Building Interactive Worlds in 3D: Virtual Sets and Pre-visualization for Games, Film & the Web

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ISBN: 9780240806228 | 0240806220
Cover: Nonspecific Binding
Copyright: 4/20/2005

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Inside The Art of Designing Virtual Sets: Interactive 3D Recipes readers will find turnkey tutorials that detail all the steps required to build simulations and interactions, utilize virtual cameras, virtual actors (with self-determined behaviors), and real-time physics including gravity, collision, and topography. With the free software demos included, 3D artists and developers can learn to build a fully functioning prototype. The book is dynamic enough to give both those with a programming background as well as those who are just getting their feet wet challenging and engaging tutorials in virtual set design, using the following tools: Macromedia Director and Virtools. Other software discussed are: 3ds max, Lightwave, and Maya. The book is constructed so that, depending on your project and design needs, you can read the text or interviews independently and/or use the book as reference for individual tutorials on a project-by-project basis. Each tutorial is followed by a short interview with a 3D graphics professional in order to provide insight and additional advice on particular interactive 3D techniques -- from user, designer, artist, and producer perspectives. * Create interactive, 3D sets - virtual buildings, terrains, as well as other virtual prototypes for games, film/video pre-visualization, and virtual reality design for the Web from sketch to fully-working prototype * Interviews with experts in the field provide additional insight into each tutorial * Dozens of tutorials on CD-ROM, and dozens more on author's website

Acknowledgments

xiii

Contributors

Preface

xix

Introduction

xxi

Chapter 1 Emergence of Virtual Spaces

(12)

1 Emergence

(1)

2 Discussion about Virtual Spaces

(12)

2.1 Let's Start the Discussion

(8)

2.2 Notes on the Discussion

(3)

Chapter 2 The Basic 3D Kit

(70)

1 The Roadmap

(1)

2 The Making of Cyclop, an Interactive Character in Maya

(45)

2.1 Tour of Maya's Interface

(2)

2.2 Modeling

(16)

2.3 Materials and Textures

(7)

2.4 Building a Skeleton with Inverse Kinematics

(11)

2.5 Creating a Walk Animation

(5)

2.6 How to Export the Character to Virtools

(2)

2.7 What Did You Learn in This Tutorial?

(1)

3 Creating a 3D Immersive Environment

(25)

3.1 Creating the Ground

(1)

3.2 Painting the Trees

(1)

3.3 Painting Grass

(2)

3.4 Conversion of 3D Models to Polygonal Meshes

(1)

3.5 Reducing the Number of Polygons

(1)

3.6 Materials and Textures

(1)

3.7 How to Export the Scene to Virtools

(2)

3.8 Setting Up the Scene in Virtools

(3)

3.9 Loading Textures from Maya in Virtools

(3)

3.10 Creating a Skybox

(1)

3.11 Using Textures with Alpha-Channels

(3)

3.12 Importing a Character

(1)

3.13 The Character Stands on the Floor

(1)

3.14 The Character Walks

(3)

3.15 What Did You Learn in This Tutorial?

(2)

Chapter 3 Interactive Textures and Lighting Design

(72)

1 Introduction

(7)

1.1 Bitmaps and Procedural Images

(1)

1.2 Shaders

(4)

1.3 Displacement Maps

(1)

1.4 Procedural Painting

(1)

1.5 Particle Animation

(1)

2 Texture Primer: Creating a Skybox

(14)

2.1 Origins of the Skybox

(2)

2.2 Skybox Tutorial

(1)

2.3 Design of a Skybox in Lightwave Modeler

(8)

2.4 Create a Scene with Lights and Cameras in Lightwave

100

(4)

2.5 Creating a Database to Manage 3D Assets in Virtools

104

(1)

3 Create Interactive Textures: Bitmaps and Procedural Images

104

(23)

3.1 Blending Textures Looped in Time

104

(6)

3.2 Blending Textures Controlled by Viewer's Input

110

(2)

3.3 Scrolling Textures

112

(1)

3.4 Scrolling Texture with a Transparent Background

112

(4)

3.5 Playing Movie Clips in a Loop Controlled by the Viewer

116

(2)

3.6 Playing Movie Clips Controlled by the Viewer

118

(1)

3.7 Using a Live Video from a Virtual Camera

118

(2)

3.8 Texturing with a Random Live Video Signal

120

(1)

3.9 Texturing with Live Video Signals Controlled by the Mouse

121

(1)

3.10 Controlling a Texture with an Animated Character

121

(2)

3.11 Texturing with Two Distinct Live Video Signals

123

(2)

3.12 Texturing with Two Live Video Signals Reflected in a Mirror

125

(1)

3.13 Texturing with Live Video Stream from a Video Camera

126

(1)

4 Programmable Shaders

127

(7)

