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This course is a gentle introduction into the world of 2D game physics! We'll review all the beautiful math that provides the foundation for most physics engines, starting with a strong review of vectors, matrices, basic trigonometry, rigid-body collision, and touching a little bit of calculus as well.
The lectures are designed to teach all concepts from first principles. In our journey, we'll review several topics from physics, like velocity, acceleration, integration, mass, forces, gravity, drag, friction, rigid body dynamics, collision detection, constraints, etc.
We'll also put theory into practice by coding a very simple 2D physics engine from scratch using the C++ programming language.
We'll start by writing a simulation of particle physics, which is a good start for us to address concepts like movement, forces, displacement, and integration.
We'll then proceed to work with rigid bodies by adding shapes to our objects, like circles, rectangles, and polygons. We'll also learn how to code the collision detection and collision resolution between these rigid bodies.
We'll conclude our C++ implementation by adding constraints to our physics engine, which will help us add different types of objects to our engine, like joints and ragdolls. Ultimately, constraints will help us improve the stability of our engine, and they are a great opportunity for us to discuss some interesting ideas from calculus.
All you really need is a simple code editor and a C++ compiler. We'll use a cross-platform library called SDL to display our graphics, and since we can find a C++ compiler for virtually any operating system, you can follow along on either Windows, macOS, or Linux!
Also, make sure you have pen and paper ready for the lectures. This course will probably be a little bit different than other programming courses you took before. We will take our sweet time and make sure we understand every formula we find along the way!
This is a self-contained course with no formal prerequisites. However, you will probably get the most out of it if you already know the basics of coding (if-else, loops, functions).
We will explore some very interesting math along the way, but all you really need is to know some simple algebra. If you know how to solve the equation below for x, then you should be able to follow along and have fun like everyone else!
And finally, if you never programmed in C++ before... don't worry! Many successful students come from different languages like Java, Python, JavaScript, Swift, and others. We'll go over the ugly parts of C++ together.
Gustavo Pezzi is a university lecturer in London, UK. He has won multiple education awards as a teacher and is also the founder of pikuma.com.
Gustavo teaches fundamentals of computer science and mathematics; his academic path includes institutions such as Pittsburg State University, City University of London, and University of Oxford.
This course is not just a simple tutorial on how to use a physics engine like Box2D or Bullet. This course focus on the foundation of what makes physics engines tick, including a comprehensive review of the beautiful math that comes with it.
While you can find other resources on game physics out there, most of them are either too theoretical or overwhelmingly complex. This course is a beginner-friendly introduction to the world of game physics, providing a mix between the theory we'll see in the lectures with the practical examples we'll write using C++.
So, if you ever wanted to understand what happens under the hood of a physics engine, then get ready and buckle up! This is going to be a 35-hour journey of pure nerd fun.
73% of our students come back for another course
We don't offer discounts on our courses. Ever.
"Good title and straight to the point! A very thorough explanations of what 2D Physics will compose of and what to expect."
"Super helpful course! This course teaches you step by step what a physics engine requirements without skipping over details. Most courses are not this in depth."
"Absolutely incredible gem, pure treasure!!! Stunning GREAT Course!!! Happy to have found this . Extremely usefull."
"Great for learning fundamentals and how to think about physics/math within the context of a computer program. Lectures are well-thought-out, concepts are explained thoroughly and extra resources are included where needed. Material is very dense, there is no filler. The course is very much self-contained, which is a very nice touch. Definitely enough to build up a solid practical foundation and spark your interest in game development. If all teachers were like Gustavo, the world would be a much better place!"
"This course was one of the best I have ever taken.
It provides a gentle introduction for anyone who wants to create a physics engine for games. I learned so many concepts and techniques, such as collision detection, impulse resolution, rigid body dynamics, constraint systems, and more. I also got to implement my own 2D physics engine from scratch using C++, SDL and CMake.
Not only that, but I also managed to port my engine to the web using Emscripten, and added some cool optimization techniques such as QuadTree, Contact Caching, Continuous Collision Detection and Broad & Narrow phases split, as explained by Gustavo.
The course was very well-structured, engaging, and challenging. Gustavo is an amazing instructor who explains everything clearly and provides helpful insights and feedback. I highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in game physics programming. This course was also very helpful for me to understand what goes on under the hood of game and physics engines, and how they enable fun and engaging experiences.
Thank you so much, Pikuma and Gustavo Pezzi for this wonderful learning experience!"
