VECTOR ALGEBRA FOR GAMEDEV

Abstract

The article highlights the importance of mathematical skills development among IT students for working with various software and Game Development (GameDev) in particular. It is the mathematical tools in the software code that realize the game scenes construction and displaying as well as the game characters’ behavior, movement and interaction correlated with events, game environment and rules. The objective of the article is to analyze the role of Vector Algebra application in the Game Development field using case studies to motivate IT students to take the appropriate sections of Higher Mathematics. In game programming vectors are often used to describe a game character’s fundamental characteristics: position, velocity, and distance between two objects. Each object in the game has its own coordinates which determine its position in the virtual world. The implementation of Vector Algebra allows programmers to accurately determine a character’s or object route ensuring the movement smoothness and realism. The specific examples of C# program code fragments for the Unity 3D game environment were considered to demonstrate the methods of the player's movement in the virtual space. The results demonstrate that the mathematical modeling of the player’s or object behaviors on the playing field in the Cartesian coordinates is impossible without Vector Algebra and Trigonometry expertise. The given examples of Vector Algebra elements tailoring in curriculum are an evident demonstration of the relevance and importance of mathematical competences for Game Developers. Mathematical knowledge can be beneficial for Software Developers in designing high-quality products. IT students’ motivation supported by Math teachers has an influential effect on studying the relevant sections of Higher Mathematics. The introductory information about the case studies, expediency, further application of relevant mathematical knowledge and its impact on IT career in Software Development field might be rather effective.