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 – importing a texture to scale


  1. Open up SketchUp and go to Window ¦ Preferences, then select the Template option.

  2. Select Engineering – Meters and click on Start using SketchUp.

  3. You can now see the main SketchUp window. You can use the person displayed in the main window to help you visualize scale. Leave her there for the moment.

  4. For this first tutorial, you will also need the Views and View Styles menu bars, so go to View ¦ Toolbars and make sure Views and Styles are checked in the list.

  5. You can drag these toolbars where you wish. When you drag them onto the side or top of the SketchUp window, they will dock and stay there.

  6. Alternatively you can access them via menus by selecting View ¦ Face Style and Camera ¦ Standard Views.

  7. Go to File ¦ Import and select your texture, pallet_wood_1024.tga. Check Use as Image and click on Open.

  8. Move the cursor until it snaps to the origin. It will display the text Origin as you can see next.

  9. Click here and move the mouse to resize the image. Click...