TABLE OF CONTENTS In films you might composite computer generated characters into a real world environment that has already been filmed. Likewise the opposite might be done with human actors being superimposed onto a virtual set, using blue or green screen techniques. Of course, there are also the films where everything is generated by computer. You could use these compositing ideas for your website, but it only really works well for pre-recorded films or pre-rendered animations. The key to our Web creations is interactivity, which means that we want the ability to change camera angles in real time and for our characters to be controllable. We require our environment to have some life and for us to have the ability to explore it.
We have dealt with characters and controlling them already in this book, so now we will deal with the world in which they reside. Whether your Web project requires an interactive map or a computer game that will lure in the visitors, you will need to know how to create an environment for that. If you are making a 3D game, you will need to create the whole world, whether it is a city, a race track or a building.
The main issue with creating an environment is complexity. 3D graphics are all about geometry and the geometry of nature is very complicated. Making dirt and rubble is one of the easiest things to do in real life, but needs an amazing level...
