The gaming industry has been a forefront for technology since its early days, pushing the expectations of things like handheld computing, online communication, and of course, graphics. For the last seven years, ray tracing has been one of the bleeding-edge frontiers of graphics. But even as ray tracing-capable GPUs proliferate in consoles, PCs, and even handhelds, many gamers are still skeptical of the technology. So what's going on?It's a complex question, and answering it requires considering a number of factors. Those include game development standards that make poor or almost invisible use of ray tracing; the fact that ray tracing is a still-nascent technology; shifts in gaming habits and preferences; and the timing of the introduction of ray-tracing graphics cards with regard to shifts in the economy.Ray tracing is one of the oldest technologies in pre-rendered computer graphics, but is still in its infancy in real-time computer graphics. Real-time ray tracing uses simulated light bounces to light and render a game scene. This allows for an accurate rendering of lighting and shadows and detailed reflections that don't require a bunch of work by artists beforehand. Let's take a look at how ray tracing has played out in the gaming industry so far.Continue Reading at GameSpot