Product Description

The ultimate cut-to-the-chase manual for 3D Web and interactive designers! Shockwave 3D capitalizes on the growing popularity of this established technology as it appeals to developers of games, multimedia presentations, and online content in need of more robust development than can be provided by Flash. Users will follow extremely concise tutorials using Shockwave 3D and Lingo code, learning as they go, and eventually funneling everything into a Shockwave 3D movie. This book is not the end-all reference; it's the quick road map for those who say "To hell with the instruction manual, let's play with Shockwave 3D and see how it really works."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1403526 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From the Publisher
WHY WOULD I DEVELOP WTH SHOCKWAVE WHEN I'VE GOT FLASH? Macromedia keeps both technologies around for a good reason: Shockwave 3D is the best technology for putting interactive 3D content on the web. You want to do 3D on your web site? Flash only gets you a taste of what can be done. You need Shockwave 3D to make serious noise. (Keep in mind that you can develop 3D interactive content with Shockwave 3D and output it anywhere--not just the web.)

THE COOL THING: Shockwave 3D is a rich-uncle* of a technology that enables 3D developers and web designers to expand the boundaries of their creativity. (*You knew he was around somewhere but who knew what he could do for you until now?) Software vendors can deliver amazing rich-media applications--wrapped in a 3D experience--and content that will scale in performance, without fear of missing key market segments, from entry-level users to power-hungry enthusiasts. End-users don't have to have limitless bandwidth to enjoy 3D on the web.

THE CATCH: The programming language (if you will) behind Shockwave is called Lingo. Lingo's somewhat steep learning curve has spooked some developers from stretching their boundaries.

THE SOLUTION: Jason Wolf, a co-creator of Shockwave technology, gets you up to speed with this clearly written and practical book. Shockwave 3D gives you a software overview and then gets you quickly up to speed with accessible step-by-step instruction. Even traditional 3D designers new to Lingo programming will quickly learn how to export 3D scenes into Director and add interactive behaviors. More advanced developers will appreciate the extensive Havok chapter and ray-casting examples, in addition to the best practices for Shockwave 3D development Jason advises us on.

Ask around: There's probably nobody who should be writing this book except Jason Wolf. As Danny Cristofano of Intel told us, "Jason is a pioneer... His reference is a must-have for the developers of the next Internet revolution." Give it a try and let me know how the book works for you. Thanks for reading this far... Steve Weiss, executive editor, New Riders. steve.weiss@newriders.com

From the Back Cover
The ultimate cut-to-the-chase manual for 3D Web and interactive designers! Shockwave 3D capitalizes on the growing popularity of this established technology as it appeals to developers of games, multimedia presentations, and online content in need of more robust development than can be provided by Flash. Users will follow extremely concise tutorials using Shockwave 3D and Lingo code, learning as they go, and eventually funneling everything into a Shockwave 3D movie. This book is not the end-all reference; it's the quick road map for those who say "To hell with the instruction manual, let's play with Shockwave 3D and see how it really works."

About the Author

Jason Wolf has been working with Macromedia Director since version 1.42 and with 3D applications since the days of Swivel 3D. Jason's first jobs were for Lucas Film's Games and Koei Corporation. Jason also spent five years at Macromedia where he authored the first book on Shockwave, Macromedia Shockwave for Director, the Complete Guide, and where he developed the award-winning Macromedia. He also authored several interactive CD-ROMs, videos, and demos for Fortune 500 clients. At Macromedia, Jason had the pleasure of working with Natalie Zee and Hillman Curtis in the creative services department.

Jason also worked for CKS Partners, the agency of record for companies such as Apple, Pixar, Lexis, Nike, and GM. CKS Partners eventually merged into what is known as marchFIRST. Jason served as Director of Multimedia and Research and Development for marchFIRST. Currently, Jason works from his home as an independent contractor doing freelance multimedia engineering work and CTO work. In his spare time, Jason writes books, such as this one and The Last Mile, Broadband and the Next Internet Revolution, a New York Times bestseller. In his free time, Jason likes to ride his CBR F4 or build electronic devices.

Perry Board is the Art Director for Gabriel Interactive, Inc., a multimedia and game development company in Indianapolis, Indiana. He studied art at Taylor University. Perry developed a proficiency in programming through his work with Macromedia Director over the past six years. He has been responsible for a wide variety of interactive media projects ranging from business applications to retail computer games. Involved with Shockwave from its beginning, Perry also wrote Creating Shockwave Web Pages in 1996.

Jerome Givens is an interactive designer from Indianapolis, Indiana. He studied multimedia at Indiana University and developed a proficiency in programming through his work with Macromedia Director over the past five years. He has been involved with several interactive media projects ranging from business applications to 3D gaming applications and DVD-ROM titles.

Customer Reviews

dissapointing
This slim book simply doesnt't have enough material on shock 3d, and the coverage isn't balanced either. It doen't even discuss the basics such as 3d coordinate system in diector. A whole chapter is devoted to 3d behaviors, which even a non-lingo programmer can easily figure out for her/himself, but the lingo codes in the book are not explained in detail. You can find better explanation on these lingo codes at many web sites like [website], where Tom Higgins writes many tutorials and he is the one who wrote the most of the lingo code in Chap. 3 of this book. Chapters 4 & 5 are concerned with Havok physics Xtra, for which the Havok manual does the better job, and the Havok behavior is NOT utilized in the examples in this book. This book is concerned only with the creation of walk-thru type movies, and absolutely no subject on animation is discussed. The book is probably more useful for 3D designers wishing to publish their work as a shockwave movie than for (aspiring) director developers. Finally, the publishers list price of the book is US[money], not [money] something, so don't be ....

Great book!
I'm a student of computer graphics. Right now we're making a shockwave game. This book was really helpful, both for giving ideas and helping to apply the concepts we want to be in the game.

It really helped our creative process going through those examples, and now we're thinking about combining some of the things from the book with old knowledge and create something even bigger than we've tried before.

All examples are nice written, and easy to follow, both for people who like to program with Lingo and who use predefined behaviors.

This is excelent book to Sockwave Development
The book of Jason Wolf is excelent to develop produts Shockwave 3D. It's read easy, practices examples and applications.

I work five years with Shockwave 3D and approve!

Luiz Chaves
Multimedia Producer