Camera System in OpenGL with Perspective Projection

Welcome back to our OpenGL journey! So far, we’ve learned how to draw shapes, move them around, and even make them look 3D. But have you ever wondered how to move around in your 3D world, like in a video game? That’s where a camera system comes in! Today, we’re going to learn how to create a simple camera system in OpenGL, and we’ll take it a step further by adding perspective projection to make our scene look even more realistic.

What is a Camera in OpenGL?

In OpenGL, a camera isn’t a physical object like a real camera. Instead, it’s a way of controlling what you see on the screen. You can think of it as your eyes in the 3D world. By moving the camera, you can look around, zoom in or out, and explore your scene from different angles.

Setting Up the Camera with Perspective Projection

To create a camera system, we’ll use two important functions: gluLookAt to position and aim the camera, and gluPerspective to set up the perspective projection. Perspective projection makes objects look smaller as they get further away from the camera, just like in real life.

Here’s how you can set up a simple camera with perspective projection: