Linear Interpolation Explained – General and Gameplay Programming – Tutorials
Linear interpolation is everywhere. Games, 3D animation, image creation tools and much more all rely heavily on interpolation, so having a thorough understanding of linear interpolation is extremely important.
This text is somewhat geared towards game developers, however it’s general enough to apply to any programming audience regardless of if you’re into games or not.
What is interpolation?
In the simplest sense, interpolation is finding data in between other data. Unfortunately, this explanation is really vague, and understanding interpolation is quite difficult without real examples, so I will provide some.
Linear Interpolation, and the Number Line.
Lets explain linear interpolation by using a number line as an example.
What number is halfway in between -2, and 2?
If you answered 0, you would be correct! Congratulations! You just did linear interpolation inside your head. (Yes, that’s all it is!) Going back to the original definition of interpolation as “finding data