C++ Game Animation Programming

In this new edition, you’ll learn everything you need to know about game animation, from a simple graphical window to a large crowd of smoothly animated characters. First, you’ll learn how to use modern high-performance graphics, dig into the details of how virtual characters are stored, and load the models and animations into a minimalistic game-like application. Then, you’ll get an overview of the components of an animation system, how to play the animations and combine them, and how to blend from one animation into another. You’ll also get an introduction to topics that will make your programming life easier, such as debugging your code or stripping down the graphical output.

By the end of this book, you’ll have gained deep insights into all the parts of game animation programming and how they work together, revealing the magic that brings life to the virtual worlds on your screen.

What you will learn

Create simple OpenGL and Vulkan applications and work with shaders

Explore the glTF file format, including its design and data structures

Design an animation system with poses, clips, and skinned meshes

Find out how vectors, matrices, quaternions, and splines are used in game development

Discover and implement ways to seamlessly blend character animations

Implement inverse kinematics for your characters using CCD and FABRIK solvers

Understand how to render large, animated crowds efficiently

Identify and resolve performance issues