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 – adding height to a flat terrain


  1. Open your SketchUp file and go to the Materials pallet. Select the Home icon and then the MapMaster texture.

  2. Click on the Edit tab. Now, click on the Browse icon next to the texture filename and re-load your MapMaster.png image.

  3. If your edges are still switched off, switch them back on now (View ¦ Edge Style).

  4. You're now ready to start crafting your terrain with Sandbox tool. Make this possible by selecting both the base and terrain components and selecting Explode from the right-click menu.

  5. Press the spacebar to get to selection mode and click in a blank area of the screen to deselect everything.

  6. Now, click on the Smoove tool, type 40 and press Enter. This gives you a broad brush to work with.

  7. Click on the terrain. Move the mouse up and down to raise or lower the terrain, as you can see in the following screenshot:

  8. Click when you're done. You can undo this modification with Ctrl-Z (Cmd-z on Mac OS).

  9. Do this a few times over the terrain to get the...