3 ms·

I've been trying to learn graphics programming for 10 years now, in my spare time. The amount of complexity that was slowly introduced for the sake of better g

I've been trying to learn graphics programming for 10 years now, in my spare time. The amount of complexity that was slowly introduced for the sake of better graphics makes entering the field now a daunting task. I have about a dozen books, each thousands of pages long. People who have been writing games since the 90s added this knowledge incrementally. Learning it now is such a mess. I am partially disappointed with myself, partially with the state at which the field has arrived.

mrfox321 6y ago
Look at the bright side, it will take less time to catch up than it took them to build the foundation!
gabereiser 6y ago
How I started was I got interested in 3D modeling because I wanted to make a Star Wars fan film in 1996 with my 8mm. I bought a DVD set on how to do modeling and texturing in 3D Studio Max from the Gnomon School. It was amazing. Film level quality secrets and techniques. I got pretty good. This lead me down a rabbit hole of how do I take this and apply it towards games. 3D modeling and texturing for games. Then I started working on coding and realized that OpenGL/DirectX used similar concepts to what I learned in 3D studio max. There’s a scene, a camera, a mesh, a light, materials, textures, shaders (SM1.0), and all these things combined give you your lit scene using some advanced but cookie-cutter math.