From Game Worlds to “Serious” Game Worlds: Geo referencing game engine data, there and back again
ABSTRACT This paper will focus on a pipeline to improve the correlation of fictitious game maps and the best way to correlate and geo reference the data for use in real world training. The paper is more like a tutorial that will explore the use of ESRI 3D analyst, Global Mapper, and the use of 3D Software. The best technique is an intermediate step where a Subject Matter Expert designs a map (raster) that is used as the base for the creation of assets for both maps. A map would be used similar to the ones used in FPS's (First Person Shooters) like Halo4 , Call of Duty, or a Crytech map.

Subjects covered;

How to export a game engine map to be used in the real world.
Polygon reduction and other manipulation to the high resolution mesh.
Cutting the map mesh to create topographic maps.
Using topographic maps to create elevation data.
Techniques for geo‐referencing raster data.
How to merge fake topographic maps with real world data.
How to bring real world data back again into the game engine.
The use of height maps to create terrain.
How to gather raster data in power of 2 ratio so it can be ingested in the game engine.
Populating game assets in the world.
Creation of OOB(out of bound) skirts. (The OOB skirt is a polygon mesh placed outside the area cover by the terrain in a game map.)

Why do this?

Game engines lack geo‐referencing awareness. They are usually postal stamp size maps on a flat earth world, but they do have some advantages. First they are light years ahead in rendering and visuals effects. The engines are very robust, well tested, and offers lots of features. FPS games already have bots or automated players, so defining an AI (Artificial Intelligence) to improve the reality of a scenario by adding people is already built into their system. To leverage all these advantages a better pipeline needs to be created to correlate legacy engines with a new environment.

VITA Jorge L. Rosado Ortiz is an Application Developer I with Ball Aerospace & Technologies working at the Warfighter Readiness Division at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. He joins the Correlated RealTime All Sensor databases (CRASD) Lab with over 10 years of experience with the video game industry where he developed titles for Electronics Arts, Auran and TimeGate Studios. He served as a Phantom F-4 avionic technician with the USAF from the end of the Cold War to the end of the 1st American Gulf War. He holds a Bachelor degree in Architecture and is the author of the book “Wehrmacht Panzer Division” published by Amber Books.