Before we begin the actual programming of breakout its nice to have the art
and sound resources ready to go. Breakout is a small game with only half a dozen
images and sounds so we might as well have everything ready before we actually
start programming.
Topics Covered in this Chapter:
The Resources Including the Classes from Part 1
There are 3 types of resources we need for 3d breakout: images, models, and
sound effects. If you were working for a game company all of these would be
provided for you, however since we are not we need to create them ourselves.
The Software Required:
3d Modeling Software, such as 3d Studio Max. MilkShape 3d, or Blender.
2d Imaging Software, such as Adobe Photoshop, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, or GIMP
Creating game resources requires that you have the software to do it. The problem
is graphic software can be quite expensive. Programs like 3d Studio Max and
Photoshop are industry standard products, and they come with an industry standard
price, generally more than would pay for half a dozen new workstations. If you
are a student, Autodesk offers an educational version of 3d Studio, and Adobe
offers an elements version of Photoshop. Both products available for a reasonable
price compared to their industry counterparts. There are alternatives to using
expenseive industry products. Products such as Blender and GIMP are open source,
so they are free. I have used both, and would say they can easily give 3d Studio,
and Photoshop a run for their money, particularly blender. I recomend giving
both a try before you spend any money on expensive graphic software. Blender's
website is www.blender3d.org, and GIMP is available at www.gimp.org.
The Breakout Menu Resources:
The Background
The Menu Items:
New Game
New Game Selected
Exit
Exit Selected
The menu items were all made in photoshop using simple text and overlays for
the highlighting.
Breakout Game Resources:
The Background Image - background.jpg, Stars with a lense flare, made in photoshop.
The Bricks - Rendering of the brick model, actualy bricks are model files greenBrick.X,
redBrick.X and yellowBrick.X
The Ball - Rendering of ball.X
The Paddle - Renderin of paddle.X
The Sound Resources are hitpaddle.wav, and hitbrick.wav. I recorded the sounds
using the windows sound recorder, the sounds themselves are a metal pen being
tapped against a plastic cup.
Summing Up - Chapter 1
There are not a lot of resources needed, breakout is a fairly simple game after
all. The biggest hurdle for the resources is the 3d Modeling, often 3d modeling
software can have a steap learning curve. With all the resources ready to go
we are ready to start programming.
