Game Programming Algorithms and Techniques: A Platform-Agnostic Approach

Chapter 3. Linear Algebra for Games

Linear algebra is a broad category of mathematics with more than enough material for a separate book. But for 3D computer games, only a very specific subset of linear algebra is typically utilized. Rather than covering the overall theories and proofs behind linear algebra, this chapter will present the practical aspects that are most relevant to game programmers.

It cannot be overstated how important vectors and matrices are in the game programmer’s toolbox; most programmers in the industry use them every single day.

Vectors

A vector represents both a magnitude and a direction in an n-dimensional space and has one real number component per dimension. In video games, vectors are usually either 2D or 3D, depending ...