Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
trail follows a jet plane or how a long ribbon creates lines in space when the rhythmic gymnast moves through a
routine. These are common examples of lines in 3D space. Picture 1 in Figure 4.2 is Werner Kurosawa's design
for the Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA) Media Arts Center SE. Werner used lines to create an interesting
gallery space. As your eye moves down the shiny chrome beams toward the light wood colored loor, notice the
shadows. With the movement of the virtual sun, another dynamic linear composition is created as the 3D linear
elements are converted into a 2D composition of shadow lines that move along the loor and walls. Werner cre-
ated yet another line pattern on the wall elements, with the black lined glass, which is reminiscent of the hori-
zontal black-and-white marble detail on the walls of the Siena Cathedral (
Duomo di Siena
) in central Italy. Line
is always with you in 3D design, even if you are working with massive forms. There will always be the edge of
the object and the line created when it occludes another object. There will be lines created by the shadow edges
on an object or from the change in your point of view on an object. The camera through which you look at the
3D world you are creating has a linear axis pointing directly at the object, and the build editor in your viewer
displays ininite lines in the
x
and
y
directions when an object is selected. The more you look, the more lines
you will see in 3D.
4.2.2 s
paCe
Every 3D design deines itself in space. Space can surround the design, the design can surround a space,
or the space can low through and around the design simultaneously. A 3D design can make the space feel
claustrophobic or expansive; it can hide and reveal space in multiple ways. In
listen ...
(Figure 4.2, picture 2),
a sound-based exhibit by Alpha Auer for the HUMlab exhibit “Tropophonia,” Auer works with lots of open
space. As you enter this exhibit, you ind that you are standing on a translucent plane of glass under a black,
starry sky illed with fast-moving clouds. The plane is decorated with black squares, from which light beams
emanate, and the surface is covered with concentric rings of glowing dots. These graphic features serve to
deine the center and an internal grid simultaneously. Whirling around you like planets circumscribing their
orbits are animated avatars wearing armatures reminiscent of planetary orreries. As you walk across the
plane, you discover a trio of avatars performing synchronized movements, and further exploration will trig-
ger delivery of wearable art, so your avatar may become part of the environment. As you can see, with every
element she has created, Auer has sought to deine the spatial quality of the environment. With its ephemeral
lighting and orbiting avatars, it has become a dynamic, ever-changing space that at once has ininite scale
and human scale. The use of a dark surreal sky for this exhibit contributes to the sensation of ininite space.
4.2.3 s
hape
Shape is the most primal of elements in 3D design. To our eyes, the shape of something serves to identify it
immediately, and the potential for danger or friendship, to our brains. Shapes can be protective when used
with camoulage, shown on butterlies that sport large “eyespots” on their wings. These eyespot shapes serve
to mislead a predator into thinking the butterly is a much larger, dangerous animal. Shape in a 3D world
appears everywhere, shadows cast on the face of a 3D object, or a very thin 3D object that resembles a shape
from a certain view are two such examples. Shapes also can be created in a virtual world through the use of
particles. These are elements created by code such as Linden Scripting Language (in Second Life or OpenSim)
or JavaScript (Unity) that is running inside an object in the virtual environment. When the script is running,
it will cause the object to emit planar shapes with a texture image on their surface, which will always turn to
face (or billboard) the camera. The particle script can be written to generate a profusion of these images, spray
them in a certain angle, maintain a certain frequency, and to let them follow the winds or gravitational forces
of the environment where they exist. Collectively, as these images are generated by the particle-producing
