GPU Gems 2: Programming Techniques for High-Performance Graphics and General-Purpose Computation

Chapter 3. Inside Geometry Instancing

Francesco CarucciLionhead Studios

A great way to enrich the user experience in an interactive application is to present a credible world, full of small, interesting features and objects. From countless blades of grass, to trees, to generic clutter: it all improves the final perception and helps maintain the user’s “suspension of disbelief.” If the user can believe the world he is immersed in, he is more likely to be emotionally connected to that world—the Holy Grail of game development.

From a rendering point of view, achieving this richness translates into rendering many small objects, often each one similar to the next, with only small differences such as color, position, and orientation. For example, every ...