1 00:00:03,060 --> 00:00:07,620 Two dimensions are all very well and good, but even the earliest game developers yearned 2 00:00:07,620 --> 00:00:10,549 to extend into the third. 3 00:00:10,549 --> 00:00:17,549 The ability to craft a virtual space. The forging of a polygon realm. 4 00:00:18,410 --> 00:00:23,939 Of course, with limited hardware it was no mean feat - early 3D games were burdened with 5 00:00:23,939 --> 00:00:26,400 heavy compromise. 6 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:32,119 The very first were limited to wireframe representations - and although simple, games like Atari's 7 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:38,640 Battlezone could paint an immersive scene with just a few vector lines. 8 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:44,330 Similar tech was used to great effect in 1983's Star Wars Arcade: putting the player in the 9 00:00:44,330 --> 00:00:50,460 pilot seat of an X-Wing to recreate the attack on the Death Star, complete with trench run. 10 00:00:50,460 --> 00:00:55,250 Even the 8-bit home micros managed to get in on the wireframe action: space trader Elite's 11 00:00:55,250 --> 00:01:02,250 visuals might have been spartan, but the game offered a huge swathe of space to explore. 12 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:09,140 The next logical step from wireframe polygons was to fill them with flat shading: a simple 13 00:01:09,140 --> 00:01:13,149 effect, but still tricky to achieve on early systems without dropping the frame rate to 14 00:01:13,149 --> 00:01:15,939 unacceptable levels. 15 00:01:15,939 --> 00:01:21,020 The very first flat-shaded polygonal game was arcade title I, Robot all the way back 16 00:01:21,020 --> 00:01:23,499 in 1983. 17 00:01:23,499 --> 00:01:28,689 It was definitely ahead of its time, but a new paradigm is a tough sell, and the game 18 00:01:28,689 --> 00:01:32,259 would not prove a financial success. 19 00:01:32,259 --> 00:01:36,719 The advanced hardware needed for 3D games and the decline in arcade interest over the 20 00:01:36,719 --> 00:01:42,060 next few years rendered them prohibitively expensive - so it wouldn't be until the end 21 00:01:42,060 --> 00:01:46,490 of the decade that 3D games would become more prevalent. 22 00:01:46,490 --> 00:01:51,539 As home computers became more powerful, certain genres would embrace flat-shaded polygons: 23 00:01:51,539 --> 00:01:57,100 a trademark of early flight simulators, which valued full freedom of movement over arcade 24 00:01:57,100 --> 00:02:00,359 action or graphical detail. 25 00:02:00,359 --> 00:02:05,499 Some driving games employed this technique, too: Geoff Crammond's Stunt Car Racer in 1989 26 00:02:05,499 --> 00:02:12,499 had you driving at breakneck speed round a fanciful track complete with three dimensions. 27 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:19,260 Not content with dull flat-shading, some turned to hardware tricks to simulate 3D worlds: 28 00:02:19,260 --> 00:02:25,360 and the Super NES' Mode 7 could be considered a rudimentary form of texture mapping. 29 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:32,150 It was only a half-measure, but an ideal way to introduce a 3D feel to classic 2D action: 30 00:02:32,150 --> 00:02:36,620 and games like Super Mario Kart maintained a healthy frame rate while still giving the 31 00:02:36,620 --> 00:02:40,610 illusion of into-the-screen racing. 32 00:02:40,610 --> 00:02:47,409 The SuperFX coprocessor included in carts like Star Fox enabled polygonal 3D graphics, 33 00:02:47,409 --> 00:02:51,879 blended with sprite scaling effects and other 2D elements. 34 00:02:51,879 --> 00:02:56,590 Offloading graphics onto another processor would prove a useful technique in the future: 35 00:02:56,590 --> 00:03:01,750 but some machines would rely on sheer grunt instead. 36 00:03:01,750 --> 00:03:07,069 IBM-compatible PCs had the benefit of a modular design - along with a price point far aloft 37 00:03:07,069 --> 00:03:09,790 from console hardware. 38 00:03:09,790 --> 00:03:14,969 This meant that by the early 90s, they could start to push graphical boundaries. 