Talking about 3D, Game development, HTML5 and Javascript.
Do you know Three.js? It’s an open source JavaScript library thatallows you to easily create good-looking 3D scenes directly inside your browser rendering using WebGL if the browser supports it, or falling it back to an HTML5 canvas or an SVG approach if WebGL isn’t supported.
You can even create 3D games which run on browser. If you want a quick but comprehensive guide about Three.js, I recommend you to read Three.js Essentials.
From setting up a development environment and creating your first Three.js scene, you will quickly dive into more complex scene-making. Discover a variety of possible scenes from how to make a rotating planet with data overlay to mini games. Through these examples, you will be shown an array of skills from using materials, controls, and lighting to creating particle systems and geometries from scratch.
Let’s have a detailed look at the book:
Chapter 1: Three.js is introduced, you will familiarize with the requirements to make it run on a local server on your computer. You will be able to create your first web application: it’s just a box over a plane but it’s your first step into Three.js 3D environment. Also you will be able to make your object to cast shadows, which is generally an advanced feature.
Chapter 2: begins with the creation of a planet (actually planet Earth) which you can turn around just like Google Earth and place into a space environment with stars and nebulas. Normal and specular maps will give your planet the bumps and reflections to add photo realism. The resulting planet will look very realistic.
Chapter 3: here you will be able to create your first game: a cube exploring a 3D mazes rendered with lights and textures. You will also learn the principles of collision detection and camera controls.
Chapter 4: it’s entirely focused on particle effects, which can really add a lot to game experience. In this case, you will build an audio spectrum analyzer entirely made with particles. I said “an audio analyzer” but you will actually see how to build a lot of audio analyzers using different particle effetcs.
Chapter 5: this chapter covers one of the things I love the most: procedural terrain generation. And it covers it really well. You will also see how to create procedural buildings (actually, an entire town) and procedural plants and trees.
Chapter 6: if you are into web design, this chapter only is worth the entire book, because you will learn how to combine HTML and Three.js with CSS3DRenderer in order to create 3D Google maps and 3D image galleries. No more flat lightboxes in youw webistes!
Chapter 7: dedicated to all 3D artists, which will learn how to fully integrate their Blender models into a Three.js world.
No need to say I definitively recommend Three.js Essentials book.
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