Summary

Well-executed 3D collision detection is an essential part of 3D games. Building a custom 3D collision engine requires careful planning, calculated tradeoffs, and significant integration into other parts of the game engine. As with other 3D game elements, such as the graphics engines and audio processing, vectors and vector math play a major role in the solutions, and understanding them is fundamental.

Poor collision detection can ruin the game experience, and the impact of good 3D collision detection and response should not be underestimated because it can establish the “feel” of the game. For many types of 3D games, this is arguably the thing that defines the gameplay for the players, whether they know it or not. The basic truth of 3D games is that the visible world is supported and sustained by an invisible one, a world of number structures and the power of math.