39 00:03:14,969 --> 00:03:21,969 However, early PC games could be pretty ugly: 4-colour CGA and 16-colour EGA modes often 40 00:03:23,159 --> 00:03:26,590 left games with a distinctive, simple look. 41 00:03:26,590 --> 00:03:33,590 VGA graphics were a step up, offering 256 colours with far more nuance and a break from 42 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,689 unnaturally bright shades. 43 00:03:37,689 --> 00:03:43,069 Early PC titles would sometimes make use of prerendered backgrounds - games like Alone 44 00:03:43,069 --> 00:03:48,250 In The Dark reserved polygons only for the player and enemies, with the remainder of 45 00:03:48,250 --> 00:03:51,129 the world painted as a bitmap. 46 00:03:51,129 --> 00:03:56,079 This technique is a useful one for preserving limited graphical power: instead of rendering 47 00:03:56,079 --> 00:04:03,079 a full 3D scene, you can instead divert attention to more detailed character models. 48 00:04:03,170 --> 00:04:07,939 Some early games were more ambitious, taking a first-person perspective instead of a fixed 49 00:04:07,939 --> 00:04:09,640 camera view. 50 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:15,409 Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss was an impressive game that took RPGs into the third 51 00:04:15,409 --> 00:04:22,409 dimension - and in turn would influence the rise of the first person shooter. 52 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:27,919 One technique that made early texture-mapped games viable was raycasting. 53 00:04:27,919 --> 00:04:32,210 It's an efficient approach to scene rendering that focusses solely on what the player can 54 00:04:32,210 --> 00:04:39,210 see, and when combined with simple level geometry can be made quite performant. 55 00:04:39,650 --> 00:04:45,870 Wolfenstein 3D's levels were built on a simple square grid, all on a single level: this meant 56 00:04:45,870 --> 00:04:50,100 that the walls could be fully texture mapped, while the game remained playable even on a 57 00:04:50,100 --> 00:04:52,360 modest PC. 58 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:58,180 Wolfenstein is the grandfather of 3D shooters, but in terms of overall impact: Doom was the 59 00:04:58,180 --> 00:05:00,530 daddy. 60 00:05:00,530 --> 00:05:04,750 Building on the Wolfenstein engine, Doom extended its featureset to permit levels with more 61 00:05:04,750 --> 00:05:11,000 organic design: no more fixed grid maps, the addition of variable lighting, and elements 62 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,000 at different elevations. 63 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:19,539 As a result, Doom was more atmospheric, its locations more believable - and paired with 64 00:05:19,539 --> 00:05:23,190 high-octane action it proved quite the success. 65 00:05:23,190 --> 00:05:30,190 It inspired a huge number of clones, and paved the way for the FPS genre as we know it today. 66 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:39,000 Many of these early games were reliant on tricks to simulate a 3D world - limited geometry, 67 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,910 the use of sprites - or other time-saving hacks. 68 00:05:42,910 --> 00:05:47,889 True texture-mapped 3D games required a great deal of processing power, and so it wasn't 69 00:05:47,889 --> 00:05:53,550 really until the second half of the 1990s that such games took hold. 70 00:05:53,550 --> 00:05:59,210 Vanguards of hardware, the arcades led the way with titles like Ridge Racer: although 71 00:05:59,210 --> 00:06:05,349 dated today, at the time it was universally praised for its sound and graphics. 72 00:06:05,349 --> 00:06:09,490 Treading in the arcade's footsteps, the fifth generation of consoles could more confidently 73 00:06:09,490 --> 00:06:15,729 tackle full 3D graphics, and so platforms like the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 saw the 74 00:06:15,729 --> 00:06:18,629 rise of the polygon within a home setting. 