Visual design and interactivity

3D graphics, by themselves, do not create a story; music also does not create a story, but it can set the mood. From the opening sequence of a small town on a sunny day to a dark mystery in a gritty big city, the design of the scene contributes to the dialogue, acting, and director's staging. This next demonstration introduces a street in daylight that transitions to night in a 24-second cycle. We control the camera to move from left to right, forward and back with the arrow keys. Since we can navigate anywhere in the scene, some 3D meshes such as signs and light posts reach the far-clipping plane and are chopped off. The far-clipping plane ensures that we do not waste computing power by rendering 3D meshes very far away. However, clipping looks unnatural. To prevent 3D meshes from just disappearing, we add fog so that these 3D meshes will fade off into the depths. Fog also adds character to the scene—the charm of London or San Francisco is its fog. In addition...