A Real-Time Procedural Universe, Part Two: Rendering Planetary Bodies by Sean O'Neil [08.10.01]
There have been a number of articles published in the past few years on adaptive mesh algorithms, which are also called dynamic or continuous LOD (Level-Of-Detail) algorithms. However, all the articles written so far have drawn flat landscapes based mainly on a pre-built 2D height map. Using a little creative thinking, Sean O'Neil has managed to come up with a spherical version that dynamically generates height values as needed.

Three-Axis Animation by JM Ringuet [07.27.01] Four years ago we would not have dreamed of animating facial expressions in real time, and now the latest line of video cards and consoles brings even more complexity to what we can do. The time has come to start reflecting on 3D game animation as a craft by defining the methods we are using, establish some rules, find tricks, and understand what it takes to be a game animator.

Talking Heads: Facial Animation in The Getaway by Gavin Moore [04.18.01] The Getaway takes place in possibly the largest environment ever seen in a video game; painstakingly re-creating over 50 square kilometers of the heart of London in blistering photorealistic detail. The player will be able to drive across the capital from Kensington Palace to the Tower of London. But the game involves much more than just racing, the player must leave their vehicle to enter buildings on foot to commit crimes ranging from bank robberies to gang hits. Gavin Moore describes Talking Heads, Team Soho's facial animation system which uses parsed speech and a skeletal animation system to reduce the workload involved in creating facial animation on large scale game projects.

Using Maya's Convert to File Texture Tool for Real Time Game Environments by Rémi Benoist [01.29.01] The rendering of realistic shadows is one of the most important aspects of maintaining a game's suspension of disbelief. Maya's Convert to File Texture Tool presents interesting possibilities for creating accurate real time shadow maps. Rémi Benoist explains how—with a bit of massaging and additional tricks—this tool can make miracles happen in your scene.

Implementing Curved Surface Geometry by Brian Sharp [05.30.00] Back when Quake was first released, consumer-level 3D acceleration was nearly unheard of, and id's software renderer scaled in speed with the clock speed of your Pentium processor. During the few years since then, though, the game market has reached a point of extreme processor stratification. As game developers, it's important to support high-end consumers, and yet we'd prefer not to abandon the low-end players. And from this desire was a new industry trend born: scalable geometry. Article by Brian Sharp.

The Blobs Go Marching Two by Two by Jeff Lander [05.22.00] The challenge of accurately modelling organic shapes and the they way they slop, splash, waddle and plop has caused many game artists to crumple under the pressure of recreating such phenomena. Jeff Lander shows how to use meta-goop to create and manipulate organic objects.

The Trials and Tribulations of Tribology by Jeff Lander [05.10.00] The simple force of friction in the physical world is so familiar to everyone in a potential game audience, that any departure from realism can be glaring and yet realistically simulating these simple physical properties is quite challenging. In this article Jeff Lander discusses the simulation of friction in real-time 3D applications, otherwise known as the field of tribology.

Using Bitmaps for Automatic Generation of Large-Scale Terrain Models by Kai Martin [04.27.00] As game worlds (especially online, persistent ones) get larger, game development teams need efficient ways of creating large expanses of terrain without having to build it manually. Kai Martin introduces a bit-map based technique that helps automatically generates terrain, while still giving artists and world builders control over the details.

Implementing Subdivision Surface Theory by Brian Sharp [04.25.00] Brian Sharp expands his introduction to subdivision surfaces with techniques for implementing the modified butterfly scheme in real-time development, complete with a demo.

Flex Your Facial Animation Muscles by Jeff Lander [04.14.00] Given a nice, short list of the 13 visemes needed to represent speech realisitically, how would you adapt them to a character mesh to enable continuous lip-synching? In the second of two part series, Jeff Lander continues his examination of facial animation techniques by investigating how to construct and manipulate meshes.

Subdivision Surface Theory by Brian Sharp [04.11.00] A relatively new, up-and-coming technique for implementing scalable geometry, subdivision surfaces have emerged as a compelling contender among scalability solutions..Brian Turner explains different surface schemes and how they can be applied to real-time 3D development.

Read My Lips: Facial Animation Techniques by Jeff Lander [04.06.00] Until recently most facial animation used in games has been limited to cut-scene movies, but now more and more games have begun to include facial animation in real-time 3D. In the first of a two part series, Jeff Lander examines the basic concepts of facial movement.

