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

Making bags of cash selling assets


Can I really make money selling assets created in SketchUp? Let's take a look. Here's a screenshot from the online asset store for Vue users at http://www.cornucopia3d.com. Vue is primarily used for outdoor virtual photography (rendering outdoor scenes) and so the Vue users are always in need of buildings and props.

There you have it, a beautifully detailed model of the triumphal arch in Rome, $10.95 and it's simply cannon fodder for SketchUp users. Now, that's at the cheap end of the market because Cornucopia is used mostly by hobbyists. Shown next is another model of the same monument, this time, at the professional end of the scale at http://www.Turbosquid.com.

This one's up at $100 for each and every download. A lot of money for an asset, you might say? But if you scroll down you can see it's got 4 ratings from customers, proving it's bagged at least $400 for this asset creator, probably more. Now that's not bad for a few days' modeling, is it? The model has been up since 2005 but it hasn't cost the creator a penny to leave it there generating currency for his or her holiday fund.

Yes, you can sell your assets created in SketchUp, if you follow this book and put some effort into your work.

Pop quiz

Here's a really quick quiz to get you into the Beginner's Guide way of learning.

  1. What are the two most important requirements for asset creation?

    a. High polygon counts and high-resolution texturing

    b. High-level modeling and rendering tools

    c. Fast modeling and fast texturing capabilities

  2. Can I sell the assets I created with SketchUp online?

    a. No, the quality from SketchUp is too low

    b. Absolutely, as long as I take the learning experience seriously

    c. Yes, but I won't make much money