How can characters in 3D games be made to move?

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Characters in 3D games can be made to move by programming their movement using a variety of techniques, such as:

1. Keyframe Animation: Keyframes are set at specific points along a character's movement path, and the computer fills in the animation frames between each keyframe to create smooth animations.

2. Inverse Kinematics: This technique calculates the movement of a character's limbs and joints in real-time, based on the movement of the character's body. This allows for more realistic movement and behavior.

3. Physics Simulation: Through the use of a physics engine, objects and characters can be programmed to obey physical laws such as gravity, friction, and collision detection. This can create realistic movements, such as characters running, jumping, and interacting with their environment.

4. Motion Capture: Actors wearing motion capture suits are used to record the movements of the character, which are then translated into the digital character's movement. This technique can create extremely realistic movement and behavior, but can also be quite expensive and time-consuming.

5. Scripted Movement: In some cases, characters may be scripted to move along a specific path or perform a certain action in response to player inputs or events in the game. This can be a simpler and more efficient way to program character movement, but may not allow for as much flexibility in the character's behavior.