Computer Game and Animation Past, Present, and Future Computation‐Based
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Computer Game and Animation Past, Present, and Future Computation‐Based Computer Game and Animation Past, Present, and Future Changing objects Has gameplay, a over time: motion pattern defined and deformation though a set of rules caused by interaction Animation has two definitions • (narrowly) Animation as a graphics application – 2D cartoon animation – 2D/3D Animation movies • (broadly) Animation as a graphics technique – Producing special effects in movies and games – Animation movies – Gaming effect Graphics Pipeline • Time is continuous, but computers handle discrete data Geometry Animation Rendering Display Modeling Time 0 Frame 0 Objects Time 1 Frame 1 in reference space Time n Frame n Graphics Pipeline • I can generate the frames fast! (real‐time) – Generate one frame and then send it to display immediately – Such as games • I CANNOT generate the frames fast… (offline) – Save the frames into the disk – Play them back in the future – Such as movies Graphics Pipeline • The data you need to produce at each time? – Position – Orientation – Shape – Appearance – Phase change Computer Animation Perception • Beta motion – Appearance of motion from a set of still images • Flicker – Failure to achieve beta motion effect – Frame rate is too low (image update is too slow) • Motion blur Frame Rate • How many images are updated per second? (Frames per second, i.e., FPS) Movie and TV Game LCD Display 24FPS Film 25FPS TV in Europe 30FPS Graphics Research Some films (Avatar, 48FPS Standard for the Hobbit) Action Games TV in the US, high‐end 60FPS Standard HDTV 72FPS Experimental Can be higher Animations in Movies from to For another look at the history of animation, check out The Art of Animation and Motion Graphics | Off Book | PBS Early devices Flipbook Thaumatrop Zoetrope Conventional animation • Stuart Blackton – Humorous Phases of Funny Faces • Winsor McCay – Gertie the Dinosaur Conventional Animation production • Storyboard: the proposal • Model sheet: consistency • Animatic: storyboard with timing • Key frames & in‐betweens • Test shot • Pencil tests • Inking: drawings onto cells • Painting: coloring in • Sound: voice, body, special effects, background Story Dept. Modern Computer Animation Production Art Dept. Modeling Dept. Lighting Dept. Animation Dept. Rendering Dept. The first Feature‐length Computer‐ animated Film? Made by Pixar, released by Walt Disney Sometimes, the movie is not solely made of animations… Special Effects The old way to create Special effects • Time consuming • Not reusable • Expensive? Computer Generated Special Effects (CGI: Computer Generated Imagery) • Real‐world data capture (these exist in the real world) • Animation (those do not exist in the real world) • Composition: merging these two together Computer Generated Special Effects (CGI: Computer Generated Imagery) • ILM Demo Leading Animation/Visual Effect Studios Your goal is to get the Academy SciTech Award!!! Computer game history eras • First games, consoles • Video game crash of 1983 • 8 and 16 bit eras • 32 and 64 bit eras • Current era For more on the history of games, check out The Video Game Revolution | PBS Computer games today • Multiple platforms – PC – Consoles – Tablets – Smart phones • Multiple audiences – Hardcore – Casual – Online – Motion control How game companies make money? • Make a game, sell it... • Free to play, but pay to win… – Many mobile games • Subscription (MMORPG games) – New content – Uncertainty Game development process • Concept • Design document • Prototype • Production – Design, Levels – Programming – Art, Audio • Testing • Deployment • Maintenance Read more at: http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Video_game_costs http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/19/ps3‐xbox360‐costs‐tech‐cx_rr_game06_1219expensivegames.html http://www.newgamernation.com/wp‐content/uploads/2011/05/game‐cost.jpg (Data from Forbes 2006 study) Types of game programming • Game engine – Modeling and rendering – Animation • Artificial Intelligence • Sound • Game logic / scripts • User Interfaces • Networking • Databases • Development tools • Systems/Parallel programming.