CHAPTER 14
3D GRAPHICS BASICS

by Mike McShaffry

I want to tell you up front that the next three chapters won’t teach you everything you need to know about 3D graphics—actually, far from it. Walk the aisle of any decent computer bookstore, and you’ll see racks of books devoted entirely to 3D graphics. I’m only including three 3D chapters in this book, so I can’t compete with the classics on 3D graphics. What’s lacking in volume, I’ll try to make up in focus and content. My job in these three chapters is to open the door to 3D graphics, especially in the way that game programmers utilize 3D techniques within well-designed game architecture. Many samples and tutorials are so hard coded they don’t even work well when you import them into a game that draws more than one object, or they simpl....