asset approval indicator, an asset description, or a color depth indicator. In other examples, an annotation can include one or more of compression algorithm data associated with an asset, a date indicator, an asset type indicator, a rule associated with the asset, or an attribute associated with the asset. Annotations can be any information that could be useful to write out from an asset and make available as a resource for other users in the processes.
In a step 440, an asset relationship graph is generated, based on the asset relationship management file. In some implementations, the asset relationship graph is composed of a series of asset graph nodes that map dependency and referential relationships between a set of digital game content files. In one exemplary implementation, the step of generating includes the step of first providing the asset relationship management file to a relationship management engine. In this implementation, the relationship management engine can be configured for communication with the data store. This implementation also includes the step of parsing the asset relationship management file to identify each relationship reference and annotation. A final step of the implementation includes generating a node tree in the asset relationship graph. In this step, the node tree is first associated with the asset relationship management file and then mapped to each asset node of the asset relationship graph that is associated with any relationship references and annotations that were identified in the step of parsing. Therefore, each node of the asset relationship graph will correspond to a digital content file such as a game component, and will map the relationship between itself and any other digital content file described by an ARM file accessible to the relationship management engine. Another exemplary implementation further includes the step of configuring the relationship engine to monitor the data store and identify each new asset relationship management file and then invoke the relationship engine to map each identified new asset relationship management file into an instantiation of the asset relationship graph as a unique node. It should be noted that the asset relationship graph can be instantiated within a data store or any other suitable memory location, such as for example within server memory.
Another exemplary implementation further includes the step of providing a graph API for communicating between a client process and a server process in the distributed processing system. In some implementations, the graph API can be configured for accessing the asset relationship graph through a server process in order to expose asset relationship data and annotation data to the client process. One implementation of the graph API includes a series of steps, such as receiving a call to the graph API from a client process requesting information associated with a specific asset, and issuing an asset information request from the graph API in response the call. Further steps include interrogating the relationship graph for the information associated with the specific asset, and then returning a response to the request to the client process from the graph API. In this implementation, the response is associated with the specific asset and is based on the interrogation.
Another exemplary implementation includes a series of steps, such as accessing an asset relationship object model through the graph API. In this implementation, the asset relationship object model is configured to navigate the plurality of asset nodes of the asset relationship graph and then expose relationship references and annotations. The next step in this implementation includes identifying each relationship reference in the asset relationship graph that is associated with the specific asset.
In step 510, an ARM_graph call is issued by the client process. The ARM_graph call can include one or more call parameters, such as an asset identifier, a data store identifier, and a client requested function. The ARM_graph call can occur at any time that a graph API is enabled. In some implementations, the graph API can be located at either the client side or server side, but can be invoked by a client process in both instances.
In a step 520, a server process receives the ARM_graph call and then parses the call to retrieve the parameters. In some implementations, the ARM_graph call immediately invokes a server process to parse the call and retrieve the parameters. In other implementations, where multiple calls may arrive from different clients within a small window, a call can be cached in a FIFO buffer or a queue and then served in the order of receipt.
In a step 530, the server process loads an ARM graph in response to the ARM_graph call. The ARM graph can be loaded from an existing ARM graph located in a data store or alternatively can be loaded as an instance generated on-the-fly based on the call. The ARM graph can be loaded immediately or queued based on whether another load process is executing. In one implementation, the ARM graph is loaded by first accessing each ARM file in a data store that corresponds to a digital asset file and then extracting each reference to an asset file from each ARM file, generating a node for each asset file and than mapping each relationship between asset files via the nodes.
In a step 540, the server process interrogates the ARM graph in response to the ARM_graph call. Generally, the interrogation is based on parameters parsed from the ARM_graph call. In one exemplary implementation, the interrogation includes navigating one or more nodes of the ARM graph to identify one or more asset identifiers corresponding to specific asset files, based on the parameters parsed from the ARM_graph call, and based on surface relationships and annotations related to the specific asset files. The interrogation can occur at any time after the call is received, and an ARM graph is available for interrogation.
In a step 550, the server process issues an ARM_graph acknowledgment having a plurality of acknowledgment parameters including the asset identifier, and at least one of an asset relationship reference and an annotation. In some implementations, the acknowledgment parameters can include relationships and annotations determined by the ARM_graph interrogation. In some implementations, the server process can issue the ARM_graph acknowledgment immediately upon completion of an interrogation. In other implementations, the ARM_graph acknowledgment can be queued and issued at a later time, depending on external parameters.
