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9 changes: 5 additions & 4 deletions text/01-GettingStarted.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ Alas, with the collapse of the Internet bubble and some other unfortunate circum
### Blender Rises <a id="Blender_Rises"></a>
Located in beautiful Amsterdam, the Blender Foundation now oversees the development, distribution, and marketing of Blender. But because of the open source nature of the software, its development has been driven largely by volunteer contributors from across the world.

The Blender Foundation also created the Blender Institute, an animation and game studio that focuses on movie and game development using Blender. The Institute produced the movies _Elephants Dream_, _Big Buck Bunny_, _Sintel_, _Tears of Steel_, Cosmos Laundromat and the game _Yo, Frankie!_ These projects serve two main goals: The production process is an opportunity to improve Blender in a real studio environment, and the end result also serves as an advertisement for the software itself.
The Blender Foundation also created the Blender Institute, an animation and game studio that focuses on movie and game development using Blender. The Institute produced the movies _Elephants Dream_, _Big Buck Bunny_, _Sintel_, _Tears of Steel_, _Cosmos Laundromat_ and the game _Yo, Frankie!_ These projects serve two main goals: The production process is an opportunity to improve Blender in a real studio environment, and the end result also serves as an advertisement for the software itself.

![Top: Elephants Dream, Big Buck Bunny, Yo, Frankie!, Bottom: Sintel, Tears of Steel, Cosmos Laundromat](../figures/Chapter1/Fig01-02.jpg)

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -128,12 +128,13 @@ The knowledge in this section is universal and applies to all other 3D applicati
### Coordinate System <a id="Coordinate_System"></a>

<img alt="The three axes illustrated" src="../figures/Chapter1/Fig01-05.png" width="33%" align="right">

We live in a three-dimensional world that has width, height, and depth. So to represent anything that resembles real life as a virtual world inside a computer, we need to think and work in three dimensions. The most common system used is called the Cartesian coordinate system, where the three dimensions are represented by X, Y, and Z, laid out as intersecting planes. Where the three axes meet is called the _origin_. You can think of the origin as the center of your digital universe. A single position in space is represented by a set of numbers that corresponds to its position from the origin: thus (2, -4, 8) is a point in space that is 2 units from the origin along the X axis, 4 units from the origin along the -Y axis, and 8 units up in the Z direction.


### Points, Edges, Triangles, and Meshes <a id="Points,_Edges,_Triangles,_and_Meshes"></a>

Although we can define a position in space using the XYZ coordinates, a single point (or a "vertex," as it's more commonly known in computer graphics) is not terribly useful; after all, you can't see a dot that is infinitesimally small. But you can join this vertex with another vertex to form a line (also known as an "edge"). An edge by itself still wouldn't be very visible, so you create another vertex and join all three vertices together with lines and fill in the middle. Suddenly, something far more interesting is created[md]a triangle (also known as a "face")! By linking multiple faces together, you can create any shape, the result of which is called a "mesh" or "model." Figure below shows how a mesh can be broken down into faces, then edges, and ultimately, as vertices.
Although we can define a position in space using the XYZ coordinates, a single point (or a "vertex," as it's more commonly known in computer graphics) is not terribly useful; after all, you can't see a dot that is infinitesimally small. But you can join this vertex with another vertex to form a line (also known as an "edge"). An edge by itself still wouldn't be very visible, so you create another vertex and join all three vertices together with lines and fill in the middle. Suddenly, something far more interesting is created a triangle (also known as a "face")! By linking multiple faces together, you can create any shape, the result of which is called a "mesh" or "model." Figure below shows how a mesh can be broken down into faces, then edges, and ultimately, as vertices.

![Teapot, cube, face, edge and vertex.](../figures/Chapter1/Fig01-06.jpg)

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -199,7 +200,7 @@ Think of lighting as more than something that makes your scene visible. Good lig

<img alt="Camera objects" src="../figures/Chapter1/Fig01-13.png" width="50%" align="right">

When you are creating a 3D scene, you are looking at the virtual world from an omniscient view. In this mode, you can view and edit the world from any angle[md]just like a movie director walking around a set in order to adjust things. Once the game starts, the player must view the game through a predetermined camera. Note that a predetermined camera does not mean the camera is fixed; almost all games have a camera that reacts to a player's input. In an action game, the camera tends to follow the character from behind; in a strategy game, the camera might be hovering high above, looking down; in a platformer, the camera is usually looking at the scene from the side.
When you are creating a 3D scene, you are looking at the virtual world from an omniscient view. In this mode, you can view and edit the world from any angle, just like a movie director walking around a set in order to adjust things. Once the game starts, the player must view the game through a predetermined camera. Note that a predetermined camera does not mean the camera is fixed; almost all games have a camera that reacts to a player's input. In an action game, the camera tends to follow the character from behind; in a strategy game, the camera might be hovering high above, looking down; in a platformer, the camera is usually looking at the scene from the side.

A camera is also treated as a regular object in Blender, so you can manipulate its location and orientation just as you can with any other object.

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -246,7 +247,7 @@ A game engine is made up of many distinct components:

- **Rendering Engine** : Turns the 3D scene you've built (including models, lights, and camera) into an image to be displayed onscreen.
- **Physics** : Handles collisions and physical simulations of objects.
- **Logic/Scripting** : The brain behind a game[md]it reacts to the user input, makes decisions, and keeps track of what's going on in the game.
- **Logic/Scripting** : The brain behind a game, it reacts to the user input, makes decisions, and keeps track of what's going on in the game.
- **Sound** : Produces the audio events.

The above list is not meant to be exhaustive, but it should give you an idea of what a game engine does. The Blender game engine gives you a lot of control over each of these components, which you will learn one by one in later chapters.
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