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Book Description

Create 3D game worlds complete with textures, levels and props

  • Learn how to create realistic game worlds with Google's easy 3D modeling tool
  • Populate your games with realistic terrain, buildings, vehicles and objects
  • Import to game engines such as Unity 3D and create a first person 3D game simulation
  • Learn the skills you need to sell low polygon 3D objects in game asset stores
  • Simple techniques to photo texture your models for ultra realism

In Detail

Creating video game environments similar to the best 3D games on the market is now within the capability of hobbyists for the first time, with the free availability of game development software such as Unity 3D, and the ease with which groups of enthusiasts can get together to pool their skills for a game project. The sheer number of these independent game projects springing up means there is a constant need for game art, the physical 3D environment and objects that inhabit these game worlds. Now thanks to Google there is an easy, fun way to create professional game art, levels and props.

Google SketchUp is the natural choice for beginners to game design. This book provides you with the workflow to quickly build realistic 3D environments, levels, and props to fill your game world. In simple steps you will model terrain, buildings, vehicles, and much more.

Google SketchUp is the ideal entry level modeling tool for game design, allowing you to take digital photographs and turn them into 3D objects for quick, fun, game creation. SketchUp for Game Design takes you through the modeling of a game level with SketchUp and Unity 3D, complete with all game art, textures and props. You will learn how to create cars, buildings, terrain, tools and standard level props such as barrels, fencing and wooden pallets. You will set up your game level in Unity 3D to create a fully functional first person walk-around level to email to your friends or future employers.

When you have completed the projects in this book, you will be comfortable creating 3D worlds, whether for games, visualization, or films.