In a step 560, the client process receives the ARM_graph acknowledgment. In some implementations the client process can receive the ARM_graph acknowledgment at any time after the acknowledgment has issued and a client process is active for receiving communications. A further implementation includes the steps of parsing the ARM_graph acknowledgment to retrieve the acknowledgment parameters and then providing the retrieved parameter to a client application process. In an example, an ARM_graph API can be configured to receive the ARM graph acknowledgment, parse the acknowledgment parameters, and provide the retrieved parameters to a reporting application or art editor for example.
In one exemplary implementation, a data structure stored on a tangible computer-readable medium includes a first ARM graph node representing a first asset. In this implementation, the first node can include a first asset identifier for uniquely identifying a first digital asset, such as a game component, a relationship reference defining a relationship to another asset, and an annotation that can include information about the asset, such as a binary name or root directory. In this implementation, the data structure further includes a second relationship graph node representing a second asset, the second asset including a second asset identifier and at least one of a second relationship reference mapping to at least the first relationship graph node and a second annotation.
In step 610, an application process issues an ARM_data_provider call including one or more call parameters such as an asset identifier, a client requested function, a relationship reference and an annotation. In one implementation, the client requested function is a request to write out one or more of the parameters to an ARM file. In one implementation, the application process is associated with an editor such as an art editor or a sound editor, or a report generating application.
In a step 620, a client process receives the ARM_data_provider call and in response, parses the call to retrieve the parameters and execute the client requested function. In one exemplary implementation, the client process is associated with an API module.
In a step 630, the client process issues an ARM file that includes the retrieved parameters. In one exemplary implementation, the ARM file is an XML document formatted according to an asset relationship management schema, which defines one or more objects corresponding to be one or more parameters. In one example, the asset relationship management schema is a simple list. In another example, the asset relationship management schema is a tree of nodes. The ARM file can have any suitable document format and schema that allow the ARM file to be readily exchanged and utilized with a wide variety of off-the-shelf software packages.
In a step 640, a server process receives the ARM file and stores the ARM file in a data store (e.g., a hard drive). In some implementations, the ARM file may be stored locally with other files including asset files related to the ARM file. In other implementations, an off-site repository may store ARM files for retrieval on an as-needed basis. In yet other implementations, the ARM files may be stored in a volatile or non-volatile memory location controlled by an asset relationship engine to allow run-time access for on-the-fly asset relationship graph creation.
By way of further illustration, an exemplary application of the above-described content management applications and components can be described with reference to a game development environment. For example, a game development team composed of three separate groups is charged with developing a set of vehicles for a new video game. The first group is to develop a fire engine, the second group is to develop a police car, and the third group is to develop a racy sports car. The first team develops a fire engine mesh, which is a wire frame that defines the shape of the fire engine. The team saves the mesh file to a central repository and begins developing a color file and a sound file which will be associated with the mesh file and used when the fire engine is rendered. After developing just the right shade of fire-engine red, the first group saves the mesh file with a link to the fire-engine red color file and a link to a pre-existing engine sound file. All of the files for the fire engine are saved to the same repository accessible to the other development groups.
Meanwhile, the second group builds a police car asset file from an existing car mesh file, selecting pre-existing color files for black, white, and chrome portions of the police car, and then creates a siren sound file, all of which are referenced by the police car asset mesh file when it is saved to the central repository along with the referenced component files. The third group builds a new sports car mesh and links it to the fire engine red color file, the chrome color file, and to the pre-existing engine sound file. However the third group decides during development that the pre-existing engine sound file isn't appropriate to the deep throated roar of a sports car and opens the sound file for editing. The team wishes to know what the impact of such changes will be on any other files in the game, but since the groups are working independently, the third group has no idea whether the other groups are using the same content files or how a change made to the sound file for the engine sound may impact other assets of the game.
However, with a game development system employing the concept described above, when each of the above asset files is saved, an ARM file is also created by the ARM_data_provider API, which writes out essential relationships that the asset file has to other asset files, and annotations containing useful information about the asset file, to an XML document according to a relationship management schema. The ARM file is stored in a central data store along with other files such as the original asset file (e.g., a car mesh, color, texture, sound, logic file, etc.) that it represents. The ARM file can then be used to generate an asset relationship graph that maps all of the dependency relationships between the asset files represented by the ARM files. It is important to note that the ARM_data_provider API can be retrofitted to an existing game development or content editing suite and that the relationship management schema used to schematize the data contained in the ARM file can be applied quite easily across multiple platforms. This capability can provide different companies using different or even proprietary development tools the capability to export asset file dependency information and other data about a digital asset in a form that can be used by other parties.
