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This article concerns the use of a graphics processor unit (GPU) as a math co-processor in real-time applications in special games and physics simulations. To validate this approach, we present a new game loop architecture that employs GPUs for general-purpose computations (GPGPUs). A critical issue here is the process distribution between the CPU and the GPU. The architecture consists of a model for distribution, and our implementation offers many advantages in comparison to other approaches without the GPGPU stage. This architecture can be used either by a general-purpose language such as the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA), or shader languages such as the High-Level Shader Language (HLSL) and the OpenGL Shading Language (GLSL).Although the architecture proposed here aims at supporting mathematics and physics on the GPU, it is possible to adapt any kind of generic computation. This article discusses the model implementation in an open-source game engine and presents the results of using this platform.

This article presents a new architecture to implement all game loop models for games and realtime applications that use the GPU as a mathematics and physics coprocessor, working in parallel processing mode with the CPU. The presented model applies automatic task distribution concepts. The architecture can apply a set of heuristics defined in Lua scripts in order to get acquainted with the best processor for handling a given task. The model applies the GPGPU (general-purpose computation on GPUs) paradigm. In this article we propose an architecture that acquires knowledge about the hardware by running tasks in each processor and, by studying their performance over time, finding the best processor for a group of tasks.

Many games and other interactive virtual environments are known for their focus in rendering natural phenomena, such as accurate visuals and physics, in the most believable manner. Several advances in the aforementioned fields took place during the last decade but, unfortunately, this effort has not been reflected in libraries for spatial audio. These libraries traditionally do not accurately simulate sound wave propagation through the virtual environment, never taking into consideration the speed of sound, reflection and absorbency by scene geometry, phenomena whose simulation could be used to render many interesting effects in real time. In this paper, we propose the use of a sound wave propagation simulation based on the finite difference method, running on the GPU, that can be used to compute how a sound pulse spreads through a virtual environment. In the prototypes implemented, the simulation data is interactively used to determine the perceived direction of a sound source in a closed building, and rendering a mimic of a shock-wave in an open scene.

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