Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
4
Concepts in 3D Design for
Virtual Environments
Design is in everything we make, but it's also between those things. It's a mix of craft, science, story-
telling, propaganda, and philosophy.
—Erik Adigard des Gautries
4.1
INTRODUCTION TO 3D DESIGN
4.1.1 a u
niVersal
l
anguage
ThaT
y
ou
e
xperienCe
C
onsTanTly
For a few minutes, imagine your favorite childhood space. Perhaps it was the dinosaur exhibit of your local
museum, the art room of your elementary school, or your own backyard. In your mind's eye, take a walk
through that place, remembering the size and shape of each area and the objects, furniture, and architectural
elements it contained. Everything in that environment has been stored in your memory in a “canonical” form
[1]. Whether you call it a tree,
arbre
, or
árbol
, in your native speaking language, it represents a 3D form in
your mind, and that form is part of the universal language of forms we create in a virtual 3D environment.
This collection of forms, stored in our memory, also lets us “time travel” to places that may no longer exist.
As a designer, you need to allow yourself to be inspired by your encoded memory containing this database of
forms. By utilizing your “Visuospatial Sketchpad” (or inner eye), which stores and recalls these forms for you
when inspiration strikes, you are accessing a powerful tool for design, as shown in Figure 4.1 [2]. Rediscover
this great repository you have been adding to since you were a child and utilize it as often as possible when
you are designing, teaching, or just showing your children how to imagine new places.
4.2 DESIGN ELEMENTS IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS
Every language in the world shares common concepts about identity and classiication, and that is true for
the language of 3D design. There are six fundamental elements found in 3D no matter where it is created:
line, space, shape, form, color, and texture. Many 3D designs utilize all six elements in their composition
(or arrangement of objects); some simply use two or three of these. Let's focus in on these elements and
examine how various artists in Second Life have used them to create 3D designs. Figure 4.2 has examples of
the six fundamental elements of 3D design.
4.2.1 l
ine
A line creates a linear, spatial connection between two points. A line can also create a temporal connection
between two events, such as a timeline does, and a line can deine the direction of a moving object, as trajectory
does. Every drawing starts with a line, but lines do not need to be trapped on the 2D plane. Think of how a smoke
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