Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
chapter 2
Exploring the
One of the biggest challenges in any complex program, such as 3ds Max, is getting
a grasp on where to find things, how to understand what they mean, and how they
are named using the interface. But before you explore the Max interface, let's talk
about what an interface is.
Early interfaces used to be referred to as GUIs (pronounced
gooey
) or Graphical
User Interfaces. A GUI can be defined as a computer program that makes it possi-
ble for a person to communicate or interface with a computer through the use of
symbols, visual metaphors, and pointing devices. Because a computer uses some-
thing called “machine language” (the elemental language of computers, consisting
of a string of zeroes and ones), something was needed for the average person to
interface with a computer in an easy-to-understand format. The earliest of these
GUIs appeared in 1983 on the Macintosh. In 1985 Macintosh introduced the first GUI,
which came to be known as Windows. This operating system also allowed users of
DOS-based systems, or personal computers (PCs), the same capabilities as
Macintosh users in terms of interfacing with the computer. Everything you see,
use, or hear on the computer is using some type of interface that allows you access
to the machine language of the computer. (The machine language is that deep,
dark abyss of ones and zeroes that few people understand, unless they are com-
puter programmers.) But that is another story.
What we will attempt to do in this chapter is explore the interface that you can use
to access all the various commands in 3ds Max that allow you to create 3D art and
animation.
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