anti-aliasing n.
When diagonal lines are drawn onscreen, they appear jagged due to the pixels that produce the images on the screen, sort of like a stair-stepping effect. This jaggedness is called aliasing. The anti-aliasing process blends colors around such edges with background colors to soften the jagged effect and make it appear smoother. See pixel.

bitmap n.
A bitmap is simply a flat, rectangular image made up of pixels. The term can refer to any image format found on a computer or in a game. Texture maps are bitmaps, for example, before they're applied to polygons for use in 3D space. See pixel and texture map.

bump mapping n.
Bump mapping works like texture mapping in that a bump map is applied to the surface of a polygon. While a texture map overlays a flat image (such as a wood grain) onto a polygon, a bump map creates an illusion of texture and depth on that flat surface. When light plays over a polygon on which a bump map is applied, small surface details like roughness and scratches can be shown. Bump mapping is yet another step in making 3D-modeled objects look more like reality. See polygon and texture map.

cel shading n.

Cel shading on a Jet Grind Radio character

In short, cel shading makes 3D models look like the "cels" found in animated television shows and movies. This technique flattens color and shading to make the model look like it's been colored in with ink. It's hard to describe the effect, but it's a superb one to look at. Jet Grind Radio's characters are an excellent example of the cel shading technique.

clipping n.
Clipping is the process of removing graphics (polygons or 2D images) that stray outside a 3D world's area, or the viewing area (the screen).

color depth n.
Color depth is the number of unique colors that can be displayed onscreen at one time. The SNES' maximum color depth was 256 simultaneous colors (called 8-bit color); the Dreamcast can do 16.7 million (24-bit color) at one time. The human eye can only perceive so many colors at once, so color depth is not likely to improve much more in the future.

eye candy n.

Godzilla Generations on the Dreamcast

A slang term used in the gaming community to describe visually extraordinary graphics in a game. Games that contain eye candy are often devoid of other redeeming qualities, like gameplay, storyline, or fun. Eye candy distracts gamers from other features that should be present in the game, such as playability or good controls. A good example of eye candy is the game Godzilla Generations for the Sega Dreamcast--gorgeous, but a bad game, overall.

 

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