An important characteristic of special effects and animated films is that the rendering can be accomplished during the production phase of the movie and incorporated into the final footage. In contrast， 3-D computer game animation happens in “real time”. Each frame that makes the image seem to move must be rendered while you are playing the game -- a process that requires an incredible amount of computer power. To give you a handle on the immensity of the task， consider a game like Doom displayed on a computer monitor that’s set at 1 024 x 768 resolution. At this resolution， the screen contains 786 432 pixels （1 024 multiplied by 768）. If the game is presented in 32-bit color， each frame of the animation requires 25 165 824 bits （multiply 786 432 times 32 to get this number）. Computer game designer believe that on-screen animation looks smoothest at 60 frames per second， which means that your computer must handle 1 509 949 440 --that’ s more than 1 billion -- bits of information every second just to put the 3-D image onto the screen. In addition， the computer must process even more data to keep track of the movements of each player.
You can create 3-D animations on a standard PC or iMac using commercially available software， but many of the best software packages are expensive and have a steep learning curve. If you want to dabble with 3-D animations before making an expensive software investment， you might try one of the shareware programs listed in the 3-D Graphics info Web. Whether you use a commercial or shareware package， be prepared to spend lots of time with the manual before you are able to produce any original animations.
【New Words】
framework
构架，框架
texture
质地，纹理，结构
assortment
分类
architect
建筑师
fantasy
幻想，白日梦
sophistication
强词夺理，诡辩
package
包裹，包
dabble
弄湿，弄水，涉足
8.2 The Development of Information Technology
To understand the motivation behind multimedia computing， it is important to consider information technology from the point of view of the end user （as opposed to the technologist）. To an end user， information technology is concerned with access to various forms of information and the ability to cooperate through these forms of information. Any actual technology which helps in this task is merely a means to an end.
From this perspective， it is possible to identify two separate aspects of information technology， namely the forms of media available to an end user and the ability to efficiently communicate using these media forms. In both these areas， the modem user of information is coming under increased pressure. These pressures are discussed in more details below.
1. Forms of media
In recent years， there has been a dramatic increase in the range of media used to convey information. Initially， communication was limited to simple forms of media such as voice and paper. This century， however， has witnessed the introduction of a greater variety of media types such as the telephone and visual forms of media. In the latter part of the century， this trend has accelerated and there is now a wide range of media types available to convey information.
These advances provide a great opportunity for new developments in a range of areas such as education and commerce. However， there are also a number of problems associated with the growth of information in society. In particular， there is a great danger of creating information overload. This problem can be seen， for example， in business where executives are required to make decisions based on an ever increasing variety and volume of information. Similar problems are also occurring in areas such as government， health care and education.
2. Problems of communication
A further trend in information technology from a user perspective is the decentralization of information. Most modern organizations are very large and tend to consist of a number of separate institutions and typically cooperate through the sharing and exchange of information. Thus， communication is a vital concern for most organizations and efficient communications can make the difference between successful operation and failure. Without the appropriate form of communication， there is a danger of information starvation； i.e. decision makers do not have the right information to make the correct decisions.
3. Requirements for information technology
The end user is therefore faced with the two problems of information overload and information starvation. They may either have too much information or may not have the right information. There is therefore a need to help the end user to manage information to ease the burden created by the increasing importance of information. Essentially， the end user needs support to get the right information to the right people at the right time. This clearly cannot be achieved by manual systems. Thus， there is a requirement for automation in the process of information management.
From a systems perspective， information technology is concerned with the processing of information and the ability to communicate information between different sites. More specifically， information technology is seen as a combination of computing technology and communication infrastructures. The aim of this technology is essentially to manage information for the end user.