How Video Games are Built — and what are all those tiny triangles about? Modern video games are extremely detailed, and this is how that’s possible. Video via developer Cleo Abram. About the evolution of polygons in video games:
A polygon is a triangular shaped flat surface, used in 3D graphics technology to build three dimensional figure. Polygons are connected to one another, creatively positioned, and together make up a 3D image. As a general rule of thumb, the more polygons that can be used, the better quality the 3D image will be.
The only problem is, of course, that the more polygons used, the more powerful the hardware required to display the numerous polygons. So, one can gauge the power of technology based on the number of polygons used in 3D based video games.
Polygons have been used in video game graphics for a very long time, much longer than many would assume. Although, of course, the earliest use of polygons was extremely crude, and unappealing to the eye. But, as early as 1980, polygons have been a part of the video game world.
After a period of polygons gradually being refined, more advanced versions of them began to appear in games, with an increase in how many were used to make a single three dimensional model. A notable benchmark was reached in 1996, with the release of Quake. The game is widely regarded as the first true 3D FPS game, and was celebrated for massive leap in graphics technology.
At any given time, Quake could render 200 polygons.