HOW TO DESIGN 3D GAMES WITH WEB TECHNOLOGY - BOOK 01: Three.js - HTML5 and WebGL

Over the year’s web browsers have been incorporating new technologies, changing from simple page viewers with plain text and some images to platforms that allow us to create three-dimensional games.

The revolution began with improved CSS styles and continued with the addition of relational and documental databases and the ability to create applications that work in offline mode without internet connection. Progress continued with the incorporation of audiovisual technologies, the possibility of watching movies, native audio management, including speech recognition and speech synthesis for reading texts. Finally, the incorporation of 3D technology (WebGL) with hardware acceleration, motion detection and virtual reality technology, have meant that the WEB programming is as every bit as good as other platforms and traditional languages.

Therefore, I decided to start a collection of books that allows us to explore these developments and become true experts. To distinguish the collection from other books on the market I’ve focused on teaching how to perform a role-playing game in first person, merely as an excuse to gradually introduce WEB technologies.

What does the first book of the collection cover?

The book is aimed at those who want to explore how to create 3D animation, either to add visual elements to their web pages, as well as those who want to try their luck in game design. In it we’ll learn how to:

• Use the Three.js library to create and animate a basic scene.
• To prepare the development environment and solve the main problems we encounter.
• To use geometries and materials offered by the default library.
• To create advanced textures and transparencies.
• To illuminate the scene and create shadows.
• To load objects made with third party platforms and animate them using different techniques.
• To use the keyboard, mouse and even body movement to control the camera.
Finally, we’ll create our first game location. A beautiful medieval village with its castle and cemetery, full of villagers walking about and doing daily chores and a thick forest full of dangerous monsters.

What is the game like?

The game spans from the creation of 3D scenes to the management of music and sound effects, artificial intelligence, character animation and monsters, saving the current game, subsequently recovering it and finally packaging.

What prior knowledge is needed?

This book is suitable for anyone with basic knowledge of JavaScript and HTML. No knowledge of advanced mathematics or WebGL are needed.