The more you go up the 3D pipeline, the messier it gets for developers.

Here's an interesting thing that everyone should take into consideration before we even begin to talk about hardware accelerated T&L: as far as games are concerned, which seem to be our defining 3D benchmarks, it isn't about the graphics, or the 3D pipeline, but it is about interactivity. I think this is an important issue because, almost all of the benefits that will come from 3D graphics hardware from this point on will be about generating more complexity in a scene, not necessarily about the quality of the interactive experience.

That's a fine distinction I want to make. I think the assumption that visual quality is going to drive the PC gaming market is based on the perceptions, rightly or wrongly, that the PC industry has about the impact of next generation consoles. Couple with the need of the PC industry to keep consumers on a continual upgrade cycle, add then the fact that the cutting edge of graphics is exclusively in the hands of avid gamers, and you have a strange brew of circumstances. In some ways, in my last column, I tried to say that its kind of pointless to agonize over every development in graphics hardware. The real driving forces of the industry are ambiguous right now. It used to be, build it and they will come, but I don't think it's that certain right now, not as far as the game developers are concerned. I look at games like Homeworld, or The Sims, and I think that the most interesting developments in PC gaming are not visual, but intellectual. I look at Ready 2 Rumble on my Dreamcast and the interesting thing is the visceral impact. It's a gourmet meal versus fast food. Somehow, moving up the 3D pipeline promises PC graphics enthusiasts gourmet quality eating at fast food prices. I think that's the wrong approach. Anyhow, that's a little perspective for you, otherwise, I don't see much stopping hardware accelerated T.&L

So, let's begin do a little bit of a primer. The 3D graphics pipeline consists of two major stages, geometry, and rendering. At the top of the 3D pipeline we get a scene which basically consists of a bunch of models, or shapes. That's about it.