Not that i have any interest or any chance working at 3D Realm, but i was reading over their classified ads and was wondering of what 3D math actually consists? And can you give any examples that i could understand since i only went up to calculus?
Basically, they’re looking for someone who’s comfortable with the techniques used to represent three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface (i.e., the monitor).
It sounds like they had a bit of trouble with their last ace-programmer:
If you went up to calculus, then surely you’re familiar with 2D math: describing objects of up to two dimensions (lines, circles, curves, etc.) using a 2D (x-y) coordinate system.
3D math would use a 3D coordinate system (x-y-z) to describe three-dimensional objects (curves in space, surfaces, solid objects). (For example, the equation x[sup]2[/sup] + y[sup]2[/sup] + z[sup]2[/sup] = 25 describes a sphere of radius 5, centered at the origin.) Probably the first place you’d study this kind of stuff is in a third semester calculus course. You’d also use linear algebra (vectors, linear transformations, etc.) to describe what happens to the coordinates of those 3D objects as they move, stretch, rotate, etc., and as they’re seen from different points and depicted on a 2D screen. (At least, the one computer graphics class I took in college, back in the late 80’s, relied heavily on linear algebra.)
For most part it means a subset of linear algebra.
If you have two matrixes, and one of them represents a 1X1X1 cube that you’ve deformed, then when you multiply them, the same deformations will happen to the other. (In truth, you need to work with 4D hypercubes so you can move objects through space.)
Heh. Give a cowboy a badge and he thinks he’s a sherriff, eh?
If you’re interested in learning more, you might want to check out this book. I was in grad school with the authors and they both really know their stuff. And Jim’s day-long tutorial on game mathematics has been a regular fixture at the annual Game Developers Conference for years.