Q2Model, Part 3
The Plan
My original plan was to create a simple 3D game in the style of Wolfenstein 3D. Alternatively, if you grew up with a Macintosh you would presumably aim to create something in the style of Pathways into Darkness.
The idea being that if you keep your ambitions to just two-dimensions you get to avoid a lot of hard to solve problems. Generally this is because you don't have to deal with moving up or down, vertically. This prevents "rooms" from being stacked on top of each other, and having to implement either elevators, or elaborate ramps like we're building a ziggurat to the heavens. None of that, please.
I also thought about the option of storing maps as text:
################
#...#.....#....#
#@..D.....D...>#
#...#.....#....#
################
World's crummiest rogue-like.
That's roughly what that would look like, helpfully represented in Wolfenstein 3D, a long hallway with a door at either end.
The first attempts
This is what you start with in Xcode, a spinning textured cube. I had already solved the problem of rendering a textured box, so I felt confident what I needed next was a model format.
Originally I started with a delightful Astroboy model by Jonny Gorden. Originally based off the work of Mighty Atom written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka.
That's an animated gif created by the model's author.