Chapter 8.  Adding Tone and Realism with Graphics

Graphics haven't always been at the forefront of game development. In the early days, on systems such as the Atari 2800 and Magnavox Odyssey, avatars and items could only be represented by crude pixel estimations, and levels were, more often than not, simple 2D blocks. Older machines just didn't have the capability of rendering anything with even close to realistic detail, and the clunky CRT displays from back in the day wouldn't do fantastic renderings any justice anyway.

These days, the success and quality of a game depends heavily on how it looks. Rendering and lighting in games is as close to real life as it ever has been, and there are several graphical capabilities in modern 3D engines that mimic the actual physics of light. Virtual reality gives us the opportunity to immerse players in these realistically rendered environments, which demands a greater focus than ever on the graphical accuracy and quality of your game.

In this chapter...