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

Preparing for game use


Even though the model already looks complete, there are a few things you need to do to prepare it for game use. It's a list that's the same for any asset you create from now on. Here's what you need to do:

  • Remove the hidden geometry and layers

  • Remove unseen faces

  • Explode geometry to remove groups and components

  • Purge unused materials

  • Check if all faces are facing outward

  • Move files and textures into correct folders

  • Compress or resize textures

  • Save in a recognized format

It's really quick to do, and well worth the time getting right. If you start distributing assets with any of these left undone, you will pay the price by being labeled an amateur.

Hidden geometry and layers

First of all, check that you haven't hidden anything and that all layers are visible. As a rule I never use layers in SketchUp, but if you have used layers then you need to check there's nothing on a hidden layer that you have forgotten about.

  1. Go to View ¦ Hidden Geometry.

  2. If anything appears, right click on...