Chapter 8. Motion in One Dimension

KEY TOPICS

• Speed and Velocity

• Acceleration

• Equations of Motion

• Visualization Experience

A video game is almost like a flipbook: As you loop through the program, all the objects move frame by frame. If you flip through fast enough, the motion appears to be smooth and realistic. But how does the computer know where to place objects in each frame? The laws of physics tell it exactly how the objects should move. Keep in mind that in the real world, so many factors influence motion that you can't possibly take all of them into account. Some factors must be sacrificed to achieve real-time physics, but the ones that are sacrificed are usually quite insignificant. This chapter introduces the world of game physics. It defines some basic physical quantities and addresses how to mathematically control the motion of objects in your game.