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Creating a Shockwave 3D Game Level in 30 Minutes


Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Why Create Shockwave 3D Content?
  3. Creating a Shockwave 3D Scene from Scratch
  4. Adding Models to the Scene
  5. Adding Interactive Elements to the Scene
  6. Changing the Non-3D Elements of the Scene
  7. Exporting and Loading the Sample Scene

Creating a Shockwave 3D Scene from Scratch

The application you downloaded with this article allows you to export your 3D scene into an interactive Shockwave 3D environment using a very simple export process. For many of the applications, this will be as straightforward as exporting a single file.

The process goes something like this:

  1. Create or load your 3D scene.

  2. Ensure that a model exists, called carStart.

    Note: This is the only requirement of the application. The model is used to position and size the vehicle within the scene.

  3. Export the scene as Shockwave 3D (overwrite the gamelevel.w3d scene).
  4. Run the application.

That's it! In most cases, the export process takes a matter of seconds. This allows 3D artists to try out a number of different ideas in a very short period of time.

To create a basic scene, follow these steps:

  1. Open your 3D application, create a box in the middle of the ground object, and call it carStart. The size of the box determines the size of the resulting vehicle within the Shockwave 3D environment (see Figure 2).

    Creating a box in the middle of the ground object

    Figure 2. Creating a box in the middle of the ground object

  2. Create a ground area for the vehicle to start on. This can be as simple as a plane object, or as a textured object—for example, with a tiled grass texture (see Figure 3).

    Creating a ground area for the vehicle to start on

    Figure 3. Creating a ground area for the vehicle to start on

  3. Export the scene as Shockwave 3D and save it over the gamelevel.w3d file.

    Note: If you read the Instructions.doc file contained in the sample files download, you'll see detailed instructions on how to export Shockwave 3D content from the various different 3D applications.

  4. Run the application (see Figure 4). For Windows, run the file "Play Car Game Level.exe"; Mac users currently have to run index.htm.

    Running the application

    Figure 4. Running the application

You will now be able to drive the vehicle around the ground object, using the keyboard's arrow keys. In the next section, you will add new models to the scene.

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