An Introduction: Just what in the
world is state?
Game state can be used to mean a
variety of things and you'll find it
used in many different ways in the
game industry. In this case I'm using
"game state" to provide a description
of an object at a given point in time
in a game. Clear as mud to you now?
Don't worry, I'll try to describe it
in a different way, one as a geek like
me you might identify with a little
better.
Comic books. When buying used comic
books, they often say what "state" or
condition the comic book is in. The
current state of the comic book gives
you some indication of how the comic
book is going to look when you
purchase it. Mint, Fine and Poor all
give an image in your mind of just how
battered or worn the comic book is.
The same is true for objects in your
game. By defining the various valid
states for your objects, your game
will know just what to do when it is
in that state. And just like the comic
book industry has defined the various
valid states for comic books, you as
the governing board for your game must
define valid states for your objects
and just exactly how the game should
respond when those objects are in any
given state.
Since this Game State introduction has a very nice way to explain it, i quoted it and you can find the complete article at http://www.xnadevelopment.com/tutorials/thestateofthings/thestateofthings.shtml
