3D Game Programming

CHAPTER 3

Project: Making an Avatar

Developing games involves building a lot of parts, such as the game area, the

players in the game, and things that get in the way of players. In this project

chapter we’ll create a player that we might use in a game—an avatar. It will

end up looking something like this:

An avatar is who you are within the game world. It shows where you are in

the game and what you’re doing. Since it’s supposed to represent you and

me, it should have a good feel to it. We want something better than a plain

box to stand for us.

The Difference Between a Player and an Avatar

In this book, we’ll use the word “player” to mean the person playing

the game. The word “avatar” will be used to describe a player inside

the game.

When you’re done with this chapter, you will

• Know how to place objects together on the
  screen


• Have an avatar to use in later chapters and
  in games

Prepared exclusively for Michael Powell report erratum • discuss