3D Games Developer/Programmer

how exactly do you put a shape or make a character into the game do you just type in code and numbers and how do you program movement.

Asked by gael luna almost 9 years ago

Good question! This was exactly my first curiosity when I first encountered Arcade games back in the 80s. The good news is there are softwares available to handle most of the under-the-hood mechanics involved with assembling and rendering 3D content. My favorite is 3D Max, but a very popular free 3D modeling/animating program is called Blender. After the model is assembled in a 3D program, it's then imported into a "Game Engine" like Unreal or Unity. From there, most of the programming involved is for playing and blending animations (by name) according to what is happening in the game, per user input, (such as a walk-cycle, or a punch, or a swim cycle.) The numbers which form the 3D mesh are organized in vertices and corresponding triangles (3 vertices each). These are auto-generated by 3D software during the modeling process which is more similar to molding clay than actually entering in data values by hand. Analogously PhotoShop let's you manipulate pixels with a paint brush without the artist needing to bother with individual pixel data values. If the process of modeling and animation interests you, there are hordes of excellent tutorial videos on YouTube covering this topic. ;)

What do you like the most about being a game developer/programmer?

Asked by newliving over 10 years ago

I am in love with, fascinated with, the magic that happens when giving a computer a list of instructions, it gives a responsive feedback, like a living breathing life form. To give life to art is the complete reward.

Is there one person who deserves credit for pioneering current 3D technology?

Asked by Synergy over 10 years ago

Everyone has their own personal hero in this area, but mine would have to be John Carmack: founder of id Software, the game engine Quake, pioneered video games Wolfenstein, Doom, and the foundational tech for Half-Life. He has a real passion for 3D / VR innovation which continues on to this day. For most questions containing words like "Where did all this 3D magic get started?" would have to be answered with John Carmack.

I remember in the early 90s there were "virtual reality" demos where u put on a really heavy helmet & could battle vs another player in a VR arena. What ever happened to that? Is today's VR the evolution of THAT tech, or something different and new?

Asked by sunir over 10 years ago