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

A modeling career


When you consider the amount of code that is required to create even the most basic shapes, you might despair of ever coding a complicated 3D game! Fortunately, there are better tools available to create 3D objects. 3D modeling software allows a 3D modeler to create 3D object similar to how an artist uses drawing software to create 2D images.

The process of getting 3D objects into our game typically has three steps:

  1. Creating the 3D object in a 3D modeling tool.

  2. Exporting the model as a data file.

  3. Loading the data file into our game.

Blending in

There are many popular tools that are used by professionals to create 3D models. Two of the most popular ones are 3D Max and Maya. However, these tools are also relatively expensive. It turns out that there is a very capable 3D modeling tool called Blender that is available for free. We will install Blender and then learn how to use it to create 3D models for our game.

Blender is a 3D modeling and animation suite that is perfect for beginners...