Ever wanted to know how maths has been used and is been used in video games?Join Dr Richard Lissaman from the University of Warwick in the Watson Building at the University of Birmingham on Wednesday 28th February.
In this talk we’ll look at interesting applications of school/college level mathematics in video games. This will include looking at how coordinate geometry, vector and matrix techniques are used for graphics and collision detection as well as how mathematical algorithms have been used more generally. For example, did you know that the scalar product can be used to detect collisions and to produce convincing lighting in three dimensions? You’ll see how a sequence like the Fibonacci sequence was used to pack a 2,000 planet galaxy into 16K of memory. The tour will take in gaming classics like Breakout, Asteroids, PacMan, Elite and Tomb Raider.
Please arrive in the Watson Building from 6.30pm onwards for a 7pm start.
The Birmingham Popular Mathematics Lectures are open to all members of the public or university who are interested in the study of Mathematics. They are particularly suitable those studying Mathematics at A Level and we also welcome advanced GCSE students. Young people are welcome on their own, with parents or with a school group. The lectures are free of charge and there is no need to register.
We hope that you will be able to attend the last lecture in our Popular mathematics Lecture Series this academic year. We will be back with a new series in the Autumn. In the meantime, don’t forget that the IMA holds maths lectures locally, mostly at the University of Birmingham, so check them out at: https://ima.org.uk/branches/west-midlands/.