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Component

Game programmingDecouplingModularityAbout 3 min

Also known as

  • Entity-Component-System (ECS)
  • Component-Entity-System (CES)
  • Component-Based Architecture (CBA)

Intent

The Component design pattern aims to organize code into reusable, interchangeable components, promoting flexibility and ease of maintenance in game development by allowing entities to be configured with varying behaviors.

Intent
Component Design Pattern

Explanation

Real world example

Suppose your video game consists of a graphics component and a sound component. Including the methods and attributes of both of these features in a single java class can be problematic due to many reasons. Firstly, the graphics and sound code can create an extremely long java class which can be hard to maintain. Furthermore, graphics components may be written and implemented by a separate team as to the sound contents. If both parties work simultaneously on the same java class, this may cause conflicts and major delay. Using the component design pattern, the development team is able to create individual component classes for graphics and sound whilst providing the domain/object the reach to both of these attributes.

In plain words

The component design pattern provides a single attribute to be accessible by numerous objects without requiring the existence of a relationship between the objects themselves.

Key drawback

With the implementation of the component design pattern, it can be very difficult to create a relationship between components. For example, suppose we require the sound component to be aware of the current animation in order create a certain sound based upon the animation; this can be quite tricky as the component design pattern makes components 'unaware' of other components' existence due to its decoupling nature.

Programmatic Example

The App class creates a demonstration of the use of the component pattern by creating two different objects which inherit a small collection of individual components that are modifiable.

public final class App {
    /**
     * Program entry point.
     *
     * @param args args command line args.
     */
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        final var player = GameObject.createPlayer();
        final var npc = GameObject.createNpc();


        LOGGER.info("Player Update:");
        player.update(KeyEvent.KEY_LOCATION_LEFT);
        LOGGER.info("NPC Update:");
        npc.demoUpdate();
    }
}

Much of the program exists within the GameObject class, within this class, the player and NPC object create methods are set up. Additionally, this class also consists of the method calls used to update/alter information of the object's components.

public class GameObject {
    private final InputComponent inputComponent;
    private final PhysicComponent physicComponent;
    private final GraphicComponent graphicComponent;

    public String name;
    public int velocity = 0;
    public int coordinate = 0;

    public static GameObject createPlayer() {
        return new GameObject(new PlayerInputComponent(),
                new ObjectPhysicComponent(),
                new ObjectGraphicComponent(),
                "player");
    }

    public static GameObject createNpc() {
        return new GameObject(
                new DemoInputComponent(),
                new ObjectPhysicComponent(),
                new ObjectGraphicComponent(),
                "npc");
    }

    public void demoUpdate() {
        inputComponent.update(this);
        physicComponent.update(this);
        graphicComponent.update(this);
    }

    public void update(int e) {
        inputComponent.update(this, e);
        physicComponent.update(this);
        graphicComponent.update(this);
    }

    public void updateVelocity(int acceleration) {
        this.velocity += acceleration;
    }

    public void updateCoordinate() {
        this.coordinate += this.velocity;
    }
}

Upon opening the component package, the collection of components are revealed. These components provide the interface for objects to inherit these domains. The PlayerInputComponent class shown below updates the object's velocity characteristic based on user's key event input.

public class PlayerInputComponent implements InputComponent {
    private static final int walkAcceleration = 1;

    /**
     * The update method to change the velocity based on the input key event.
     *
     * @param gameObject the gameObject instance
     * @param e          key event instance
     */
    @Override
    public void update(GameObject gameObject, int e) {
        switch (e) {
            case KeyEvent.KEY_LOCATION_LEFT -> {
                gameObject.updateVelocity(-WALK_ACCELERATION);
                LOGGER.info(gameObject.getName() + " has moved left.");
            }
            case KeyEvent.KEY_LOCATION_RIGHT -> {
                gameObject.updateVelocity(WALK_ACCELERATION);
                LOGGER.info(gameObject.getName() + " has moved right.");
            }
            default -> {
                LOGGER.info(gameObject.getName() + "'s velocity is unchanged due to the invalid input");
                gameObject.updateVelocity(0);
            } // incorrect input
        }
    }
}

Class diagram

UML
The UML for Component Design Pattern

Applicability

  • Used in game development and simulations where game entities (e.g., characters, items) can have a dynamic set of abilities or states.
  • Suitable for systems requiring high modularity and systems where entities might need to change behavior at runtime without inheritance hierarchies.

Known Uses

  • Game engines like Unity, Unreal Engine, and various custom engines in AAA and indie games.
  • Simulation systems that require flexible, dynamic object composition.

Consequences

Benefits:

  • Flexibility and Reusability: Components can be reused across different entities, making it easier to add new features or modify existing ones.
  • Decoupling: Reduces dependencies between game entity states and behaviors, facilitating easier changes and maintenance.
  • Dynamic Composition: Entities can alter their behavior at runtime by adding or removing components, providing significant flexibility in game design.

Trade-offs:

  • Complexity: Can introduce additional complexity in system architecture, particularly in managing dependencies and communications between components.
  • Performance Considerations: Depending on implementation, may incur a performance overhead due to indirection and dynamic behavior, especially critical in high-performance game loops.

Credits

MIT licensed
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