4.1 The X-Ray Shader, Created by Zach Rosen

128

(5)

4.2 Focus and Defocus

133

(1)

5 Displacement Maps

134

(3)

6 Vertex Painting

137

(1)

7 Procedural Painting

138

(4)

7.1 Painting in 3D with One Texture

138

(4)

8 Examples of Particle Animation

142

(6)

8.1 Designing a Planar Particle Emitter

142

(1)

8.1.1 Creating the Particle Emitter

142

(1)

8.2 Designing Behaviors for Flying Particles

142

(6)

8.2.1 Particle Emitters

142

(4)

8.2.2 Particle Deflectors

146

(1)

8.2.3 3D Objects Can Replace Textures in a Particle Animation Setup

147

(1)

9 Design of a Futuristic City

148

(7)

9.1 Designing the City

149

(2)

9.1.1 Creating Textures in Photoshop®

149

(1)

9.1.2 Modeling the Cityscape in Bryce

149

(2)

9.1.3 Textures, Lights, and Cameras

151

(1)

9.2 Particle Animation and Texture Blending in Virtools

151

(4)

9.2.1 Texture Blending

151

(2)

9.2.2 Particle Animation of the Traffic of Flying Vehicles

153

(1)

9.2.3 Particle Animation of the Fires

153

(2)

Chapter 4 Kinematics

155

(62)

1 Introduction

155

(10)

1.1 Kinematics

155

(1)

1.2 Key-Frame Animations

156

(2)

1.3 Why Use Event-Driven Motions?

158

(2)

1.3.1 Hybrid Animation Systems

158

(1)

1.3.2 Parametric Animations

159

(1)

1.4 Using Pseudophysics

160

(2)

1.5 Virtual Worlds with Physics

162

(1)

1.6 Moving Physicalized 3D Objects

163

(2)

1.6.1 Translation with Physics

163

(1)

1.6.2 Rotation with Physics

164

(1)

1.6.3 Adding New Objects to a Simulation with Physics

165

(1)

2 Creating Simple Motions and Manipulations

165

(12)

2.1 Rolling Stones

166

(1)

2.2 Multiple Collisions

167

(6)

2.3 Driving

173

(2)

2.3.1 Driving with Pseudophysics

173

(1)

2.3.2 Driving a String of Balls with Physics

173

(2)

2.4 Springs

175

(2)

2.4.1 Setting Up Physics for the Falling Object

177

(1)

3 Mesh Deformations

177

(10)

3.1 Twisting and Bending

180

(3)

3.1.1 Twisting

181

(1)

3.1.2 Bending

182

(1)

3.2 Applying Noise to a Mesh

183

(1)

3.3 Interactive Displacement of Vertices of a Mesh with a Mouse

183

(2)

3.4 Moving One Vertex at a Time by Hand

185

(2)

4 Complex Moving Structures

187

(5)

4.1 Snake

187

(5)

4.1.1 Building the Snake

188

(4)

4.1.2 Driving the Snake

192

(1)

5 Inverse Kinematics

192

(8)

5.1 Bird

193

(4)

5.2 The Hand

197

(3)

6 Motion Planning

200

(16)

6.1 "3D Hand with a Pendulum" Project

201

(4)

6.2 Path Finding

205

(12)

6.2.1 Setting Up a Character with Path Finding on a Terrain

207

(2)

6.2.2 Moving Goals through Time

209

(7)

7 Conclusion

216

(1)

Chapter 5 Interactive Paths

217

(42)

1 Story of a Famous Path

217

(5)

1.1 Designing Paths

217

(2)

1.2 Managing Paths

219

(3)

2 Paths Tutorials

222

(20)

2.1 How to Set Up the Path of an Insect Flying Along the Branch of a Tree

222

(4)

2.2 Controlling the Speed of a Camera on a Path

226

(2)

2.3 Interactive Motion Control of a Camera on a Path

228

(3)

2.4 Cameras Can jump from One Path to Another

231

(1)

2.5 Viewers Can jump from One Camera to the Other

232

(2)

2.6 How to Switch Cameras on the Same Path

234

(3)

2.7 How a Moving Object on a Path Can Detect and Avoid Obstacles

237

(2)

2.8 How to Record a Path on the Fly

239

(3)

3 The Donut Tutorial: Setting Up a Camera Inside an Interactive Race Track

242

(17)

3.1 Conceptual Design

243

(2)

3.2 Let's Start the Tutorial

245

(14)

3.2.1 Conceptual Design

245

(1)

3.2.2 Modeling a Donut-Shaped Ring

246

(1)

3.2.3 Texturing the Donut

246

(2)

3.2.4 Adding Lights and Cameras

248

(1)

3.2.5 Drawing a Path

249

(4)