For example, as the third group discussed above accesses the pre-existing engine sound file, the content editing application can access a relationship graph via the graph_API to determine that the engine sound file is relied upon by another asset file, namely the fire engine asset file. The third group will thus recognize that the edited engine sound must be saved to a new file to avoid changing the engine sound of the fire engine. Similarly, as the third group accesses the chrome color file, the ARM_graph API can be employed to alert the group that the chrome color asset file is relied upon by the police car asset file and therefore, the chrome color file should not be changed (with the same file name) because such changes will impact the appearance of the police car in the new game. As is evident from the above example, multiple groups working on a game can track the asset files on which they are working, such as mesh files, color files, sound files, artificial intelligence (AI) files, and the like, in real time, as the files are edited and created, even across different development platforms. Furthermore, through the ARM_data_provider API and the graph_API, it is possible to determine asset file dependencies prior to compiling a game, and therefore eliminate orphaned files and redundancies to reduce software “bloat,” streamline the development pipeline, and improve quality assurance processes.
Exemplary Display of Game Asset Relationships
The following description provides implementations for displaying game asset relationships. The game asset relationships may be generated according to the implementations described in relation to
The following description and claims refer to “game” assets and “game” development environments. However, the term “game” as used herein is not limited only to video games, but also relates to other multimedia presentations such as web applications and film applications. For instance, a game asset may apply equally to a video game asset, a film asset (e.g., animation), or a web asset. Also, a game development environment may apply equally to a video game development environment, a film development environment, and a web development environment.
User interface application 700 may comprise an asset viewing software program or a navigation software program used to display relationships between game assets used in a game development environment. User interface application 700 may alternatively be an editing software program used to edit or create game assets used in a game development environment. User interface application 700 provides the user interface that displays relationships between game assets to a user. The relationships may be provided to the user in many desired ways, and some examples are illustrated in the following FIGS.
In step 810, a particular game asset is selected by a user and the selection is received by user interface application 700. User interface application 700 may provide one or more windows that allow a game developer to enter a name of the game asset if known to the game developer. The name entered by the game developer is thus the name of the selected game asset. User interface application 700 may alternatively provide one or more windows to provide a search mechanism to the game developer if the game developer does not know the name of the game asset. The game developer may enter one or more search parameters for the game asset through the search windows. Responsive to the search parameters, user interface application 700 may search for one or more game assets that match one or more of the search parameter(s), such as by searching the asset files 712 in data store 710 or by searching a directory (not shown) having the names of the asset files. User interface application 700 may then display a list of the search results to the game developer in one or more windows. The game developer can view the search results to find the game asset desired by the game developer. User interface application 700 then receives a selection of a game asset by the game developer, such as by a mouse selection or another type of selection. User interface application 700 may implement a variety of GUI controls to provide the game developer with a mechanism to select a game asset.
In a step 820, a particular type of relationship to display for the selected game asset is selected by a user and the selection is received by user interface application 700. In game development, relationships between game assets are generated, such as discussed in relation to
Another type of relationship is a “child” relationship. If another game asset depends on or references the selected game asset, then the selected game asset may be referred to as having a “child” relationship with the other game asset. A term other than “child” may be used to describe this logical relationship between the game assets. If the selected game asset is a child, then a change to the selected game asset affects the other game asset.
As an example of types of relationships, assume that a fire engine mesh is created by game developers as previously described. The fire engine mesh is associated with at least a color file, a sound file, and possibly other files. The fire engine mesh has a parent relationship with the color file and the sounds file as it depends on or references the color file and the sound file. A change to either the color file or the sound file would affect the fire engine mesh. The color file and the sound file have a child relationship with the fire engine mesh as they both are depended on or referenced by the fire engine mesh.
Other types of relationships may be defined between the game assets as desired. As an example, another type of relationship may be a “category” relationship. Game assets of the same category, such as sound, color, etc, may be related in some fashion.
User interface application 700 allows the user to select between different types of relationships. User interface application 700 may provide a menu displaying the relationship options that are selectable by the user. For instance, user interface application 700 may provide a menu displaying relationship options, such as “Children”, “Parents”, “Category”, etc. The “Children” option references the child relationship. The “Parents” option references the parent relationship. The “Category” option references the category relationship.
In a step 830, user interface application 700 identifies one or more other game assets having the selected relationship with the selected game asset. If the user has selected a child relationship for example, then user interface application 700 identifies one or more other game assets that are children of the selected game asset. If the user has selected a parent relationship for example, then user interface application 700 identifies one or more other game assets that are parents of the selected game asset. If the user has selected a category relationship for example, then user interface application 700 identifies one or more other game assets that are in the same category as the selected game asset.
