History MediaNotes / PolygonalGraphics

Textures can help with this as well. These are images (most often a [[UsefulNotes/BitmapsSpritesAndTextures bitmap]]) that are applied to the polygons; if each texture is drawn correctly, they can add further detail to the wireframe and fool the player into thinking a model is more complex than it actually is. However, placing a static picture on a surface is only so compelling. Such a scene would lack lighting, shadowing (technically the same thing, but implemented in different ways), and various other dynamic concepts. This is solved primarily by applying mathematical functions, or even full-fledged programs, to polygons, rather than just painting an image over them. Programs that are used for this purpose are called "shaders".

The word "polygon" means a 2D shape with straight sides, and that's how it applies here. The usual shape is a triangle, although a few exotic games use other ones like squares or pentagons, and the UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer and the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn's 3D graphics architecture used quadrilaterals instead. Either way, polygonal graphics use the polygons as a rough approximation to depict 3D objects that would take too long to actually calculate. The way they work is to lock themselves together like puzzle pieces or origami until they form a 3D shape. Each polygon can then be rendered to 2D, where visual effects can easily be applied to each individual polygon.

Insufficient numbers of polygons tend to produce unconvincing renditions of objects; for example, in the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', characters' upper and lower arms were visibly composed of four rectangles, and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''[='s=] boxy hands are almost legendary. On the other hand, too many polygons takes too long to render; even today, individual frames of a Creator/{{Pixar}} film can take more than 24 hours to render. Add to this the RealTime nature of gameplay and the problem is compounded. So the game artist's challenge is to arrange as few polygons as possible into a reasonably-good-looking model. One of the criteria for rating this is, simply, "polycount"--how many polygons are in a model. ([=PlayStation=] 1-era Solid Snake had maybe 500. Franchise/{{Shrek}} has in the millions.)

The word "polygon" means a 2D shape with straight sides, and that's how it applies here. The usual shape is a triangle, although a few exotic games use other ones like squares or pentagons, and the UsefulNotes/3DOInteractiveMultiplayer and the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn's 3D graphics architecture used quadrilaterals instead. Either way, polygonal graphics use the polygons as a rough approximation to depict 3D objects that would take too long to actually calculate. The way they work is to lock themselves together like puzzle pieces or origami until they form a 3D shape. Each polygon can then be rendered to 2D, where visual effects can easily be applied to each individual polygon.

The word "polygon" means a 2D shape with straight sides, and that's how it applies here. The usual shape is a triangle, although a few exotic games use other ones like squares or pentagons and the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn's 3D graphics architecture used quadrilaterals instead. Either way, polygonal graphics use the polygons as a rough approximation to depict 3D objects that would take too long to actually calculate. The way they work is to lock themselves together like puzzle pieces or origami until they form a 3D shape. Each polygon can then be rendered to 2D, where visual effects can easily be applied to each individual polygon.

Insufficient numbers of polygons tend to produce unconvincing renditions of objects; for example, in the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', characters' upper and lower arms were visibly composed of four rectangles. On the other hand, too many polygons takes too long to render; even today, individual frames of a Creator/{{Pixar}} film can take more than 24 hours to render. Add to this the RealTime nature of gameplay and the problem is compounded. So the game artist's challenge is to arrange as few polygons as possible into a reasonably-good-looking model. One of the criteria for rating this is, simply, "polycount"--how many polygons are in a model. ([=PlayStation=] 1-era Solid Snake had maybe 500. Franchise/{{Shrek}} has in the millions.)

The word "polygon" means a 2D shape with straight sides, and that's how it applies here. The usual shape is a triangle, although a few exotic games use other ones like squares or pentagons and the {{Sega Saturn}}'s 3D graphics architecture used quadrilaterals instead. Either way, polygonal graphics use the polygons as a rough approximation to depict 3D objects that would take too long to actually calculate. The way they work is to lock themselves together like puzzle pieces or origami until they form a 3D shape. Each polygon can then be rendered to 2D, where visual effects can easily be applied to each individual polygon.

Insufficient numbers of polygons tend to produce unconvincing renditions of objects; for example, in the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', characters' upper and lower arms were visibly composed of four rectangles. On the other hand, too many polygons takes too long to render; even today, individual frames of a {{Pixar}} film can take more than 24 hours to render. Add to this the RealTime nature of gameplay and the problem is compounded. So the game artist's challenge is to arrange as few polygons as possible into a reasonably-good-looking model. One of the criteria for rating this is, simply, "polycount"--how many polygons are in a model. ([=PlayStation=] 1-era Solid Snake had maybe 500. Franchise/{{Shrek}} has in the millions.)

Insufficient numbers of polygons tend to produce unconvincing renditions of objects; for example, in the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', characters' upper and lower arms were visibly composed of four rectangles. On the other hand, too many polygons takes too long to render; even today, individual frames of a {{Pixar}} film can take more than 24 hours to render. Add to this the RealTime nature of gameplay and the problem is compounded. So the game artist's challenge is to arrange as few polygons as possible into a reasonably-good-looking model. One of the criteria for rating this is, simply, "polycount"--how many polygons are in a model. (PlayStation 1-era Solid Snake had maybe 500. {{Shrek}} has in the millions.)

The word "polygon" means a 2D shape with straight sides, and that's how it applies here. The usual shape is a triangle, although a few exotic games use other ones like squares or pentagons. Either way, polygonal graphics use the polygons as a rough approximation to depict 3D objects that would take too long to actually calculate. The way they work is to lock themselves together like puzzle pieces or origami until they form a 3D shape. Each polygon can then be rendered to 2D, where visual effects can easily be applied to each individual polygon.