Contents
What are particle systems used for?
A particle system is a technique in game physics, motion graphics, and computer graphics that uses many minute sprites, 3D models, or other graphic objects to simulate certain kinds of “fuzzy” phenomena, which are otherwise very hard to reproduce with conventional rendering techniques – usually highly chaotic systems.
How does a Particle System work?
Particle systems are collections of small images that when viewed together form a more complex “fuzzy” object, such as fire, smoke, weather, or fireworks. These complex effects are controlled by specifying the behavior of individual particles using properties such as initial position, velocity, and lifespan.
Where did the term particle system come from?
The term particle system, an incredibly common and useful technique in computer graphics, was coined in the creation of this particular effect. “A particle system is a collection of many many minute particles that together represent a fuzzy object.
What does a particle do on a computer?
For us, a particle is an independent body that moves about the screen. It has location, velocity, and acceleration, a constructor to initialize those variables, and functions to display () itself and update () its location. class Particle { // [full] A “Particle” object is just another name for our “Mover.”
How are particles referenced in the nature of code?
No single particle is ever referenced in the above code, yet the result will be full of particles flying all over the screen. Getting used to writing Processing sketches with multiple classes, and classes that keep lists of instances of other classes, will prove very useful as we get to more advanced chapters in this book.
What does an emitter do in a particle system?
Typical particle systems involve something called an emitter. The emitter is the source of the particles and controls the initial settings for the particles, location, velocity, etc. An emitter might emit a single burst of particles, or a continuous stream of particles, or both.