Datensatz

Zusammenfassung

Rasterization hardware and computer games have always been
tightly connected: The hardware implementation of
rasterization has made complex interactive 3D games possible
while requirements for future games drive the development of
increasingly parallel GPUs and CPUs. Interestingly, this
development -- together with important algorithmic
improvements -- also enabled \emph{ray tracing\/} to achieve
realtime performance recently.

In this paper we explore the opportunities offered by ray
tracing based game technology in the context of current and
expected future performance levels. In particular, we are
interested in simulation-based graphics that avoids
pre-computations and thus enables the interactive production
of advanced visual effects and increased realism necessary
for future games. In this context we analyze the advantages
of ray tracing and demonstrate first results from several
ray tracing based game projects. We also discuss ray
tracing API issues and present recent developments that
support interactions and dynamic scene content. We end with
an outlook on the different options for hardware
acceleration of ray tracing.