Blender Importer
5/15/2025
In the image:
On the top, a simple Blender scene containing two meshes positioned
in front of a virtual camera.
On the bottom, a real-time DirectX 12 program I wrote in C++ correctly
interprets and displays the position of the meshes as they appear in Blender.
Brief rationale:
I can use Blender's powerful 3D artistry tools to create visually compelling data.
At the same time, I still have the flexibility to display that data
however I want at a fine-tuned speed appropriate for a video game.
I don't need to recreate well-established editing tools and I can spend
more time making content that users enjoy.
Challenges I faced:
I had to make a custom coordinate-system transformation pipeline using
the absolute best of my linear algebra skills.
I realized the hard way that Blender, glTF (the intermediate
file format), and DirectX 12 were each made by many different people, and each understands
the coordinates that make up graphics data differently.
I had to carefully review data and specifications from all three of Blender, glTF,
and DirectX 12 and double-check my assumptions of how each operates.
Debugging my initial code was difficult because I was limited in my ability to visualize errors;
it either looks correct or looks like a random lump of triangles,
with no hints as to what I'm doing wrong.
Thankfully, the PIX for Windows GPU debugger helped in this regard, specifically its
ability to display meshes in the input assembler stage before the GPU processes them.
What's next:
There's a lot more to import from Blender than just meshes and textures.
I'm looking forward to getting animated skeletons working.
I also need to author and import custom data that is pertinent
to a game engine, like positional markers for where objects should spawn or keyframe
markers to trigger in-game events at just the right time during animations.