AA2 - Week 4 - Game Engine

Burnout Revenge uses the elusive Renderware engine. After watching Dave struggle to find anything (his game also used Renderware) and an hour or so of my own searching (you would think www.renderware.com would be a goldmine) I emailed the company only to receive no reply. Thus, the following analysis is purely my own stipulation combined with the associated Wikipedia article (which in itself is bereft of content).



Renderware has been used for numerous games, seemingly due to its ease of implementation and consistently successful outcomes. The Grand Theft Auto series are the most popular games to use the software, however this has come under criticism for a relatively unsuccessful implementation. The Burnout series uses the game engine to spectacular effect, particularly with Burnout Revenge on the Playstation 2, which has some of the best graphics ever seen on the (dated) console.



Most Renderware games that I have played (barring GTA) have had a certain Renderware 'sheen', where a crisp resolution combined with minimal anti-aliasing and a smooth framerate being indicative of its use. With the advent of in-game surround sound on the XBOX console, the Renderware engine seems to be able to cater for a range of audio technologies.




Renderware has now fallen out of use, with the last few games using the engine suffering from the engine's limitations on the next generation consoles.