Low poly

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Low poly is a term used by videogame creators, players and journalists alike to describe a three-dimensional computer generated character or object that appears to be lacking in polygons.

In computer technology, polygons are what designers typically use to create any three-dimensional object that is output to the screen. The polygons are usually triangles. The more triangles that are used to create an object, the more detailed it will appear, but the more computing power it will take to render the object. Because of this, designers of videogames often have to be creative or cut corners with their polygon budget (the number of polygons that can be rendered per frame in a scene). This leads to objects that are often described as being low poly.

Objects that are said to be low poly often appear blocky (such as square heads) and lacking in detail (such as no individual fingers). Objects that are supposed to be circular or spherical are most obviously low poly, as the number of triangles needed to make a circle is high relative to other shapes since they contain no straight lines, and polygons are made of straight lines.

The low poly issue is mostly confined to videogames and other software that the user manipulates in real time, e.g. the parts of a game that are playable. Low poly and polygon budgets are not an issue in, for example, computer-generated imagery effects like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings films or the entirety of Pixar animated films because they are created on large networks of computers called render farms. Each frame can take hours to create, despite the enormous computer power involved. This is why FMV sequences in videogames look so much better than the games themselves.

Low poly is a phrase which is used relative to the time it is released. As computing power inevitably increases, the number of polygons that can be used increases as well. For example, Super Mario 64 would be considered low poly today, but was considered a stunning achievement when it was released in 1996.