Spatial Coordinates System

This is empty space. To build virtual worlds, you need to populate it. And to do so, you need to understand its properties. Space has dimensions and coordinates that help identify unique positions. So let’s explore this space. The smallest entity in space is a point, and a point has zero dimensions on its own. So it’s just a point. Things get interesting when we add another point. And using two points, we can define a line, which has one dimension. All points on this line can be addressed with a unique number for each point. One of the points on this line is addressed with the number zero. This special point is called the origin.

The distance from each point on this line from the origin is the same as the number. We can place a new line perpendicular to the first line passing through the origin and angle of 90 degrees. And using these two lines, we can define a plane. This plane has an infinite number of points, so let’s pick one. This point can be written by using a unique combination of numbers. The first is the distance of the point from the origin of the first line. And the second is the distance at the point from the origin of the second line. Together, these can be written as P 20, 30. The order of these numbers is not interchangeable.

For example, P 20, 30 is not the same as P 30, 20. If we had a third line perpendicular to the first two and passing through the origin, we can fully address all points in the space using three dimensions. Each point is defined as distances from the origin along the three lines. The three lines are referred to as the axes. The first is the x-axes, the second the y-axes, and the third the z-axes. Together, these define the spatial 3D coordinate system. All objects that exist in virtual worlds consist of vertices whose position is specified using the 3D coordinate system. For example, this phoenix– all movement and manipulation of objects result in changes to the coordinates of the vertices.

For example, we can move this phoenix to the origin by updating the coordinates of the vertices of the phoenix. Positioning and moving objects is a common activity in virtual worlds. This can be as simple as setting a position or something more complicated like constantly updating and changing the position to achieve a desired behaviour, for example, a phoenix flying away.