Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

Building Game Worlds
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U L T I M A T E G A M E D E S I G N
FIGURE E-4
Dugout/position selection
BASIC CHARACTER CONSTRUCTION
There are four important character construction phases in character development: a
concept drawing, a wireframe model, a flat-shaded model, and a fully textured
model. Figure E-5 shows a character as a wireframe model, a flat-shaded model, and
a fully textured model.
For each character, prop, item, and environmental detail, artists are given polygon
budgets and texture size and resolution specifications for each game asset. Under
these budgetary limitations, they are tasked with constructing the most compelling
and visually attractive characters possible.
Figure E-6 demonstrates a dynamic pose of a fielding character in both a
wireframe and fully textured view. Remember that motion capture information is
applied to the model to create its animation within a 3-D package.
Specific motions can be captured as individualized custom motions or moves for
the game, or motion can be taken from existing motion libraries. Motion capture
libraries offer developers who might not want to incur the expense of custom motion