Gaming, Graphics & XR terms
30 Gaming, Graphics & XR terms explained in plain English.
- Anti-aliasingAnti-aliasing is any technique that smooths the jagged, stair-step edges, called 'jaggies,' that appear when diagonal or curved lines are drawn on a grid of square pixels.
- Anti-cheat softwareAnti-cheat software tries to detect and block players using cheats, such as aimbots that aim automatically or 'wallhacks' that reveal hidden opponents, in online games.
- Augmented Reality (AR)Augmented reality, or AR, adds digital images, text, or information on top of what you see in the real world, usually through your phone's camera or special glasses.
- Cloud gamingCloud gaming runs a game on powerful servers in a data centre and streams the video to your phone, TV, laptop, or tablet, while your button presses are sent back over the internet.
- EsportsEsports is organized competitive video gaming, with professional players, teams, leagues, sponsors, and tournaments that fill arenas and draw millions of online viewers.
- Foveated renderingFoveated rendering is a graphics technique that renders the small area you're looking at in full detail and the rest of the image at lower quality.
- Frame generationFrame generation is a technique that uses AI and motion data to create extra frames between the ones a graphics card actually renders, boosting the displayed frame rate.
- Frame rate (FPS)Frame rate is how many separate images, or frames, a video or game displays each second, measured in frames per second (FPS).
- Game engineA game engine is a software framework that provides the core systems needed to build games: rendering graphics, simulating physics, playing audio, handling controls, managing networking, and packaging the game for different platforms.
- Gaussian splattingGaussian splatting is a technique for turning a set of photos or a video of a real place or object into a realistic 3D scene you can move around in.
- Godot EngineGodot is a free, open-source game engine for making 2D and 3D games.
- Graphics API (DirectX, Vulkan, Metal)A graphics API (application programming interface) is the set of commands software uses to talk to a graphics card.
- Inside-out trackingInside-out tracking is a method of tracking a headset's position and movement using cameras and sensors built into the headset itself, looking out at the room.
- Live service gameA live service game, also called 'games as a service,' keeps receiving new content, seasons, events, and items for months or years after launch, usually funded by subscriptions, battle passes, or in-game purchases.
- Loot boxA loot box is a virtual item in a game that players buy, with real money or in-game currency bought with real money, to receive random rewards such as characters, weapons, or cosmetics.
- MetaverseThe metaverse is a broad term for immersive, shared virtual spaces where people can interact, work, play, and socialize using avatars or digital representations of themselves.
- MicrotransactionA microtransaction is a small purchase made inside a game or app: a cosmetic outfit, in-game currency, a time-saver, or a battle pass.
- Mixed RealityMixed reality, or MR, blends the digital and physical worlds so that virtual objects can interact with real ones.
- Neural radiance field (NeRF)A neural radiance field (NeRF) is an AI technique that learns a 3D scene from a set of photos and can then generate realistic images from viewpoints that were never photographed.
- OpenXROpenXR is a royalty-free, open standard from the Khronos Group that lets virtual, augmented, and mixed reality apps work across many headsets using one common interface.
- Passthrough (mixed reality)Passthrough is a feature of virtual and mixed reality headsets that uses outward-facing cameras to show you a live video of the real world inside the headset.
- Path tracingPath tracing is the most complete form of ray tracing: it follows light rays through many random bounces around a scene to calculate how all the light combines, including colour bleeding from one surface onto another.
- Procedural generationProcedural generation is the use of algorithms to create content automatically: game levels, terrain, dungeons, planets, textures, or even music.
- RasterizationRasterization is the technique graphics cards use to turn 3D objects, made of triangles, into the pixels you see on screen.
- Ray tracingRay tracing is a way of creating computer graphics by simulating the paths of light rays as they bounce off, pass through, or are blocked by objects.
- ShaderA shader is a small program that runs on a graphics card (GPU) to calculate how things look on screen: the colour of each pixel, how light hits a surface, or how a shape moves.
- Six degrees of freedom (6DoF)Six degrees of freedom (6DoF) describes tracking that captures all the ways an object can move in 3D space: three kinds of rotation (looking up and down, left and right, and tilting) and three kinds of movement (forward and back, up and down, side to side).
- Spatial computingSpatial computing describes devices and software that understand the physical space around you and place digital content within it, so apps can sit on your desk, windows can float in your living room, and you control them with your hands, eyes, and voice.
- Unreal EngineUnreal Engine is a game engine made by Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite.
- Virtual Reality (VR)Virtual reality, or VR, uses a special headset to place you inside a completely computer-generated world.