3D Game Development Principles

3D games

by davila7 · MIT license · ★ 32,299 on GitHub

3D game development principles. Rendering, shaders, physics, cameras.

---
name: 3d-games
description: 3D game development principles. Rendering, shaders, physics, cameras.
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep
---

# 3D Game Development

> Principles for 3D game systems.

---

## 1. Rendering Pipeline

### Stages

```
1. Vertex Processing → Transform geometry

Overview

3D game development principles. Rendering, shaders, physics, cameras.

Manual install (npx, ZIP)

Claude Codenpx skills add davila7/claude-code-templates --skill 3d-games -g -a claude-code

Claude Code (degit)

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Claude.ai / desktopZip the folder and upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

Codex, Cursor, other agentsPoint them at SKILL.md. The other files are plain text.

Connects with Agent Alley MCP · agentalley.io/mcp

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3D Game Development

Principles for 3D game systems.

1. Rendering Pipeline

Stages

1. Vertex Processing → Transform geometry
2. Rasterization → Convert to pixels
3. Fragment Processing → Color pixels
4. Output → To screen

Optimization Principles

Technique	Purpose
Frustum culling	Don't render off-screen
Occlusion culling	Don't render hidden
LOD	Less detail at distance
Batching	Combine draw calls

2. Shader Principles

Shader Types

Type	Purpose
Vertex	Position, normals
Fragment/Pixel	Color, lighting
Compute	General computation

When to Write Custom Shaders

Special effects (water, fire, portals)
Stylized rendering (toon, sketch)
Performance optimization
Unique visual identity

3. 3D Physics

Collision Shapes

Shape	Use Case
Box	Buildings, crates
Sphere	Balls, quick checks
Capsule	Characters
Mesh	Terrain (expensive)

Principles

Simple colliders, complex visuals
Layer-based filtering
Raycasting for line-of-sight

4. Camera Systems

Camera Types

Type	Use
Third-person	Action, adventure
First-person	Immersive, FPS
Isometric	Strategy, RPG
Orbital	Inspection, editors

Camera Feel

Smooth following (lerp)
Collision avoidance
Look-ahead for movement
FOV changes for speed

5. Lighting

Light Types

Type	Use
Directional	Sun, moon
Point	Lamps, torches
Spot	Flashlight, stage
Ambient	Base illumination

Performance Consideration

Real-time shadows are expensive
Bake when possible
Shadow cascades for large worlds

6. Level of Detail (LOD)

LOD Strategy

Distance	Model
Near	Full detail
Medium	50% triangles
Far	25% or billboard

7. Anti-Patterns

❌ Don't	✅ Do
Mesh colliders everywhere	Simple shapes
Real-time shadows on mobile	Baked or blob shadows
One LOD for all distances	Distance-based LOD
Unoptimized shaders	Profile and simplify

Remember: 3D is about illusion. Create the impression of detail, not the detail itself.

1	---
2	name: 3d-games
3	description: 3D game development principles. Rendering, shaders, physics, cameras.
4	allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep
5	---
6
7	# 3D Game Development
8
9	> Principles for 3D game systems.
10
11	---
12
13	## 1. Rendering Pipeline
14
15	### Stages
16
17	```
18	1. Vertex Processing → Transform geometry
19	2. Rasterization → Convert to pixels
20	3. Fragment Processing → Color pixels
21	4. Output → To screen
22	```
23
24	### Optimization Principles
25
26	\| Technique \| Purpose \|
27	\|-----------\|---------\|
28	\| Frustum culling \| Don't render off-screen \|
29	\| Occlusion culling \| Don't render hidden \|
30	\| LOD \| Less detail at distance \|
31	\| Batching \| Combine draw calls \|
32
33	---
34
35	## 2. Shader Principles
36
37	### Shader Types
38
39	\| Type \| Purpose \|
40	\|------\|---------\|
41	\| Vertex \| Position, normals \|
42	\| Fragment/Pixel \| Color, lighting \|
43	\| Compute \| General computation \|
44
45	### When to Write Custom Shaders
46
47	- Special effects (water, fire, portals)
48	- Stylized rendering (toon, sketch)
49	- Performance optimization
50	- Unique visual identity
51
52	---
53
54	## 3. 3D Physics
55
56	### Collision Shapes
57
58	\| Shape \| Use Case \|
59	\|-------\|----------\|
60	\| Box \| Buildings, crates \|
61	\| Sphere \| Balls, quick checks \|
62	\| Capsule \| Characters \|
63	\| Mesh \| Terrain (expensive) \|
64
65	### Principles
66
67	- Simple colliders, complex visuals
68	- Layer-based filtering
69	- Raycasting for line-of-sight
70
71	---
72
73	## 4. Camera Systems
74
75	### Camera Types
76
77	\| Type \| Use \|
78	\|------\|-----\|
79	\| Third-person \| Action, adventure \|
80	\| First-person \| Immersive, FPS \|
81	\| Isometric \| Strategy, RPG \|
82	\| Orbital \| Inspection, editors \|
83
84	### Camera Feel
85
86	- Smooth following (lerp)
87	- Collision avoidance
88	- Look-ahead for movement
89	- FOV changes for speed
90
91	---
92
93	## 5. Lighting
94
95	### Light Types
96
97	\| Type \| Use \|
98	\|------\|-----\|
99	\| Directional \| Sun, moon \|
100	\| Point \| Lamps, torches \|
101	\| Spot \| Flashlight, stage \|
102	\| Ambient \| Base illumination \|
103
104	### Performance Consideration
105
106	- Real-time shadows are expensive
107	- Bake when possible
108	- Shadow cascades for large worlds
109
110	---
111
112	## 6. Level of Detail (LOD)
113
114	### LOD Strategy
115
116	\| Distance \| Model \|
117	\|----------\|-------\|
118	\| Near \| Full detail \|
119	\| Medium \| 50% triangles \|
120	\| Far \| 25% or billboard \|
121
122	---
123
124	## 7. Anti-Patterns
125
126	\| ❌ Don't \| ✅ Do \|
127	\|----------\|-------\|
128	\| Mesh colliders everywhere \| Simple shapes \|
129	\| Real-time shadows on mobile \| Baked or blob shadows \|
130	\| One LOD for all distances \| Distance-based LOD \|
131	\| Unoptimized shaders \| Profile and simplify \|
132
133	---
134
135	> Remember: 3D is about illusion. Create the impression of detail, not the detail itself.
136