How does 3D modeling work in video games?

Question

I know from a very basic standpoint that game devs create a model for a character/object, but how exactly do they keep consistency? Do they use that same exact model for all cutscenes, different angles, different depth distances etc? As in if a model of a character was a mile away, could you theoretically walk all the way up to that model and it would be the same perspective as if you were walking up to a real person/object? Or say for instance you had a camera shot from the foot of a character model looking up at them, is that the same model used for every other shot to keep consistency? Sorry if I’m making no sense here lmao this has just been bugging me

In: Technology

Answer 1

3d modelling for games and other media are essentially the same. The basic principles are:

A wireframe: This is the boundaries of your object. Wireframes are made up of vertices, in general, the more you have, the “smoother” an object will look. However, the more there are, the more computational power is needed. This would be the outline of all of the distinct faces on a house.

Textures: These “paint” material over the wireframe. As the detail in the texture increases (or its complexity) the more computational power is needed. These would be wallpaper, flooring, etc. There are lot of tricks, like bump maps, but they aren’t necessarily worth digging too far in to.

Lighting is self explanatory.

Viewports are like cameras, it’s your perspective viewing a scene with one or many models, light sources etc. Only what can be seen in the viewport is rendered, so for example, if you’re looking at a house, the back of the house, and its interior are not rendered, if you cannot see them.

Because an object far away (relative to the viewport) will not need a lot of detail, you can get away with using fewer vertices, and less detailed textures. So essentially it’s the same model, just with less detail. Using the house as an example, you don’t need to individually render shingles on a roof if you’re far away, but as you get close you may need to, and even closer you may need better textures to show grain.

Depending on the cut scene, you may use different models (and processes) entirely, especially if you can’t interact with it, because you know exactly what the viewport will be. But you could also use a super detailed version of the same model.