ext in line is the OBJ file format. This is a great format for static objects in a game, such as simple pieces of level geometry, weap­ons lying on the ground, and power-ups scattered throughout a level. The OBJ format can be exported from Maya, one of the industry standards for creation of 3D content, including 3D worlds and of course 3D models for games. Used by many game developers and artists worldwide, Maya has become one of the most popular 3D modeling programs around. Maya is developed and sold by AliasiWavefront (http://www. aliaswavefront. com).

A simple, ASCII-based format, the OBJ model format contains geom­etry data, but no animation. You might want to use this format if you need to be able to edit, or even create, the files by hand, without a modeling package. This is also a great format to use if you do not need animation because it is very easy to work with. Although it can contain features such as curved surfaces, such features are beyond the scope of this book. This chapter covers just the basic geometry. This includes the faces that make up the model, along with the vertices that make up the faces themselves. It also includes texture coordinates to allow a texture map to be added, as well as vertex normals used for lighting.