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RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS

Three guys walk into a bar…

The opening line ‘ Three guys walk in to a bar…’ engineer extraordinary designs. More and more game
has fueled the material of comedians from Lenny technologies are solving problems to the challenges
Bruce to Jerry Lewis. For a surfer, a gamer and an we’re facing, because they are very good at what they
engineer, it plays on our notions of stereotypes of do.
beach bums, computer nerds and analytical types
and we are waiting for a punch line that ridicules at Want to be a next-level engineer? Ask a gamer. Better
least one if not all three. yet, pass the pizza and see for yourself.

But, dig a little deeper and surfing is now a multi-billion- So, what’s the fuss about gaming?
dollar industry with its own YouTube channels and in-
ternational holiday and gaming is undergoing a similar If you’ve ever played games, you’ll know they vary, de-
revolution. pending on their purpose and their genre. What is
needed to build Grand Prix 3 is entirely different to what
Until recently, mainstream society relegated fans to the Call of Duty requires. A game engine doesn’t know
realm of geeks, nerds, and basement-dwelling dorks. what style of game you might want to make, so it allows
But, in the last few years, the strangest thing has hap- coders and programmers to dig around the backend
pened: gamers have suddenly become cool. That’s and customize their designs.
because the technology, once exclusive to their esoter-
ic knowledge, has evolved and attracted the interest of And if you’re still not happy with what you’ve been giv-
diverse fields seeking better software solutions. en to work with, the game engine allows you to go out
and build it yourself. It’s the harder way (more
Tools like game ‘engines’, virtual reality and augmented knowledge, more time, more money), but it’s the only
reality (+ pizza) are no longer an alternative to Friday way to create truly bespoke solutions.
night boredom; they’re seen as powerful platforms to

14 October 2017 - Programmatic & Native Advertising