Just out of curiosity: How important is calculus to game development?

Linear algebra is VERY important.

For calculus, I did find one use for it - the derivative of a distance function told me the closest point at which two bodies approach each other.

Other than that, I haven''t used it for game development. But don''t take that as an indication about its importance.

Calculus is good for physics and judging distance .. and I think it is also useful for some types of compression such as jpeg compression.. I think.



Also.
Calculus is the first math REQUIREMENT of being a computer science major.

Direct calculus computations, i.e. derivative or integral of a function, may not directly apply. However calculus is used in engineering and physics to formulate all sorts of equations (i.e. motion), discrete time filtering and control are based in calculus concepts.

In short, you may want to find the stuff that many braniacs conceived using calculus, but that doesn''t mean you need to learn calculus yourself.

I would search on: Newton''s equations of motion, Kepler''s theorems, proportional-derivative control, digital filter, statics and dynamics of rigid bodies, critical damping. That''s a few anyway.

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Proxima Rebellion - A 3D action sim with a hint of strategy