In identifying the other game assets having the selected relationship with the selected game asset, user interface application 700 may access the ARM file 711 or another data structure having relationship information. As previously described, ARM file 711 includes any exportable information about a specific digital game asset, including a relationship reference and an annotation. The relationship reference is a logical statement and/or an indicator that defines a dependency or referential relationship that the specific digital game asset has with any other digital game asset. User interface application 700 may process the relationship references of the ARM file 711 to identify the other game assets related to the selected game asset.
Alternatively, user interface application 700 may access the asset relationship graph 715 to identify the other game assets having the selected relationship with the selected game asset. As previously described, the asset relationship graph is composed of a series of asset graph nodes that map dependency and referential relationships between a set of digital game assets. User interface application 700 may process an ARM graph acknowledgment or acknowledgment parameters from the ARM graph acknowledgment as provided by the server process described in relation to
In a step 840, user interface application 700 displays the one or more other game assets having the selected relationship with the selected game asset. User interface application 700 may display the other game assets in any desired manner, such as in a tree structure. If the selected relationship is a child relationship, then user interface application 700 displays the children of the selected game asset. If the selected relationship is a parent relationship, then user interface application 700 displays the parents of the selected game asset. If the selected relationship is another relationship, then user interface application 700 displays the other game assets having that relationship with the selected game asset.
Screen 900 also includes a window 904 that displays one or more game assets that are selectable by the user. In this example, game asset 1 is the selected game asset of the user. Screen 900 also includes a window 906 that displays one or more game assets that have the selected relationship (undefined in
The user may select one of the options in menu 903. Assume for example that the user selects the “Children” option. Responsive to the selection of the child relationship, user interface application 700 identifies the other game assets that are children of game asset 1.
The user can then switch to another desired relationship. For instance, the user may again access menu 903 and select the “Parents” option. Responsive to the selection of the parent relationship, user interface application 700 identifies the other game assets that are parents of game asset 1.
In
The user can then switch to another desired relationship. For instance, the user may again access menu 903 and select the “Parents” option. Responsive to the selection of the parent relationship, user interface application 700 identifies the other game assets that are parents of game asset 5.
The user may select different game assets and different relationships among the game assets in order to logically navigate through the game assets based on the relationships. User interface application 700 is not intended to be a tool to navigate through a file system where the game assets are stored, although it may include such functionality. User interface application 700 is intended to navigate through the game assets logically based on the relationships that the game assets have with one another. The logical navigation is based on relationships regardless of the structure of the file system used to store the game assets. Thus, a game developer can easily identify each of the other game assets having a relationship with a selected game asset, such as before editing or deleting the selected game asset. The game developer can advantageously identify each of the other game assets having a relationship with the selected game asset without having to search through a large file system to find each instance of the selected game asset as stored in the file system.
At some point during development by the third group, they decide that the fire_engine_sound file may not be appropriate for the sports car and want to change the file. A game developer in the third group may access the user interface application 700 (see
Responsive to the selection of the fire_engine1 file and the “Children” option, user interface application 700 identifies other game assets that are children of the fire_engine1 file. In this example, user interface application 700 identifies the fire engine mesh file named fire_engine_mesh as being a child of the fire_engine1 file, and displays the fire_engine_mesh file in window 906. Those skilled in the art understand that the fire_engine1 file may have other children although only one is shown as an example.
The game developer may then select the fire_engine_mesh file to identify the children of that file. Responsive to the selection of the fire_engine_mesh file, user interface application 700 identifies the children of the fire_engine_mesh file. In this example, user interface 700 identifies the fire_engine_red file and the fire_engine_sound file as children of the fire_engine_mesh file, and displays the files in window 906 (see
To determine what other asset files depend on the fire_engine_sound file, the game developer may select the fire_engine_sound file and select the “Parent” option from menu 903.
The game developer can select any particular game asset, and switch between the “Parent” option, the “Children” option, the “Category” option, or other relationship options to identify the relationships that the particular game asset has with other game assets. The game developer advantageously does not need to navigate through a file system to try do determine the relationships of the particular game asset.
Although the present novel development has been described in connection with the preferred form of practicing it and modifications thereto, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that many other modifications can be made to the present concept within the scope of the claims that follow. Accordingly, it is not intended that the scope of the concept in any way be limited by the above description, but instead be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.
