Rendering is the process of converting 3D graphics into 2D images. There are several common rendering methods. Rasterization is commonly used in games and works by determining which triangles in a 3D scene will be visible from a given perspective. Ray tracing creates photorealistic images by simulating the paths of light in a scene, allowing for accurate reflections and refractions, but is difficult to implement in real-time games. Radiosity focuses on global lighting and shadows by tracking how light spreads throughout an environment.

1. Rendering
Rendering is the process of converting three
dimensional graphics into a two dimensional
image-plane representation to look real. This is
basically taking information stored somewhere
and turning it into graphics.

2. Rasterisation
This is a common form of rendering for 3D
games. This method balances the time
performance needed with the ability to create
pretty pictures. Rasterisation works by looking at
thousands of tiny triangles which are used to
create a 3D scene and deciding which ones will
be visible in a certain perspective.

3. Ray Tracing
Ray tracing focuses mainly on the rays of lights
in a scene to create photo realistic images from
the 3 dimensional scenes. Ray tracing can create
very accurate reflections and refractions. Ray
tracing would be quite hard to implement in a
real time game, it is usually used for rendering
an image or small clip. In 2008, Intel
demonstrated a special version of a game called
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars using ray tracing
for rendering in real time. The game ran at only
14-29 frames per second, meaning it isn't ideal
for real use.

4. Radiosity
Radiosity focuses more on creating shadows,
rather than reflections or anything else. This
works by focusing on the global lighting and
tracking the way it spreads throughout a room
or area. Radiosity has been used in games such
as: Battlefield 3 and Need for Speed: The Run.