Project Dissertation submitted to the University of Wales Swansea in Partial Fulfilment for the Degree of Bachelor of Science

Declaration All sentences or passages quoted in this dissertation from other people's work have been specifically acknowledged by clear cross-referencing to author, work and page(s). I understand that failure to do this amounts to plagiarism and will be considered grounds for failure in this dissertation and the degree examination as a whole. iv iv Acknowledgements As a seventeen year old, I was desperate to leave college and seek work. Education seemed mandatory due to the pressure from my parents, but I continued all the same, albeit unwillingly. Before finally achieving the mediocre grades that I didn't really deserve I became ill, and was confined to my bed for several months as a result. The time off gave me a good chance to reflect on my attitude, and finally I decided to restart college, but with a new outlook and positive intentions. I finished with enormous success, which I put down to the constant encouragement from Clive Price, my lecturer at Gorseinon. But perhaps more importantly, I owe my decision to continue education and pursue a degree course at the University of Wales to him, and him alone. I like to think that my time at Swansea has been successful, as well as enjoyable. The Computer Science staff and my fellow students have taught me many invaluable lessons over the years, and I often feel indebted. It seems senseless that I considered passing the experience by. I am particularly grateful to Emer Kennedy and Mark Chesterman, who have both helped enormously in boosting my grades. I feel obliged to live up to the high expectations that Emer has of me, and the friendly rivalry that Mark and I share has contributed greatly to my achievements. have all lent an ear during my three years here. I've learnt that when experience talks, I should take a back seat and listen. Chen, my supervisor throughout this project, has certainly had the biggest impact on my educational development during this level of study. As my tutor for two years, he has taught me the fundamentals of writing documents, giving presentations and preparing for up and coming months of University work. Chen has shown faith in my judgement and abilities, about which I feel proud. In my opinion, Michael Abrash (Microsoft) and John Carmack (id Software) are two people who pave the way for the game-programming fraternity. Their unmatchable standards and great contribution to the …