University of Cincinnati

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ DEFINING THE ART OF INTERACTIVE REAL-TIME 3D A thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF DESIGN in the School of Design of the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning 2004 by Thomas Dunne B.S.Des, University of Cincinnati, 2000 Committee Chair: Marty Plumbo M. Des Dennis Puhalla PhD (candidate) Aaron Rucker BS Eng Abstract Interactive real-time 3D is a form of digital design that allows users to explore virtual three-dimensional environments and experience content in a very immersive fashion. Unlike many other media, interactive real-time 3D requires the user to take an active role in the exploration process, acting and reacting with digital 3D constructs in an immediate, “real time fashion.” This thesis studies the nature of interactive real-time 3D, particularly as it appears in video games, the foremost genre within the medium. Beginning with a technical analysis, the basic attributes of real-time 3D content are defined, using game content as examples to illustrate the concepts. This is followed by a study of the evolution of video games, from the primitive arcade systems of the 1970s to the most advance computer gaming systems available today. Particular emphasis is put on the hardware used to run these games, as the technology of each period is largely responsible for determining the limitations of the medium. Once the elements and origins of interactive real-time 3D have been established, it is possible to determine the aesthetic principles which help determine the success or failure of real-time 3D art in an interactive system. As true real-time 3D content is not yet a decade old, this exploration of fundamental aesthetic values with respect to the medium is largely unprecedented. The goal is a better understanding of a new form of design, explained in reference to common aesthetics principles as well as technical definitions. As with the historical section, concepts are illustrated with examples from an assortment of recent video games and technologies. The thesis concludes with a brief look into the future of interactive real-time 3D. Due to the medium’s relatively recent origins and rapid pace of development, no explicit forecast is possible, but an analysis of recent trends within the field allow for some potential paths to be explored. 1 Table of Contents List of Illustrations 2 Introduction 3 Interactive Real-Time 3D 5 Low-poly Modeling 7 Low-poly Texturing 9 Low-poly Animation 11 The History of 3D in Interactive Gaming 14 The Arcade Days 14 Video Game Consoles Return 20 Consoles Go 3D 22 The Home Computer Catches Up 25 The Advent of Real 3D on the PC 29 The Hardware That Makes It Happen 37 Aesthetics of Interactive Real-Time 3D 41 Shape + Form 44 Silhouettes 45 Abstraction of Detail 46 Proportion in Construction 48 Order and Chaos 50 Variety and Unity 52 Color + Light 52 Balancing Contrast with Consistency 53 Painting vs. Photography 56 Incorporating New Technology 58 Motion + Interaction 59 Perspective Dynamics and Composition 60 Bringing Low-Poly to Life 62 Exaggeration of Movement 64 Secondary Motion 65 The Future of the Art 67 Interactive Real-Time Cinema 78 Time and Money 72 Conclusion 75 Bibliography 77 2 List of Illustrations 1) Use of cinematic 3D in film 4 2) Film to game comparison 6 3) Low-polygon modeling 8 4) Low-polygon texturing 10 5) Low-polygon animation 13 6) Night Driver 16 7) Zaxxon 17 8) Star Wars 18 9) I, Robot 19 10) Virtua Fighter 20 11) Super Mario 64 24 12) Tekken Tag Tournament comparison 25 13) Ultima Underworld 27 14) Wolfenstein 3D 28 15) Doom 29 16) Quake 30 17) Half-Life 32 18) Quake III Arena 34 19) Unreal Tournament 2003 36 20) Representation of characters through real-time 3D 43 21) Silhouettes 46 22) Reduction of detail 48 23) Edge loops 49 24) Organic geometry 51 25) Colored lighting 54 26) Photo-source textures 57 27) Procedural shaders 59 28) Dynamic perspective 61 29) Secondary motion 65 30) Problems with deformation 66 31) Normal mapping 70 32) High definition range imaging 71 3 Introduction Three-dimensional art and design has been a part of human culture since the earliest days of civilization. Initially, this took the form of simple pottery and crude earthen sculpture, generally the only viable forms of creative volumetric expression for a primitive people. As societal advances brought technological advancement, the arts followed. Elaborate, often massive works of sculpture, carved in metal and stone, soon surpassed those early works in illustrating man’s achievements in understanding of space and volume. Architecture was made significant as well, as the construction of human spaces gained importance