Memory Management Strategies for AAA Games

AAA games push hardware to its limits, making efficient memory management crucial for performance and stability. This guide covers advanced strategies used in professional game development.

Memory Allocation Patterns

Custom Allocators

class StackAllocator {
private:
    char* memory;
    size_t size;
    size_t offset;
    
public:
    StackAllocator(size_t size) : size(size), offset(0) {
        memory = static_cast<char*>(malloc(size));
    }
    
    template<typename T>
    T* Allocate(size_t count = 1) {
        size_t bytes = sizeof(T) * count;
        if (offset + bytes > size) {
            return nullptr; // Out of memory
        }
        
        T* result = reinterpret_cast<T*>(memory + offset);
        offset += bytes;
        return result;
    }
    
    void Reset() {
        offset = 0;
    }
};

Memory Pools

Pre-allocate memory for frequently used objects:

• ▸Entity Pools: For game objects
• ▸Component Pools: For ECS components
• ▸Particle Pools: For visual effects

Garbage Collection Strategies

1. ▸Minimize allocations during gameplay
2. ▸Use object pooling extensively
3. ▸Pre-allocate collections with known sizes
4. ▸Avoid string concatenation in hot paths

Platform-Specific Considerations

Console Optimization

• ▸Fixed memory budgets
• ▸Predictable performance requirements
• ▸Platform-specific allocators

PC Optimization

• ▸Variable memory configurations
• ▸Dynamic allocation strategies
• ▸Memory fragmentation handling

Conclusion

Effective memory management is the foundation of high-performance AAA games. These strategies ensure smooth gameplay even under extreme conditions.