HA4 Task 1 - Applications of 3D

HA4 Task 1 - Applications of 3D

How is 3D used by the interactive media and computer games industries?

Include and comment on examples of work produced using the 3D modelling across a range of industries:

games, TV, film, education, web, medicine, mathematics, engineering, architecture, product design etc.

3D in Games
3D graphics are used in a wide variety of industries such as games, engineering, architecture and even medicine. In games however, they are used to create 3D models such as objects and characters which will be imported into the game world. One of the first games to implement 3D is one called Monster maze. The player had to navigate through a maze and avoid a giant monster that was chasing them. Game play can be seen in the footage below. Most of these extremely early 3D games were very simple and some

Monster Maze

 However, this form of 3D was simply creating images of the maze and whenever the player moved down a corridor for example, another image would replace the previous and show the player deeper in the corridor. Years after this games release, there was a transition into proper 3D and games such as Super Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot, Golden eye and (My personal favorite) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time. The majority of games developers switched to using 3D as its popularity soared due to the fact so much more could be done to the game. These 3D games had quite bad graphics and were clunky, but a large amount of the such as Ocarina of Time have been called gaming master pieces, even by today's standards.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time


Crash Bandicoot

When the Xbox, N64 and PS2 were released, much more larger and ambitious games were created. Games such as Halo 2 and GTA 3. These games mainly sought to revolutionize gaming by adding beter graphics and mechanics.


Halo 2
 

GTA 3

As the amount of 3D games created grew, some games companies seemed to want to develop hyper-realistic graphics, and over the years, we have seen a gigantic rise is graphical quality in games as well as every other element within the game such as mechanics and gameplay. Games in the modern era have nearly complete hyper-realistic graphics and many of the game elements are very realistic. These are games such as Grand Theft Auto 5 and the Last of us for example.

GTA 5


The Last of Us


Red Dead Redemption




3D in Animation
There are two techniques used in the animation industry called Rigging and Motion Capture. Rigging is basically where a skeleton of the character is created and animators can manipulate the positions of the bones to create an animation, and motion capture is basically using special technology on suits which capture the exact movements of its wearers. I will firstly, however, describe the history behind these two techniques first before I go into detail.

The first actual 3D computer animation was of a hand, which was modeled in real life, then digitalised onto a computer where it could be animated. The video of this animation is below and it was created by Ed catmull in 1972 who actually went on to become one of the founders of the famous company Pixar.



Once Pixar was established, its founders got to work on 3D animation. Its first major creation was called 'Pixar - Tin Toy'. This was believed to be one of the first proper 3D animation video created, and many believed that it inspired its creators to go on to make the famous film Toy story.



Motion Capture
This is the task of capturing and recording the real life movements of objects or people. In video games, this is mainly used to create animations for in game characters, as these animations would look really realistic in the game since they have been directly recorded from an actual human. It can also capture facial expressions, which is great to add into a game for increased realism. A video can be found below from a game called Uncharted, where people used special motion capture suits to record movements and add them to the game.



Rigging
Rigging uses two parts to animate a character. A surface representation is used to draw the character and a basic skeleton with separate bones, so that just one section of the body can be moved at a time. This technique is used a lot and is mainly used for animating creatures due to the fact animals can't really wear motion capture suits. It also gives new opportunities for animators, as they are able to create whatever animation they want, so it can be useful for exaggerated fighting games like Super smash bros as, for example, animators can create a lot or wacky unrealistic fighting moves for characters.




3D in Films
The first use of 3D in films was in the 1970s, but the first revolutionary use of 3D in films was seen in the film Jurassic park. The creators of the film obviously could not train real dinosaurs, so they used 3D CGI to create and animate the dinosaurs. This worked well, however, it was hard for the actors as they did not have a clue where to look as, when they were filming, there was no dinosaurs there to look at, so the creators had to find alternative ways to solve this. One way around this was the use green screens and a method called compositing. Sometimes, these green screens would be used on-set and would sometimes resemble shapes of dinosaurs, so the actors knew where to look.



As technology improved, 3D CGI was used a lot more in films and became common. In todays world, the majority of films made use at least a bit of CGI. In the past however, film companies had to actually create what they wanted in the film, so say they wanted an explosion, they would usually have to actually cause an explosion. The first video below is a trailer from a movie created not long ago. It uses various elements of CGI, for example, the part where the gigantic spaceship is above the city. Space ships do not exist yet, so the creators had to use CGI to create the ship and add it to the film.

District 9


3D CGI is also seen in these movies:

Avatar



The Avengers



3D in Architecture
Architects also use 3D models made on a computer to test designs and plan out new projects. This is very useful in the architectural industry as architects can easily create models of what they want to build and they can easily navigate the construct to see the entire structure. This can help them get the best end product, instead of constructing a house and realizing something doesn't work or its missing something important and needs to be reconstructed.




3D in TV
3D in TV is used in a number of television programs. A good example of a program which uses this is called ReBoot. The company who made it is called Mainframe Entertainment and ReBoot is the first fully computer-3D-animated TV series. Due to this, it attracted a lot of attention and put many people in awe as this had never been seen before. Many more companies wanted to use 3D computer animation in their programs and over the years the cost to be able to produce such things has fallen, making it much easier for companies to use such techniques.

 ReBoot





3D in Education 
In education, 3D models and sculptures can be made. It is most commonly used in science, to explain to children how various areas of the body work or how the planets in our solar system orbit the sun for example. By making  an animated, 3D model of the heart, the children would be able to explore the various areas of the heart such as the aorta or left ventricle. The could also see how the heart is able to pump blood throughout the body and this method works very well in this area.

A website I found, called http://www.gaia3d.co.uk/ is a company that specializes in created 3D animations for educational purposes. On their site, they have many videos they have created which show one specific topic and explain how it works, what it does and many other things. The video below is of a product created that could be used in a history class for example. It allows users to walk around the streets on London in the 1600s to see what streets would be like in the time of the Black Death Plague.




3D in Engineering 
Engineers use 3D modelling to test new ideas and mechanisms. It is better for them to test the product in these programs so that they can identify errors and easily correct them, rather than creating the object and then realizing there is a problem. This method is very similar to that of architecture.








3D in Medicine 
3D applications can also be used for medical means. It is mainly used for creating structures of the human patients body or parts of it. For example, in dentistry, models of the patients mouth are made. They will sometimes use a special malleable material which forms the inside of the patients mouth when closed in the mouth. This shaped object can then be put into a scanner which is able to recreate what that patients mouth will look like. In can also be used to look at patients bones. They can take X-rays of the desired area then use 3D software to establish the skeletal structure and then figure out whether the injury or damage is serious. 




3D in Product Design
3D models are very commonly created in product design. This, just like architecture and engineering, is used to test a product. In product design, it is tested on looks, purpose and its stability. For example, a chair that is established in these programs will need to look good and attractive, suit its purpose and be stable whilst ensuring the chair maintains its strength and not brake or be worn out by frequent use. 

3D printers - a recent invention - are making a giant mark in the product making industry. These special printers are able to print out any kind of object that has been created in 3D modelling software. The technology behind these devices is increasing rapidly and after a year we have gone from being constricted to small items, to being able to make life-sized dinosaur heads for museums for example.








3D in Meteorology 
3D can also be used in Meteorology. When the weather man stands infront of the green screen, a video is played on that same green screen that only the editors and viewers from home can see. On these videos, you can usually see a 3D animation of how the weather will move across the country for example or how much it will snow in one area compared to another. It can also be used to create possible hurricanes that are forming and scientists are able to figure out where a bouts the hurricane will hit.