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Geek Culture / From Polygons to Photorealism: The Evolution—and Plateau—of 3D Game Graphics

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Kevin Picone
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Joined: 27th Aug 2002
Location: Australia
Posted: 13th May 2025 06:31 Edited at: 13th May 2025 06:31
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From Polygons to Photorealism: The Evolution—and Plateau—of 3D Game Graphics

The Era of Clever Constraints

In the early days of 3D gaming, hardware limitations forced developers to be clever. The visuals that defined an era—whether low-poly models, billboarding sprites, or pre-rendered backdrops—weren't just stylistic choices, but practical necessities. Every polygon had a cost. Every lighting trick was a compromise. But out of those limitations grew a golden age of innovation.

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Yeah; got around to building a blog site about 15 years too late

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Phaelax
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Joined: 16th Apr 2003
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Posted: 20th May 2025 17:45
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Just because she only had 7 polygons doesn't mean we didn't all have her poster hanging on our wall at some point!

I remember playing Jet Moto on playstation and thinking how realistic the graphics looked. I tried to play that game last year and couldn't find my way through the first map because the graphics were so terrible I couldn't tell what I was even looking at. So I think there's a relative aspect to what we deem as photorealistic.
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