501 #1 - Initial Ideas

3D Modelling in Games

Digital 3D is a very new medium. The first 3D models were created in the 1960's, only done by professionals in computer engineering and were purely mathematical rather than for entertainment. Sutherland's program Sketchpad was a revolutionary way to create 3D models and he later opened the first department of computer technologies in Utah, which has educated many professionals that have since developed the industry, such as the current head of Walt Disney Animation Studios; Edwin Catmull.

Battlezone was the first 3D game success released in 1980 that used vector graphics to create a sense of three dimensions. It was visually simplistic but so realistic at the time that the US Army used it for training purposes.

Games from this time were very simplistic because of the limited technology. 

By the early 90's, 3D was improving, but still faced limitations, triangular polygons, blocky animation, practically no lip-syncing, and abysmal textures.

With improved technologies, 3D modelling can push to hyper-realistic standards, with better textures and infamously hard to model and animate things like fire and water becoming better looking and the way they interact with character models much more realistic.

3D Animation in Games

In the 80's, video games were simplistic arcade games. Models were 8-bit and animations were essentially just basic keys to save on space. Although towards the end of the 80's games had some additional animations, like attacks and unique enemies.

The 90's saw advances in 3D, which forced animation to jump forward as well. Actions which previously would consist of a single pose now required continuous movement, like jumping, attacking, throwing, even standing still. It improved throughout the decade.

The 2000's was the decade of the Playstation 2, the Xbox, and later on, the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360. Games like Tekken 5 had more unique attacks that had required more intricate animation, and others like Grand Theft Auto 3 had large open worlds that the player could interact with, meaning the old base animations of walking, running, jumping, and attacking were simply not enough anymore.

2010's and onwards saw more complex hardware that allowed for better rigs that gave animators much more control, as well as the use of motion capture to create better movement. Games like The Last of Us with complex animations even when the character stands idle or Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor with unique facial animations on every character in the game. 3D animation in games now means nothing is stationary.

Prus. I (2016) What Is 3d Modeling? Things You’ve Got To Know Nowadays. Available at: https://archicgi.com/product-cgi/3d-modeling-things-youve-got-know/#:~:text=History%20of%203D%20Modeling,Sutherland%2C%20the%20creator%20of%20Sketchpad. (Accessed: 05/10/2020)

PC Plus (2010) The evolution of 3D games. Available at: https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/gaming/the-evolution-of-3d-games-700995/2 (Accessed: 05/10/2020)

Pluralsight (2014) Evolution of Animation in Video Games. Available at: https://www.pluralsight.com/blog/film-games/80s-now-evolution-animation-video-games (Accessed: 09/10/2020)