Book Image

OpenGL Game Development By Example

By : Stephen Madsen, Robert Madsen
Book Image

OpenGL Game Development By Example

By: Stephen Madsen, Robert Madsen

Overview of this book

OpenGL is one of the most popular rendering SDKs used to develop games. OpenGL has been used to create everything from 3D masterpieces running on desktop computers to 2D puzzles running on mobile devices. You will learn to apply both 2D and 3D technologies to bring your game idea to life. There is a lot more to making a game than just drawing pictures and that is where this book is unique! It provides a complete tutorial on designing and coding games from the setup of the development environment to final credits screen, through the creation of a 2D and 3D game. The book starts off by showing you how to set up a development environment using Visual Studio, and create a code framework for your game. It then walks you through creation of two games–a 2D platform game called Roboracer 2D and a 3D first-person space shooter game–using OpenGL to render both 2D and 3D graphics using a 2D coordinate system. You'll create sprite classes, render sprites and animation, and navigate and control the characters. You will also learn how to implement input, use audio, and code basic collision and physics systems. From setting up the development environment to creating the final credits screen, the book will take you through the complete journey of creating a game engine that you can extend to create your own games.
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
OpenGL Game Development By Example
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Chapter 3. A Matter of Character

A video game wouldn't be much fun without characters, and this chapter is all about bringing your game characters to life. Games typically have two kinds of characters. First, there is the character or characters that you are playing as. These are called the player characters. The characters that are controlled by the computer are called the non-player characters or NPCs.

This chapter will explain how to create characters for your game. Along the way we will cover:

  • Sprites: Sprites are any textures that the player interacts with in the game. This includes the player characters, NPCs, and other objects in the game.

  • Animation: The art of making an image appear to move is called animation. You will learn how to use multiple images to make your textures move on the screen.

  • Atlases: Images can be stored one at a time, or they can be combined into single composite texture known as a sprite sheet or an atlas.