for its artistic contributions as well as basic utilitarian value. In recent decades, with the advent of television and film, the concepts of three-dimensional aesthetics have again been translated into new media. Most notable is the migration of these concepts into the virtual space of computers, bringing with it the ability to create digital imagery all but indistinguishable from real life. Digital 3D has been quickly absorbed into the mainstream of modern art and design, particularly in film. Beginning in the 1980’s, rendered 3D graphics became a viable option for cinematic visual effects. In 1984, the film The Last Starfighter* from Universal Pictures became the first movie to use entirely rendered 3D sequences cut in with traditional film. While still crude by modern standards, this new form of digital 3D in film was an extraordinary benchmark at the time. Seven years later, the bar would be raised dramatically once again with Terminator 2: Judgment Day. This science fiction masterpiece from famed director James Cameron not only used 3D imagery in the film, but actually created a digital character that appeared to interact with its surroundings. 4 The technology required to achieve this effect was enormous, but it paved the way for what is commonplace in cinema today. Films like the Lord of the Rings trilogy use entirely digital actors in combination with digital scenes and live-action elements, creating a thoroughly believable synthesis between the real and the impossible. It is the application of incredibly realistic 3D graphics that allows fantastic and imaginary things to appear on screen and appear to blend in seamlessly with the real world. (fig.1) Digitally created scenes from The Last Starfighter, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. All of these different 3D forms cover a wide range of genres and styles, and generally do not share many common traits beyond a relationship to basic spatial aesthetics. A carved wooden figure, a gothic cathedral and a digitally animated 3D film each work within the same bounds of three-dimensional volumes despite being quite different in terms of both construction and intent. However, they often share another attribute that is not generally recognized, in that they are also non-interactive. While there are some exceptions, most three-dimensional works of art are passive in terms of the experience they offer. A viewer can walk up to Michelangelo’s legendary sculpture of David or pace through the exquisitely crafted halls of the Palace at Versailles, yet cannot really interact with them. Similarly, the amazing imagery seen in the latest 5 effects-laden cinematic marvel is a one way process, as the film may have an impact on the viewer but the viewer cannot have any effect on the film. This point about non- interactivity in three-dimensional art and design seems intuitive enough, as it remains a self-evident truth through virtually all of the various three-dimensional media. That is, it is self-evident with the notable exception of interactive real-time 3D. Interactive Real-Time 3D Interactive real-time 3D is a digital medium that allows users to directly interact within virtual three-dimensional environments and instantly see changes based on those interactions. This makes the medium very unique amongst most form of art or design, as it actually encourages the user to have input, to make changes, to become a part of the experience. The fact that it happens in real-time, with changes in the experience occurring as the user initiates them, allows that experience to potentially be far more immersive than the passive communication common in other media. By using input devices like a mouse or keyboard, users might be able to explore a virtual world, learn to fly in a computer-generated aircraft, see how a car engine works by disassembling a fully accurate 3D model, or even share experiences with the digital representations of other users anywhere else in the world. Most commonly, interactive real-time 3D appears in the form of video games, but it is also found in web-based applications and other forms of interactive technology experiences. Visually, this form of digital 3D content is often quite different from the animation seen in feature films or on television. While both are created using computers, 6 interactive real-time 3D is limited by the technology that allows the user to interface with it. Unlike cinematic 3D, in which complicated and heavily-detailed frames may take hours to render out for inclusion in film, real-time 3D requires that the scenes be rendered many times per second, in order to constantly update any changes in the environment.

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