OLGA: On-Line GAming over Heterogeneous Platforms Thanks to Standard Scalable Content

Most current multi-player 3D games can only be played on a single dedicated platform such as PCs, video-consoles, or (very recently) cell-phones, requir- ing specifically designed content and inter-terminal communication over a predefined network. To over- come these limitations, the OLGA (On-Line GAming) consortium has devised a framework to develop real distributive, multi-player 3D games where scalability at the level of content, platforms and networks is ex- ploited to achieve the best complexity vs. quality and load-balancing trade-offs given the distributive re- sources available over the end-to-end delivery chain. Additionally, standardized content representation and compression formats (XML, MPEG-4, JPEG 2000) are used in OLGA's framework, enabling easy deployment over existing infrastructure, while keeping hooks to well-established practices in the game industry.