Programming for 3D (G6080)

15 credits, Level 6

Autumn teaching

This course will provide an intensive introduction to 3D computer graphics (CG) modelling and rendering. This will include many topics, such as basic 3D geometry transformation, mesh/geometric descriptions of CG objects, shading and lighting. On completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Understand the main approaches used for 3D graphics (i.e. ray tracing and raster polygon).
• Understand basic physical principles of light and perceived colour, and the simplifications made in CG to represent them.
• Understand basic mathematical principles (i.e. Cartesian systems of reference, vector analysis, transformation matrices), applied in the context of CG (i.e. geometry models, collision detection, shading, texturing, 3D interaction).
• Transform the models above into C++ programs, either for photorealistic rendering or interactive 3D systems.
• Gain understanding on general Object-Oriented programing principles (UML diagrams, design patterns, etc.), very common in most game engines and programming suites.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 44 hours of contact time and about 106 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2023/24. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to COVID-19, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let our applicants know of material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses:

• Computing for Digital Media and Games (with an industrial placement year) BSc
• Computing for Digital Media and Games BSc