Overview
Learn the basics of what makes a great character model and gain new insights to the many issues facing the character animator. Using the tried and proven methods found in Animating Real-Time Game Characters, you'll quickly bring your character animation to the next level. Find detailed coverage on modeling, rigging, and weighting real-time game characters using 3ds max and character studio. Explore effective keyframing techniques that focus on dramatic poses and proper timing. Discover how to work with and adjust motion capture data as well as what to look for when working with mocap studios. Get an inside glimpse at the process of taking a real-time game character from concept to export into a game technology. With the popularity of games like Quake III: Arena, Unreal Tournament, and Warcraft III, real-time gaming is here to stay. Whether you're a working professional or an eager novice, Animating Real-Time Game Characters will absolutely help you improve your character animation skills using 3ds max and character studio.
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.