Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
lighting without having to change the polygons of the model. This a grayscale
version of the color map.
specular map
Specularity refers to how bright or shiny the surface of the
model appears.
animation
Animation for games falls under two major headings:
Animating for non-interactive elements
Animating for in-game or interactive elements
Non-interactive elements, such as trailers or the introduction to the game, are
fairly straightforward. The
animation
is done using 2D or 3D techniques and
approached in the same way you would create animation for a TV show or movie.
The animator usually works from a script and/or storyboards and animates in a
linear fashion, from the beginning to the end of a scene or scenes.
In-game animation is a bit different because it isn't a pre-rendered movie, like
a trailer. It's animation that happens in real time.
Cutscenes used to be rendered out as movies; however, most games now run
them in real time directly from the engine, thus avoiding huge rendered movie
files.
Animation for gameplay doesn't address certain things an animator might
normally work on, such as creating facial deformations to match lip synch. Most
playback systems just don't have the speed and capability to render the frames in
real time with that much complexity, so most animations for games are limited
to cycles that can repeat. The majority of characters or props that will be ani-
mated in game are simplified to limit the strain on the system.
You'll want to plan for a variety of elements to be animated. The most obvious
animated elements are the characters—you want to see them move and have some
sense of realism to add to the fun of the gameplay. Props and vehicles (includ-
ing horses or other mounts that might be used) are treated much the same as
characters and animated in repeatable loops so their animation can be rendered
in real time as the game is played. Other elements that are animated in games
can include weather, which is usually particle-based animation. Although the
designer of a game generally doesn't create the actual animation (that falls to the
production crew), it's useful to understand how the process works so the designer
will be able to plan for the different cycles required to create the game.
Particle animation
,
or
system anima-
tion
, is a technique
for animating soft
or diffused things
like smoke, clouds,
fog and dust in a 3d
program using an
emitter.
