Ruby, Java and SketchUp for 3D game making with physics

[BlueScope]

Just a little something I found while looking for SketchUp stuff... while SketchUp modelling/scripting is actually what I do for living... amongst many many other things at the very comprehensive company I work at... :crazy: (no, seriously, I like working here... I mean, I'm in fact getting paid to write this post!)

It's a video of how Ruby, as well as specifically a Java interface, is integrated into SketchUp (modelling tool with architectural origins), not only in a way that can automate in-program processes, but also create games with (at about a third through the video).
Towards the end, there's a pretty cool Physics demonstration as well, which you can check out at it's Google Project Hosting page, or it's very own website.

Video on YouTube [36mins]

Just a note on the game design part, as this is what this forum's about: Don't get too exited about the possibilities of SketchUp as a game development tool if you don't have previous experience with it - while it's easy to learn, operating it on the level shown in the video takes a lot of practice. Also, it isn't really an environment meant to develop games in, so you will have some tradeoffs to take in order to work with it, compared to your familiar game making environment.
That being said, if you know how to handle SketchUp and feel like trying out something new, I suggest to try it out for a few. I mentioned it's completely free, right?

 

[kyonides]

Not to get excited... completely free? Mmm... just for now or almost forever? I mean, if this is some kind of testing ground for some beta release or something like that, then it might not be a good idea to test it. After trying to develop a game in Gosu I know that scripting it is a bit harder, especially if you need to add a lot of features (that you couldn't take a look at RM or GM because it was completely encrypted). The lack of a GUI forces you to think in a little bit to a lot more in a more abstract way, even if this already sounds redundant... but 3D won't make it easier I guess...

Is it really 3D or we'd just need to get meshes to make things look 3D? I mean, is it just something like some isometric trick or what?

 

[DeM0nFiRe]

It is free because sketchup is free. (Sketchup pro can export to common model formats, but you don't need it for this)

However, as the speaker said without saying, it's pretty much just a novelty feature. The performance on that is not going to be fast enough for a real game. Sketchup has to wait for ruby has to wait for javascript for that to work.

 

[BlueScope]

@kyonides: It's not a trick... ^^ (made me smile because it reminds me about Hercule from DBZ... no offense meant by that in any way btw)
It's actual 3D model drawing, like I said on architectural basis though, so expect it more like AutoCAD than 3DSmax. However, you can export everything you draw as .3ds, .dwg/.dxf (AutoCAD files), .obj, .fbx, .dae (Collada files) and a few more, including Google Earth (and a variety of 2D export options, of course including .eps).

Like I said, it's not meant to make games with it - however, I find it to be a very interesting approach that a program that normally is meant for some 'sketching' (compared to more professional solutions like AutoCAD) advances in directions like this, with a not-too-bad community behind it.