3.2.6 Creating an Interactive Path

253

(2)

3.2.7 Controlling the Camera's Speed on the Path

255

(1)

3.2.8 Switching between Path Camera and Free Camera

255

(1)

3.2.9 Creating Interactive Textures

256

(1)

3.2.10 Adding an Additional Top View Helps to Keep Track of the Locations of Cameras on the Circuit

257

(2)

Chapter 6 Virtual Cameras

259

(40)

1 Introduction

259

(10)

1.1 Relationships between Virtual Cameras and the Environment of a Scene

260

(3)

1.2 The Psychology of the Viewer

263

(2)

1.3 Cameras are Rarely Working Alone

265

(4)

2 Building Virtual Cameras

269

(9)

2.1 Motion Stabilization

271

(1)

2.2 Virtual Cinematography

272

(6)

2.2.1 Character-Dependent Camera

273

(1)

2.2.2 Camera System Independent from Characters

274

(4)

3 How to Design Behaviors for Interactive Cameras that Produce the Same Effect as Cameras Found in Movies

278

(18)

3.1 Notes about Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock

278

(1)

3.2 The Design of the Hitch Camera

278

(7)

3.3 Notes about Paths of Glory by Stanley Kubrick

285

(1)

3.4 The Design of a Maze Camera

286

(8)

3.5 Notes about L'Awentura by Antonioni

294

(2)

4 Conclusion

296

(3)

Chapter 7 Advanced Virtual Cameras and Their Environments

299

(40)

1 Conceptual Design

299

(5)

1.1 Step 1: Conceptual Design

302

(1)

1.2 Step 2: Cameras and Navigation

302

(2)

1.3 Step 3: The Following Questions Are Related to the Viewer's Experience

304

(1)

2 Advanced Virtual Camera Development for the Diner Project

304

(15)

2.1 Step 1: Diner: Conceptual Design

306

(8)

2.2 Step 2: Cameras and Ways to Navigate Inside the Virtual World

314

(4)

2.3 Step 3: The Viewer's Experience

318

(1)

3 Virtual Camera Development for Nighthawks

319

(10)

3.1 Step 1: Conceptual Design

322

(2)

3.2 Step 2: Cameras and Navigation

324

(4)

3.3 Step 3: User Experience

328

(1)

4 Virtual Archeology at Aphrodisias 2003

329

(9)

5 Conclusion

338

(1)

Chapter 8 The Viewer's Experience, Interactive Installations, and Displays

339

(70)

1 The Viewer's Interaction

339

(1)

2 Serial Input Devices

340

(18)

2.1 Technological Path for Serial Input Devices for a Virtual World

341

(2)

2.2 An Example of Virtual Space Installation Using an Ultrasound Sensor

343

(1)

2.3 Passing Variables from the Outside World Inside Virtools

344

(4)

2.4 Embedding a Virtools Scene Inside a Director Movie

348

(2)

2.5 Serial Communication

350

(2)

2.6 Sensors

352

(6)

2.7 Using Active X with Microsoft Visual Basic®

358

(1)

3 Using a Telephone as an Input Device

358

(5)

3.1 Technological Path

359

(1)

3.2 An Example of a Virtual Space Installation Using a Telephone in Virtools

360

(3)

4 Musical Instrument Digital Interface

363

(2)

4.1 Setting Up MIDI Channels

363

(1)

4.2 Sensor and Microcontroller

363

(1)

4.3 Virtools and Max Configuration

363

(2)

5 Data Glove

365

(16)

6 Infrared Sensors and Mouse-Driven Devices

381

(1)

7 Game Controller

382

(1)

8 Sound as an Input Device

382

(6)

8.1 Using a Threshold

382

(2)

8.2 Sampling Sound

384

(4)

9 Navigation

388

(11)

9.1 Example of Process

389

(1)

9.2 Interface Design and Content Management

390

(9)

9.2.1 Static Interfaces-Creating a Push Button and a Mouse Rollover

391

(3)

9.2.2 Dynamic Interfaces-Examples of 3D Interfaces

394

(1)

9.2.3 How to Create a 3D Mouse Pointer

395

(3)

9.2.4 How to Create an Interface Design for a 3D Character

398

(1)

10 Displays

399

(5)

10.1 Multiscreen Displays

399

(1)

10.2 Split View with Two Rendering Windows

400

(1)

10.3 Comics Split Views

400

(1)

10.4 Multiple Screens Display

401

(3)

11 Conclusion: The Shape of Things to Come

404

(5)

Bibliography

409

(4)

Index

413

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Building Interactive Worlds in 3D: Virtual Sets and Pre-visualization for Games, Film & the Web

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Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

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Building Interactive Worlds in 3D: Virtual Sets and Pre-visualization for Games, Film & the Web

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Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

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