Video game graphics are one of the most important components of any video game. The video game environment is what makes the game user experience all the emotions that the game simulates. A wide range of computer graphics techniques were utilized to display video game content over the years. The dominance of individual techniques haven't changed much since the inception of video games, mainly because of technological limitations and hardware developments like the increase of central processing units and better quality central or peripheral processing units.
Early video game graphics featured text-based characters which were often very minimalistic in comparison to the complex 3D rendered characters. Graphics featured in early video games looked very similar to those that you would find in a typical personal computer. For example, you would see simple 2D images of a character like a robot or a bird. Text-based characters require much higher processing power, thus they require more memory for the same result.
Advances in video game technology allowed advancements in the way in which text was presented on the screen. Advancements in the form of graphics as well as resolution also increased with the evolution of the platform games. Platform games are games that require the use of a digital camera to control the movements of the characters in the game. When the display technology is good enough, the player can easily capture the images displayed on the screen.
With the help of new technologies, the graphics and resolution of video game graphics improved significantly. Improvements in the input and display technologies enabled game developers to create extremely detailed characters and backgrounds. With this enhanced ability, game developers were able to craft extremely detailed game worlds which players could immerse themselves in. Another advantage of video game graphics and resolution is the fact that they can allow the video games to be rendered sharper and clearer. This feature gave birth to the term 'blur'.
With advancements in video game graphics and resolution, gamers can now enjoy the best video games and their favorite characters at the highest available quality. The introduction of two-dimensional characters provided with extra details made playing these types of games all the more interesting. This also paved way for advancements such as motion capture and 3D animation. Motion capture refers to the use of cameras to capture the movement of an object as seen through the eye of the camera. It uses images from the video game and combines them with digital sound. 3D animation utilizes pre-existing images in order to provide realistic movement and sounds.
Motion-capture technology allowed the developers to construct highly detailed polygon models of characters. When using polygon models, the distance and orientation of the polygonal model were controlled by the gamers. A special 'depth buffer' was used that enabled the user to specify a number of points on the model that would define the positions of the polygons, enabling the player to manipulate the characters in numerous ways with no errors.
Today, with modern technology and state-of-the-art software, gamers have access to even greater graphic advancements. The use of volumetric shading and ambient occlusion are just a couple of these advancements. With improved textures and materials, more realistic character models and more detailed surfaces, both polygon-based and 3d models alike, are possible. Real-time ray tracing was another breakthrough with the advent of the deferred shading technique, which enables the lighting system of the video game to be determined by the position and angle of light sources within the scene.
In terms of user interface, a lot of technological improvements have taken place. With the advent of the mouse, keyboard, and joystick, gamers now have a comprehensive range of input devices that make gaming much more fun and enjoyable. There is a vast improvement in the resolution and image quality of today's computers, often referred to as "gaming laptops." With the help of modern day software, such things as digital painting and digital sculpting are now possible. With image-based rendering and real time ray tracing, the quality of the final image is going to be higher than ever. In short, with all the advances in modern day computer graphics, the future of video game graphics looks extremely bright.
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