The pixel revolution, the future of game graphics according to Edge article

More than a decade ago, old-school game coders urged their peers to reject the one true way of a fixed graphics pipeline, as embodied by the combination of Microsoft’s emerging DirectX API and the first wave of PC GPUs. The old school lost. The semi-standardisation of the graphics pipeline underwrote a leap forward in the visual quality of PC games and consoles, from Xbox to PlayStation 3.

From the start, however, the sameness that a fixed pipeline imposed on game engines and their output was apparent. In the early days you could usually tell what GPU a PC game was running on simply by the graphical effects, irrespective of the title or developer.

Change began five years ago with the move from fixed-function GPUs to a new generation that enabled semi-programmability through shaders. Game developers embraced the relative freedom and now they want more.

A fantastic article on the future of real-time graphics techniques, with a number of mini interviews with experts of the field, can be found on the online version of the excellent Edge magazine and is well worth a read for anybody wanting to investigate the upcoming trends in real-time game visuals.

http://www.edge-online.com/features/the-pixel-revolution