Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 11
Mechanics 1: Linear
Kinematics and Calculus
Always in motion is the future.
— Yoda in
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
(1980)
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I direct your attention to the center ring.
Witness before you two ordinary textbooks, one labeled College Physics
and the other Calculus. Their combined 2,500+ pages weigh over 25 lbs.
Yet in this chapter and the next, your brave stunt-authors will attempt a
most death-defying and impossible spectacle of mysticism and subterfuge:
to reduce these two massive topics into a mere 150 pages!”
Just like any good circus act, this one is prefaced with a lot of build
up to set your expectations. The difference here is that the purpose of our
preface is to lower your expectations.
11.1
Overview and Other Expectation-Reducing
Remarks
OK, there's no way we can really cover all of physics and calculus in two
chapters. As any politician knows, the secret to effectively communicate
complicated subject matter in a short amount of time is to use lies, both
the omission and commission kind. Let's talk about each of these kinds of
lies in turn, so you will know what's really in store.
11.1.1 What is Left Out?
Just about everything—let's talk about what we are leaving out of physics
first. To put the word “physics” on this chapter would be even more of an
insult to people who do real physics than this chapter already is. We are
concerned only with mechanics, and very simple mechanics of rigid bodies
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