Real-Time Dynamic Level of Detail Terrain Rendering with ROAM by Bryan Turner [04.03.00] Once the sole domain of flight simultations, outdoor landscaping is now finding its way into 3D action gaming. In this article Bryan Turner examines the state of the art in hardware accelerated landscape engines and the algorithms which power them, with particular emphasis on Real-time Optimally Adapting Meshes (ROAM).

Devil in the Blue Faceted Dress: Real Time Cloth Animation by Jeff Lander [03.27.00] Cloth animation is tricky, and even in the world of high-end computer graphics, it’s difficult to get right. Jeff Lander wanted to create realistic cloth in his environments and on his characters, so with his hardware accelerated graphics rasterization freeing enough processor power necessary to make it possible, he set set about creating a real-time cloth simulation.

2D Surface Deformation by Max I. Fomitchev [02.16.00] Increases in the performance of graphics accelerators free additional CPU cycles that can be used for real-time physical world modeling. Modifying the geometry of an object is more effective than mapping a new or animated texture, because correctly deformed objects will look right from any angle and in any lighting conditions. Max I. Fomitchev discusses the implementation of deformable surfaces for real-time 3D games that simulate realistic environments.

Planning and Directing Motion Capture for Games by Melianthe Kines [01.19.00] Motion capture is a great tool for creating animation for certain types of games. Like any tool or piece of software, if you learn how to use it properly, it can make your life easier and produce great results, but if you try to wing it, chances are you'll end up wasting time and money and may come away with nothing useful. Melianthe Kines discusses motion capture in depth.

Real-Time Shadow Casting Using Shadow Volumes by Jason Bestimt and Bryant Freitag [11.15.99] Despite the rich colors, intricate textures, and dazzling effects in today's games, the human brain still notices that something is missing, and that something might just be shadows. Running with this idea, Jason Bestimt and Bryant Freitag discuss real-time dynamic shadowing using shadow volumes, presenting techniques and code listings for creating accurate shadows in 3D environments.

Implementing A Group Behavioral Control System Using Maya by Kian Bee Ng [10.11.99] Crowd scenes, schooling fish, and other forms of flocking behavior once required postprocessing techniques. However, using Maya Embedded Language, you can script these behaviors within the animation environment. Check out theory, code, and a short movie that demonstrates the technique.

Behind the Scenes of Messiah’s Character Animation System by Michael 'Saxs' Persson [09.24.99] Saxs Persson waxes nostalgically philosophical about the trials and tribulations of developing Messiah's game engine. Don't expect to find any code here, but you will encounter some real-world problems, solutions, and nuggets of wisdom.

Real-time Soft-object Animation using Free-form Deformation by Alex Ferrier [08.27.99]With increasing processor speeds, soft-object animation is finally affordable. You've heard of Bezier curves and surfaces - now use Bezier volumes to morph the heck out of your geometry. Add personality and exaggeration to a character's movements, or calculate the "intuitively correct" way to smash up a car.

Poser 4.0 Review by Jason Zirpolo [07.30.99] If you're trying to get into 3D or if you're a traditional artist trying to visualize your ideas, Metacreations' Poser 4.0 could be just the tool for you. If you're already a pro, however, you might be a little disappointed. See what's up with the lastest version of this character animation tool.

Building Your 3D Resume by Luke Ahearn [07.16.99] Confused? Worried about not having enough experience? Desperate to show the world your gorgeous 3D work (and maybe get a job)? Luke Ahearn offers excellent advice on constructing your 3D demo reel and what to do and not do when you approach companies.

Animating the Run Cycle by Jason Zirpolo [06.18.99] Want to animate a character's run cycle? Need real-world tips and tricks for Lightwave or 3D Studio MAX? Look no further. Jason Zirpolo takes you through the steps of creating a game character and modeling realistic running movements for it. This article is based on a lecture that he gave at this spring's Game Developers Conference on the same subject.

Anatomically Correct Character Modeling by Stefan Henry-Biskup [11.13.98] Studying human anatomy can help you improve both your aesthetic quality and the technical functionality of your character models.

Creating Backgrounds for 3D Games by Gavin Bell [10.23.98] Creating backgrounds for 2D games is easy. You create a bunch of bitmaps in your favorite paint program and you're done. 3D backgrounds are another matter, though. Here Gavin Bell of Wasabi Software provides a complete tutorial on creating backgrounds for 3D games.

On Creating Cool Real-Time 3D by Jeff Lander [10.17.97] Jeff Lander of Darwin3D dives into the mesh pit in search to create the ultimate in real time 3d characters.

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