The term "ray tracing" sounds like jargon because it is jargon, but what it actually does is relatively simple.
"It essentially simulates the path of light traveling from a light source in a game, like a light bulb, fire, or the sun, more accurately than conventional video game lighting," my colleague Antonio Villas-Boas wrote last year. "The result is more realistic lighting, reflections, and shadows in a video game."
Simply speaking, ray tracing makes representations of light in games — whether we're talking about shadows, reflections, light sourcing, or whatever else — look more accurate.
The difference is staggering.
The room immediately feels warmer, and more realistic — yet it's still full of blocky "Minecraft" visuals, of course.
"Shadows cast from objects soften or harden depending on how far away from the object you are, while lava gives off a warm orange glow that dissipates over distance and reflects off of minecart rails," Microsoft's blog post about the change says. "Even the moon casts its own rays, streaming down through cracks in the walls and reflecting off particles in the air."
More than just interesting, these videos offer a first look at a critical component of next-gen visuals.
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