Video game play rendered using a panoramic view of a cube map style rendering uses an associated depth map to supply three-dimensionality to the pre-rendered scene. The resulting panoramic rendering may be indistinguishable from rendering the original scene in real-time except that the background is of pre-rendered quality.

Video game play using panoramically-composited depth-mapped cube mapping

Most digital video display systems have been capable of producing only text or static imagery. This paper shows that these limitations are not intrinsic to the technology, but are rather a direct consequence of the display system architecture. The paper begins by summarizing some of the background required to understand digital video display systems. The state-of-the-art is then surveyed, supported by an extensive bibliography. Existing systems are described in terms of a methodology which clarifies the effect of system architecture on capabilities and performance. It is shown how dynamic graphics capabilities can be provided if systems adhere to one or the other of two possible architectures. Examples of such systems are presented.

Digital video display systems and dynamic graphics

A system is described for the generation of real time quasi three-dimensional animated television images. The technique utilized is a composite of the "multi-plane" cartoon animation technique and three-dimensional object projection techniques using polygonal patch representations of objects. The hardware environment consists of a hierarchical memory structure utilizing shift register "background" planes and a fast random access main image "foreground" plane. The foreground plane has a variable "depth" with respect to the background planes. Perspective relations in the image structure are maintained in real time with only infrequent updating of the background data.

Edwin Reade Tripp

Papers

An interactive three-dimensional color graphics system.

A real time three-dimensional color animation system