75 00:06:18,629 --> 00:06:25,629 Super Mario 64 transplanted the previously-planar plumber into a colourful 3D world: and would 76 00:06:25,900 --> 00:06:30,360 prove to be arguably the first successful 3D platform game. 77 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:35,300 It blended the finest elements and charm of previous Mario titles with new technology 78 00:06:35,300 --> 00:06:41,500 - full freedom of movement and a dynamic camera system that permitted exploration without 79 00:06:41,500 --> 00:06:44,190 frustration. 80 00:06:44,190 --> 00:06:49,440 The PlayStation had its own 3D platforming heroes, with games like Crash Bandicoot: and 81 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:54,360 despite the low-polygon count afforded by the hardware, its characters are expressive 82 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:57,139 and its artstyle charming. 83 00:06:57,139 --> 00:07:03,400 These games were not only technically impressive - they were fun to play: true 3D games were 84 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:10,400 a novelty no more, and instead an integral part of mainstream gaming. 85 00:07:10,590 --> 00:07:15,580 While console hardware arrives in discrete generations, the pace of PC development is 86 00:07:15,580 --> 00:07:21,199 continuous: and with the popularity of PC gaming post-Doom, there was no shortage of 87 00:07:21,199 --> 00:07:24,159 3D titles. 88 00:07:24,159 --> 00:07:27,919 Magic Carpet was an interesting attempt at transplanting Bullfrog's earlier god-game 89 00:07:27,919 --> 00:07:31,659 formula into a third-person perspective. 90 00:07:31,659 --> 00:07:36,300 Hugely impressive from a technical perspective, although its gameplay was slightly lacking 91 00:07:36,300 --> 00:07:41,750 and was otherwise overshadowed by more conventional games of the era. 92 00:07:41,750 --> 00:07:46,650 Descent was notable for its six degrees of movement, permitting full exploration of its 93 00:07:46,650 --> 00:07:48,199 maze-like mines. 94 00:07:48,199 --> 00:07:54,389 A peculiar blend of space shooter and Doom clone, it stands as an important example of 95 00:07:54,389 --> 00:08:01,389 early software rendering - full 3D without shortcuts or compromise. 96 00:08:01,569 --> 00:08:06,729 Id software were prime innovators within the PC gaming space: and not content with the 97 00:08:06,729 --> 00:08:11,259 countless clones their creations spawned, they set the bar even higher with the release 98 00:08:11,259 --> 00:08:13,199 of Quake. 99 00:08:13,199 --> 00:08:18,669 Quake was very much a true 3D game: gone were the sprites and lack of vertical aiming of 100 00:08:18,669 --> 00:08:25,030 Doom, replaced with polygonal enemies, weapon viewmodels and biaxial aiming. 101 00:08:25,030 --> 00:08:31,699 Quake, in all its brown-hued lovecraftian glory, was a prelude to the next wave of 3D 102 00:08:31,699 --> 00:08:35,200 graphics development. 103 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:41,669 One final footnote worth a mention are voxels: volumetric pixels, an alternate approach to 104 00:08:41,669 --> 00:08:44,310 polygon construction. 105 00:08:44,310 --> 00:08:50,430 Instead of triangular faces, objects are built from 3D pixels: essentially building blocks, 106 00:08:50,430 --> 00:08:52,820 in a manner similar to Minecraft. 107 00:08:52,820 --> 00:08:58,930 Ideal for carving out terrain from heightmaps, games like Delta Force and Outcast are an 108 00:08:58,930 --> 00:09:02,490 interesting example of what would prove to be an evolutionary dead-end. 109 00:09:02,490 --> 00:09:09,490 Although voxels showed some promise, any progress was nipped in the bud by the rise of 3D acceleration. 110 00:09:12,790 --> 00:09:17,510 With dedicated hardware games now had the power to construct smooth and detailed worlds 111 00:09:17,510 --> 00:09:19,690 without compromise. 112 00:09:19,690 --> 00:09:26,690 The magic of hardware acceleration was about to unfold. 113 00:09:28,070 --> 00:09:35,070 Join me in part four, as the pace of 3D technology quickens and we near our approach to the modern 114 00:09:35,690 --> 00:09:36,860 era. 115 00:09:36,860 --> 00:09:38,540 Until then, farewell.