Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
As more and more people purchased personal computers, the prices for comput-
ers started to fall. This was driven in large part by competition from computer and
chip manufacturers to get computers into as many homes as possible and the fact
that mass production made individual systems less expensive to build. So while
personal computers were advancing daily in power and sophistication, they were
also becoming more affordable. The more expensive process of building worksta-
tions had no chance of competing with the onrush of the PC.
As PCs became more powerful, high-end 3D software migrated from the worksta-
tion to the standard off-the-shelf PC. This move opened the door for computer
artists everywhere to create beautiful 3D computer art.
Digital 3D art was also entering the computer and video game world. Home PC
and video game consoles were rapidly gaining in power. In the mid-1990s, the
video and computer game industry moved from primarily using 2D art to using
3D art for most games. Although they were very blocky at first, video games with
3D characters were readily accepted by the public. Game players liked the idea of
games with 3D characters and environments.
PCs were not the only systems to advance rapidly in computing power. Video
game systems were also becoming more powerful. By the late 1990s and early
2000s, game systems were capable of using almost lifelike graphics. Figure 1.6 shows
a character from one of these systems.
Figure 1.6
3D characters replaced 2D characters in video games.
