Core Techniques and Algorithms in Game Programming

Chapter 20. Organic Rendering

	“A cloud is not a sphere, a mountain is not a cone”
	--Benoit Mansdelbrot

KEY TOPICS

• Nature and Complexity

• Trees

• Grass

• Clouds

• Oceans

• In Closing

Particle systems have probably helped widen your perception of what can be rendered in real time. But wait, there's more. There are some objects that cannot be expressed in terms of conventional geometry, nor are they well suited for representation by a particle system. Take a tree, for example: a towering oak with thousands of leaves, branches, and bark. How many different triangles do you need to render it in all its beauty? As anyone familiar with fractals knows, the answer depends on the resolution: How accurate do you need to be? Objects found in nature exhibit the property ...