Table of Contents

  1. Google SketchUp for Game Design
    1. Google SketchUp for Game Design
    2. Credits
    3. About the Author
    4. About the Reviewers
    5. www.PacktPub.com
      1. Support files, eBooks, discount offers, and more
        1. Why Subscribe?
        2. Free Access for Packt account holders
    6. Preface
      1. What this book covers
      2. What you need for this book
      3. Who this book is for
      4. Conventions
      5. Time for action - heading
        1. What just happened?
        2. Pop quiz - heading
        3. Have a go hero - heading
      6. Reader feedback
      7. Customer support
        1. Errata
        2. Piracy
        3. Questions
    7. 1. Why Use SketchUp?
      1. Commitment brings rewards
      2. Is this book for me?
        1. Can I really become a professional in the game and film industry?
      3. What's SketchUp really good at?
        1. How will this book help?
        2. Some limitations
      4. Making bags of cash selling assets
        1. Pop quiz
      5. The envy of the gaming community: creating custom levels
        1. In-game level design tools
        2. Modding assets
      6. What have I learned?
    8. 2. Tools that Grow on Trees
      1. 3D Warehouse
      2. Time for action - research what's hot and what's not
        1. What just happened?
        2. Have a go hero - research the game asset marketplace
      3. Your best CG textures source
        1. Signing up to CGTextures.com
        2. Copyright issues with textures
        3. Your library
      4. Meshlab
      5. Time for action - learning about 3D meshes in MeshLab
        1. What just happened?
        2. Moving around in 3D
        3. File formats
      6. Get your game engine here: Unity 3D
        1. The pro games environment
      7. Time for action - obtaining Unity 3D for free
        1. What just happened?
        2. Have a go hero - investigating the Unity sample assets
      8. Google SketchUp
        1. Enhanced texture packs
      9. GIMP: The free professional graphics editor
        1. Pop quiz - tools you'll need for asset creation
      10. Summary
    9. 3. Wooden Pallet: Texture Creation
      1. Finding textures to use in asset modeling
      2. Time for action - selecting the photo texture
        1. What just happened
      3. Enhancing textures
      4. Time for action - cropping and enhancing
        1. What just happened?
      5. What are pixels?
        1. Texture sizes
      6. Time for action - arranging multiple textures
        1. Have a go hero
      7. Saving textures
        1. Naming conventions
        2. Copyright text
      8. Time for action - final touches
        1. What just happened?
      9. Summary
    10. 4. Wooden Pallet: Modeling
      1. Your first model in SketchUp
      2. Time for action - importing a texture to scale
        1. What just happened?
        2. Modeling from the texture
      3. Time for action - basic 3D geometry
        1. What just happened?
      4. Time for action - Push/Pull, Move, and Copy
        1. What just happened?
        2. It's really that easy!
      5. Time for action - multiple copies
        1. What just happened?
      6. The power of pre-prepared textures
      7. Time for action - completing texturing
        1. Have a go hero
      8. Time for action - recycling textures for use on non-vital faces
        1. What Just Happened?
      9. Preparing for game use
        1. Hidden geometry and layers
        2. Removing unseen faces
        3. Exploding geometry
        4. Purging unused geometry and materials
        5. Checking the face orientation
        6. Compressing and resizing textures
        7. Saving for game use
      10. Summary
    11. 5. Game Levels in SketchUp
      1. Sketching out the level
      2. Do game artists need art degrees?
        1. Have a go hero - simple concept sketching in SketchUp
      3. Time for action - setting up the terrain grid and plan
        1. What just happened?
      4. Time for action - setting up the terrain texture image
        1. What just happened?
        2. Have a go hero - creating the 2D map
      5. Time for action - creating a color selection layer
        1. What just happened?
      6. The master texture
      7. Time for action - creating a large seamless texture
      8. Time for action - creating a tiled texture
        1. What just happened?
      9. Time for action - filling selected areas with textures
        1. What just happened?
      10. Time for action - using tileable textures from the Internet
      11. Have a go hero - selecting and texturing
        1. Some nifty texture tweaks
      12. Time for action - creating a roadside kerb
        1. What just happened?
      13. Time for action - removing white edges
        1. What just happened?
        2. Modeling terrain with Sandbox tools
      14. Time for action - adding height to a flat terrain
        1. What just happened?
        2. The Stamp tool
      15. Time for action - stamping detail onto the terrain
        1. What just happened?
        2. The Drape tool
      16. Time for action - using the Drape tool
        1. What just happened?
        2. Uniting terrain geometry with texture
      17. Summary
    12. 6. Importing to a Professional Game Application: Unity 3D
      1. Exporting the level from SketchUp
      2. Time for action - preparing a model for export
        1. What just happened?
      3. Time for action - SketchUp Pro export
      4. Time for action - SketchUp free export
      5. Time for action - using the free Autodesk FBX converter
        1. What just happened?
      6. Importing to Unity 3D
      7. Time for action - importing your terrain in to Unity
        1. What just happened?
      8. Time for action - using a high-resolution terrain texture in Unity
        1. What just happened?
      9. Creating lights
      10. Time for action - creating Sunlight in Unity
        1. What just happened?
      11. Setting up your character controller
      12. Time for action - setting up a first-person shooter style controller
        1. What just happened?
      13. Time for action - playing the level
      14. Time for action - creating a web playable walkthrough
        1. What just happened?
        2. Pop quiz
        3. Have a go hero
      15. Time for action - copying and pasting the pallet multiple times
        1. What just happened?
      16. Summary
    13. 7. Quick Standard Assets
      1. Rough and ready fencing
      2. Time for action - making fencing with SketchUp's materials
        1. What just happened?
      3. Time for action - making several unique variations
        1. What just happened?
        2. Have a go hero - deforming stuff for added realism
      4. Inserting multiple copies to quickly fill out a level
      5. Time for action - fencing large areas
        1. What just happened?
      6. Time for action - walking around in SketchUp to visualize your level
        1. Have a go hero - swapping in your variations
      7. Generating buildings quickly
      8. Time for action - creating a building from two images
        1. Have a go hero - modular generic building elements
      9. When the going gets tough
        1. Using someone else's assets
      10. Time for action - cleaning up a Google Warehouse model
        1. Fixing the origin and removing hidden geometry
        2. Rectifying scale issues
        3. Checking face alignment and textures
        4. What just happened?
      11. The ten-minute oil barrel
      12. Creating tools or weapons
      13. Time for action - modeling a low polygon wrench
        1. What just happened?
      14. Summary
    14. 8. Advanced Modeling: Create a Realistic Car in Easy Steps
      1. Where to find car images and plans
      2. Time for action - creating a car texture
        1. What just happened?
      3. Time for action - creating a 3D car outline
        1. What just happened?
      4. Refining the car's geometry
      5. Time for action - sitting on the hood
        1. What just happened?
      6. Modeling by hand
      7. Time for action - applying a car body filler with the pencil tool
        1. What just happened?
        2. Have a go hero - reinvent the wheel
      8. Creating the car texture from photos
        1. Finding car images
          1. Some websites with car textures
          2. Taking your own car images
          3. Find a friend in the trade
      9. Time for action
        1. What just happened?
      10. Painting in individual elements
      11. Time for action - painting over the rear view
        1. What just happened?
        2. Have a go hero
      12. Time for action - creating blend areas
        1. What just happened?
        2. Have a go hero
        3. UV unwrap plugins
        4. Have a go hero - UV tools
      13. Time for action - how realistic wheels make all the difference
        1. What just happened?
      14. Summary
    15. 9. The Main Building - Inside and Out
      1. Creating the main building
      2. Time for action - clipping round textures
        1. Modeling the interior
        2. What just happened?
        3. Have a go hero
      3. Your final 3D game level in Unity 3D
      4. Time for action - setting up a playable game level layout
        1. What just happened?
        2. Level-led design
        3. Have a go hero - what would I do if I were an Architect?
      5. Time for action - digging out a terrain
        1. What just happened?
        2. Have a go Hooligan
      6. Time for action - exporting buildings to Unity 3D
        1. What just happened?
      7. Creating context with skyline and background terrain
      8. Time for action - creating see-through textures
        1. What just happened?
      9. Time for action - creating a backdrop
      10. Time for action - enabling see-through materials (Alpha Channel)
        1. What just happened?
      11. Time for action - enabling a skybox
        1. Have a go hero - fog
      12. Time for action - ambient light
        1. What just happened?
      13. Exporting your game for others to play
      14. Time for action - who said you can't have your game and play it?
      15. Summary
    16. A. MakeHuman
      1. Time for action - making a human
        1. What just happened?
    17. B. Pop Quiz Answers
      1. Chapter 1: Why Use SketchUp
      2. Chapter 2: Tools that Grow on Trees
      3. Chapter 6: Importing to a Professional Game Application: Unity 3D
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