THE GEOMETRY IN THE VIDEOGAMES

Thinking that video games have nothing to do with any branch of mathematics, as geometry can be, is to be totally wrong. I would like to introduce several geometric applications or games that have the knowledge of this matter, which is the acceptance of the geometry in this way of spending the free time, in the world of the video games.

1. MINECRAFT 

Minecraft is one of the most media games of the these years that bases its minimalist style, and not its gameplay, in pure and hard geometry. The world in which this game is included is formed by cubes and we can see from grass and clouds, passing through the figure of the character, with the shape of this geometric figure. 

From my point of view, Minecraft is really useful to be used in class due to the different mathematical contents that is worked in the game. For example, the structures that you can make with blocks (cubes) can also help to children in order to learn the dimensions X → width, Y→ height, Z→ depth, and even W → time.

Due to this easy understanding of the Cartesian axes, the children are able to even learn the Pythagorean theorem (x²+y² = c²) from very small  age, so not only is used Minecraft to learn "child-level geometry", it can also help in order to learn difficult geometrical concepts very easily.

2. DRAGONBOX ELEMENTS 

DragonBox Elements is a didactic APP in order to learn how to solve geometry problems, based on the book "Elements" that the Greek mathematician Euclid wrote twenty-three centuries ago. Moreover DragonBox Elelements shines with excellence, because it teaches basic elements of geometry in a few hours of fun way and improving the usual method of school that is usually long, frustrating and boring. In the following video, we can watch how the students could play and learn at the same time to learn and distinguish triangles and parallelograms in different complex formations.

From my point of view, we have to promote a significant learning in the students and I think that throughout video games we can get it. With this affirmation I do not try to say that it should to use video games or APPs as as an obligation, but we have to look for a middle point so that the pupils amuse themselves and learn in the classroom.

3. 3D STUDIO MAX

It is a 3D modeling and rendering software, which helps to create great worlds in games, shocking scenes for visualization and contagious experiences of virtual reality. We are accustomed to observing simple geometric figures in video games such as spheres, in the case of the Pokemon game, or cubes, as in Minecraft, but what about more complex formations or figures such as straight angles, hexagons, trapezoids and others formations?

3D Studio Max is a really interesting software in order to deal with this problem. As we can observe in the picture, from the selection of specific geometrical figures, different types of lines that help us to establish our objects and even, the opportunity to put to scale that objetcs, we can create the bedroom of a video game. Many times we think of the beauty or the good work behind the graphic aspect of a video game, but we do not think about how it is carried out.

As it is explained before, when we play video games we appreciate the good work or the story of them, but we do not think in the work behind it and the powerful mathematical basis in which they are supported, because there are mathematical algorithms that also add up in this aspect.