Animating Real-Time Game Characters SYNOPSIS
Written by an industry pro, Animating Real-Time Game Characters
explores the process of animating 3D characters for use in real-time game
environments, making them fast, effective, and full of life! Using the powerful
tools of 3ds max and Character Studio, along with a variety of characters from
games like QuakeIII: Arena, and Betty Bad, the book illustrates all of the
techniques needed to create real-time character animation..
Beginning with a review of "real-time" and it's differences from rendered characters, the book details all of the important issues that separate the two. Additionally, the basics of design, modeling, texturing and even sound issues for real-time characters are detailed with a wide variety of tips and tricks. Form and function are also stressed to insure the character model is effectively built to move, and from there it's on to an often overlooked and critical aspect of character animation: rigging and weighting. Biped and Physique, two-legged, tri-legged, four-legged and even no-legged characters are covered, and the basic animation pipeline is explored with traditional keyframe animation techniques. Exercises include animations geared specifically toward the real-time game character's movement set, and new light is shed on the often misunderstood Motion Capture tool. Users learn how to tweak the mocap data in Character Studio and use its Motion Flow Editor to combine a typical set of animations seen in real-time action games. The last section of the book is dedicated to implementing of a real-time game character, by exporting it into Quake III: Arena. Once the techniques covered in Animating Real-Time Game Characters are mastered, future possibilities of real-time character animation are wide open.
The book's companion CD-ROM includes the character models and other files referenced in the tutorials, the WildTangent max exporter, everything necessary to export a character into Quake III: Arena, a demo version of the Internet-only action game Betty Bad, and a demo version of the music visualizer SpeedGirl.
Key Features
Covers the differences between "real-time" and "rendered" characters
Explains all of the critical techniques and methods for animating real-time game characters from rigging and keyframing to implementing the characters into an actual animation set
Details the design, modeling, texturing, and sound issues involved in creating real-time characters through full-page schematics and a wide variety of tips and tricks
Provides clear definitions of Motion Capture and teaches users how to use mocap data
Includes a companion CD-ROM with character models, source images, and demos of useful programs
About the Author
Paul Steed (Sammamish, WA)
has been creating art for computer games for over 10 years. Known primarily for
his work on Quake II and Quake III: Arena, he is also a regular speaker at the
Game Developers Conference. He is the author of Modeling a Character In 3ds max
and a frequent contributor to Game Developer Magazine.
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