boost smart pointers on game

I use them all the time in games with either 3D or 2D graphics and have not noticed any severe performance problems. Theoretically when using them for access the only operation is a regular dereference and copying a smart pointer just increments a counter somewhere.

An ad-hoc internal one will almost certainly not be any better.

Boost did a performance test on theirs (and several other methods) compared to a raw pointer.

Boost - Smart Pointer Timings.