Book Image

Google SketchUp for Game Design: Beginner's Guide

Book Image

Google SketchUp for Game Design: Beginner's Guide

Overview of this book

Creating video game environments similar to the best 3D games on the market is now within the capability of hobbyists for the first time, with the free availability of game development software such as Unity 3D, and the ease with which groups of enthusiasts can get together to pool their skills for a game project. The sheer number of these independent game projects springing up means there is a constant need for game art, the physical 3D environment and objects that inhabit these game worlds. Now thanks to Google there is an easy, fun way to create professional game art, levels and props.Google SketchUp is the natural choice for beginners to game design. This book provides you with the workflow to quickly build realistic 3D environments, levels, and props to fill your game world. In simple steps you will model terrain, buildings, vehicles, and much more.Google SketchUp is the ideal entry level modeling tool for game design, allowing you to take digital photographs and turn them into 3D objects for quick, fun, game creation. SketchUp for Game Design takes you through the modeling of a game level with SketchUp and Unity 3D, complete with all game art, textures and props. You will learn how to create cars, buildings, terrain, tools and standard level props such as barrels, fencing and wooden pallets. You will set up your game level in Unity 3D to create a fully functional first person walk-around level to email to your friends or future employers.When you have completed the projects in this book, you will be comfortable creating 3D worlds, whether for games, visualization, or films.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Google SketchUp for Game Design
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Time for action – basic 3D geometry


  1. Right click on the texture image and select Explode. This turns the image into a rectangle of geometry that you can model with.

  2. Use the mouse wheel to zoom in to the bottom left-hand side of the pallet. Click on the Line tool, or press L.

  3. Move the tool over the edge of the photo and notice that the pencil snaps to the edge, and shows an On Edge prompt (as you can see here).

  4. With the pencil still snapped to the edge, find the corner of the pallet and click.

  5. Find the other corner of the pallet to the right and click again. You can zoom out with the wheel, and pan by holding Shift and pressing the middle mouse button(usually the same as the mouse wheel).

  6. Notice that the horizontal line turns red to show you it's snapping to the horizontal.

  7. Zoom out, and then select the Eraser button or press E. Click on the shaded view button. You can see that the bottom rectangle is made up of lines and two light blue or grey faces.

  8. Erase the left, right, and bottom lines that...